Multifunctionality and Thresholds of Alpine Grassland on the Tibetan Plateau

doi:10.5814/j.issn.1674-764X.2020.03.003

Abstract

Abstract:

Ecosystems can simultaneously provide multiple functions and services. Knowledge on the combinations of such multi-dimensional functions is critical for accurately assessing the carrying capacity and implementing sustainable management. However, accurately quantify the multifunctionality of ecosystems remains challenging due to the dependence and close association among individual functions. Here, we quantified spatial patterns in the multifunctionality of alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau by integrating four important individual functions based on data collected from a field survey and remote sensing NDVI. After mapping the spatial pattern of multifunctionality, we extracted multifunctionality values across four types of grassland along the northern Tibet Plateau transect. Effects of climate and grazing intensity on the multifunctionality were differentiated. Our results showed that the highest values of multifunctionality occurred in the alpine meadow. Low values of multifunctionality were comparable in different types of grassland. Annual precipitation explained the large variation of multifunctionality across the different types of grassland in the transect, which showed a significantly positive effect on the multifunctionality. Grazing intensity further explained the rest of the variation in the multifunctionality (residuals), which showed a shift from neutral or positive to negative effects on multifunctionality across the different types of grassland. The consistently rapid declines of belowground biomass, SOC, and species richness resulted in the collapse of the multifunctionality as bare ground cover amounted to 75%, which corresponded to a multifunctionality value of 0.233. Our results are the first to show the spatial pattern of grassland multifunctionality. The rapid decline of the multifunctionality suggests that a collapse in the multifunctionality can occur after the vegetation cover decreases to 25%, which is also accompanied by rapid losses of species and other individual functions. Our results are expected to provide evidence and direction for the sustainable development of alpine grassland and restoration management.

Key words: individual functions, multifunctionality, grazing intensity, alpine grassland, vegetation cover

SONG Minghua, LI Meng, HUO Jiajuan, WU Liang, ZHANG Xianzhou. Multifunctionality and Thresholds of Alpine Grassland on the Tibetan Plateau[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2020, 11(3): 263-271.

Figures/Tables 4

Fig. 1 The locations of sampling points in the alpine grassland in Qinghai Province and the northern Tibetan Plateau transect

Fig. 2 The spatial pattern of multifunctionality in the alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau (a), and the probability density curves of the multifunctionality values in different types of grassland (b).

Fig. 3 Relationships between the multifunctionality and precipitation (a, c, e, g), and between the residuals of the multifunctionality and grazing intensity (b, d, f, h) in the four types of grassland on the northern Tibetan Plateau transect.

Fig. 4 Variations of the individual functions and the multifunctionality along with vegetation cover degradation. An abrupt decline of the multifunctionality is indicated by the grey vertical line, where the vegetation cover was decreased to about 25%, signifying the collapse of the grassland multifunctionality.

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