Response of Ecosystem Photosynthesis and Respiration to Degradation Gradients in an Alpine Kobresia Meadow
Alpine grassland ecosystems plays an essential role in national ecological security shelter,but it have been widely and severely degraded in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.But the responses of carbon budgets to degradation process are not fully understood on the alpine grassland.The experiment of degradation gradients (lightly degradation, medium degradation and severe degradation) on an alpine Kobresia meadow was conducted.During plant flourishingly growing season, net ecosystem CO2 exchange rate (NEE), ecosystem dark respiration rate (RES) and gross ecosystem photosynthesis rate (GEP)was measured by LI-6400 and carbon assimilation chamber from mid-July to mid-August in 2014 on Northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.The results showed that the diurnal unimodal patterns of GEP, RES and NEE were not significantly influenced along degradation gradients and the peak and valley of diurnal CO2 fluxes from different gradation status occurred almost simultaneously.Daily RES and NEE of severe degradation plots was evidently (P< 0.05) improved by 12.2% and 41.8% than that of light degradation plots, respectively.Daily GEP declined undetectably.Along the degradation gradients, the temperature sensitivity of RES (Q10) was decreased and ecosystem apparent quantum yield (a) was enhanced, while the ecosystem saturated photosynthetic rate (Pmax) was little changed.Those results indicated that the response of carbon dynamics of alpine Kobresia meadow to degradation processes was mostly demonstrated by ecosystem respiration CO2 efflux rather than photosynthetic CO2 uptake during the vegetation flourishing periods from July to August.
CO2 fluxesPhotosynthetic response curveRespiration temperature sensitivityAssimilation chamberQinghai-Tibetan Plateau