Responses of Desert Steppe Plant Community Characteristics and Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Contents to Warming and Increased Precipitation
This study investigated the responses of plant community characteristics and soil carbon and nitrogen contents to climate change in the desert steppe of Inner Mongolia.To simulate the projected impacts of global climate change,a factorial experiment was established consisting of three warming levels(T0:ambient temperature;T1:increasing 2℃,T2:increasing 4℃)and three precipitation levels(T0:ambient precipita-tion,T1:increasing 25%,T2:increasing 50%)implemented for 7～8 years.The results showed that warm-ing and increased precipitation interacted synergistically to significantly alter the importance values(IVs)of des-ert steppe plant functional groups.Compared to the ambient temperature and precipitation control(T0W0),perennial grasses and semi-shrubs exhibited substantial declines.Conversely,IVs of perennial forbs and annual herbs significantly increased.Notably,species diversity and soil carbon and nitrogen contents were not signifi-cantly affected by individual or interactive effects of warming and precipitation.However,both parameters showed an upward trend with increasing temperature and precipitation.Regression analysis revealed significant relationships between soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen and plant functional group IVs(P<0.05),and between soil total carbon and total nitrogen and species diversity(P<0.05).These findings suggest that long-term warming and increased precipitation may drive shifts in desert steppe plant community composition via their regulatory influence on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics.This study provides valuable data for inform-ing sustainable management strategies for desert steppes under changing climate conditions.
Desert steppeWarmingIncreased precipitationPlant community characteristicsSoil carbon and nitrogen contents
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万方数据
