Alpine grassland degradation reduced plant species diversity and stability of plant communities in the Northern Tibet Plateau

Abstract The alpine grassland in the Northern Tibet Plateau has been degraded in recent decades. This study aimed at addressing the effects of the degree of degradation on species diversity and stability of plant communities and the relationships between diversity stability. Stability of plant communities decreased with the increasing degree of degradation probably due to the significantly decreased diversity and evenness of plant communities with degradation. Diversity (including Shannon and Simpson diversity, Pielou evenness, and species richness) was positively correlated with the corresponding stability of plant communities. This suggets that high levels of plant diversity lead to higher levels of complementary resource use via niche complementation. The relative abundance of the most dominant species was negatively correlated with the stability of the corresponding plant communities. This suggests that the stability of plant communities decreases with increasing degradation but the relative abundance of the most dominant species increases with degradation. In conclusion, diversity and the corresponding stability of plant communities decrease with increasing degradation in the alpine grassland in the Northern Tibet Plateau.

• Publication year

  2019

• Venue

  Acta Oecologica

• Publication date

  2019-07-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/J.ACTAO.2019.05.005
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Impact of exotic invasion on the temporal stability of natural annual plant communities

  2018cited by this paper
• Moderate and heavy Solidago canadensis L. invasion are associated with decreased taxonomic diversity but increased functional diversity of plant communities in East China

  2018cited by this paper
• Solidago canadensis invasion affects soil N-fixing bacterial communities in heterogeneous landscapes in urban ecosystems in East China.

  2018cited by this paper
• Daytime warming lowers community temporal stability by reducing the abundance of dominant, stable species

  2017cited by this paper
• Woody plant diversity, structure and regeneration in the Ambo State Forest, South Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia

  2016cited by this paper
• Enhanced interannual precipitation variability increases plant functional diversity that in turn ameliorates negative impact on productivity.

  2015cited by this paper
• Eutrophication weakens stabilizing effects of diversity in natural grasslands

  2014cited by this paper
• Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning

  2014cited by this paper
• Plant functional group identity and diversity determine biotic resistance to invasion by an exotic grass

  2013cited by this paper
• Biodiversity and ecosystem stability: a synthesis of underlying mechanisms.

  2013cited by this paper
• Research Progress on Restoration and Management of Degraded Alpine Meadow in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

  2013cited by this paper
• Predicting ecosystem stability from community composition and biodiversity.

  2013cited by this paper
• Species Richness and the Temporal Stability of Biomass Production: A New Analysis of Recent Biodiversity Experiments

  2013cited by this paper
• Diversity-dependent stability under mowing and nutrient addition: evidence from a 7-year grassland experiment.

  2012cited by this paper
• Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity

  2012cited by this paper
• The Weighted Gini-Simpson Index: Revitalizing an Old Index of Biodiversity

  2012cited by this paper
• The effects of long-term fertilization on the temporal stability of alpine meadow communities

  2011cited by this paper
• Dominant species, rather than diversity, regulates temporal stability of plant communities

  2011cited by this paper
• High plant diversity is needed to maintain ecosystem services

  2011cited by this paper
• General stabilizing effects of plant diversity on grassland productivity through population asynchrony and overyielding.

  2010cited by this paper
• Sustaining multiple ecosystem functions in grassland communities requires higher biodiversity

  2010cited by this paper
• The construction of Grassland Degradation Index for Alpine Meadow in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

  2010cited by this paper
• Comprehensive evaluation of eco-environmental sensitivity in Northern Tibet

  2010cited by this paper
• Biodiversity, productivity and the temporal stability of productivity: patterns and processes.

  2009cited by this paper
• Rangeland degradation and restoration management in China

  2008cited by this paper
• Shrub Invasion Decreases Diversity and Alters Community Stability in Northern Chihuahuan Desert Plant Communities

  2008cited by this paper
• Consequences of dominance: a review of evenness effects on local and regional ecosystem processes.

  2008cited by this paper
• Multiple functions increase the importance of biodiversity for overall ecosystem functioning.

  2008cited by this paper
• Stability and Diversity of Ecosystems

  2007cited by this paper
• Influence of livestock grazing on C sequestration in semi-arid mixed-grass and short-grass rangelands.

  2002cited by this paper
• Biodiversity may regulate the temporal variability of ecological systems

  2001cited by this paper
• The response of two contrasting limestone grasslands to simulated climate change.

  2000cited by this paper
• Fluctuating resources in plant communities: a general theory of invasibility

  2000cited by this paper
• Biodiversity, Stability, and Productivity in Competitive Communities

  2000cited by this paper
• Benefits of plant diversity to ecosystems: immediate, filter and founder effects

  1998cited by this paper
• Biodiversity and stability in grasslands

  1996cited by this paper
• The measurement of diversity in different types of biological collections

  1966cited by this paper
• The mathematical theory of communication

  1950cited by this paper
• Measurement of Diversity

  1949cited by this paper
• Citation for Published Item: Biotic Mechanisms of Community Stability Shift along a Precipitation Gradient

  year unknowncited by this paper
• Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology Publications Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology Biodiversity Simultaneously Enhances the Production and Stability of Community Biomass, but the Effects Are Iindependent Biodiversity Simultaneously Enhances the Production and Stability of Community Bio

  year unknowncited by this paper

• Ecological degradation risk assessment and influence analysis of ecological conservation redlines in Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia, China

  2026cites this paper
• Plants, soil microbes and physical structure jointly regulate natural grassland ecosystem stability across slope scales on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

  2026cites this paper
• Precipitation mediates the effects of species diversity and belowground ecosystem multifunctionality on community stability across alpine grasslands, Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

  2025cites this paper
• Relationship between species diversity of plant communities and soil organic carbon on Zoige Plateau alpine peatlands

  2025cites this paper
• Slight degradation significantly alters plant functional groups and biomass accumulation in alpine meadow on the eastern Tibetan Plateau

  2025cites this paper
• Relationship Between Species Diversity and Community Stability of Vegetation Patches in Thymus mongolicus Steppe, China

  2025cites this paper
• Relationships between community stability and diversity of fish assemblages before and after pen-culture ban in Lake Shengjin, lower reaches of Yangtze River

  2025cites this paper
• Impact of litter quality on soil nematode communities with the intensifies of grassland degradation: Shifting from resource input to environmental stress

  2025cites this paper
• Soil microbes drive the negative effect of plant diversity on community stability in zokor-disturbed alpine grasslands

  2025cites this paper
• The Importance of Soil Seed Bank Function in Studies of Grassland Degradation

  2025cites this paper
• Alpine steppe degradation weakens ecosystem multifunctionality through the decline in climax dominant species on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

  2025cites this paper
• Nature-Based Solutions vs. Human-Induced Approaches for Alpine Grassland Ecosystem: "Climate-Help" Overwhelms "Human Act" to Promote Ecological Restoration in the Three-River-Source Region of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

  2024cites this paper
• N limitation may inhibit the effectiveness of close-to-nature restoration measures for degraded alpine meadows on the northern Qinghai‒Tibet Plateau

  2024cites this paper
• Biochar addition can negatively affect plant community performance when altering soil properties in saline-alkali wetlands

  2024cites this paper
• Plant species diversity and functional diversity relations in the degradation process of desert steppe in an arid area of northwest China.

  2024cites this paper
• Vulnerability and driving mechanism of four typical grasslands in China under the coupled impacts of climate change and human activities.

  2024cites this paper
• Response of Pastoral Mobility to Grassland Degradation and Farmland Development in Arid Regions of Northern Xinjiang, China

  2024cites this paper
• Machine Learning Models Based on UAV Oblique Images Improved Above‐Ground Biomass Estimation Accuracy Across Diverse Grasslands on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

  2024cites this paper
• Nitrogen deposition modulates invasibility and stability of plant communities in microplastic-contaminated wetlands

  2024cites this paper
• Interplay of Natural and Anthropogenic Factors on Plant Diversity at the Aquatic-Terrestrial Interface of Yuhangtang River

  2024cites this paper
• Wind Power Increases the Plant Diversity of Temperate Grasslands but Decreases the Dominance of Palatable Plants

  2023cites this paper
• Soil habitat condition shapes Tamarix chinensis community diversity in the coastal saline-alkali soils

  2023cites this paper
• Changes in Nutrient-Regulated Soil Microbial Communities in Soils Concomitant with Grassland Restoration in the Alpine Mining Region of the Qilian Mountains

  2023cites this paper
• Ecological risk assessment of grassland vegetation change based on Bayesian model in Xilin Gol League, China

  2023cites this paper
• Improving Deeplabv3+ for highland mouse holes segmentation scenarios

  2023cites this paper
• A Perspective on the Impact of Grassland Degradation on Ecosystem Services for the Purpose of Sustainable Management

  2022cites this paper
• Landscape pattern changes across alpine shrub meadows gradient in warm-season pastures on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

  2022cites this paper
• Changes and Relationships between Components in the Plant-Soil System and the Dominant Plant Functional Groups in Alpine Kobresia Meadows Due to Overgrazing

  2022cites this paper
• Effect of grazing exclusion on ecosystem services dynamics, trade-offs and synergies in Northern Tibet

  2022cites this paper
• Understanding herdsmen's rangeland rent-in behaviour under current rural land tenure system of China

  2022cites this paper
• Mapping rainfall interception for assessing ecological restoration sustainability in China

  2022cites this paper
• Assessment of the vegetation sensitivity index in alpine meadows with a high coverage and toxic weed invasion under grazing disturbance

  2022cites this paper
• Dynamics of Grassland Vegetation Composition across different Land-use Types on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau: Implications to Combat Grassland Degradation

  2021cites this paper
• The responses of different insect guilds to grassland degradation in northeastern China

  2021cites this paper
• Reproductive allocation of Solidago canadensis L. plays a key role in its invasiveness across a gradient of invasion degrees

  2021cites this paper
• Nutrients available in the soil regulate the changes of soil microbial community alongside degradation of alpine meadows in the northeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

  2021cites this paper
• Non-utilization Is Not the Best Way to Manage Lowland Meadows in Hulun Buir

  2021cites this paper
• Variations and controlling factors of vegetation dynamics on the Qingzang Plateau of China over the recent 20 years

  2021cites this paper
• Spatial differentiation of the NPP and NDVI and its influencing factors vary with grassland type on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

  2021cites this paper
• Phylogenetic patterns of shrub communities along the longitudinal and latitudinal gradients on the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

  2020cites this paper
• The effects of degradation on alpine grassland resilience: A study based on meta-analysis data

  2020cites this paper
• Ecological restoration treatments enhanced plant and soil microbial diversity in the degraded alpine steppe in Northern Tibet

  2020cites this paper
• Changes in community structure and metabolic function of soil bacteria depending on the type restoration processing in the degraded alpine grassland ecosystems in Northern Tibet.

  2020cites this paper
• Bacterial Communities in Stream Biofilms in a Degrading Grassland Watershed on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

  2020cites this paper
• Carabid community stability is enhanced by carabid diversity but reduced by aridity in Chinese steppes

  2019cites this paper