Carbon use efficiency of alpine grasslands affected by grazing exclusion and local environmental context in Tibet, China
Carbon use efficiency (CUE) is essential for understanding how climate change impacts carbon fixation by vegetation across diverse ecosystems globally. However, the effects of anthropogenic efforts, such as ecosystem restoration of degraded grasslands via livestock grazing exclusion with fences on t...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424004797 |
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| author | Yunfei Feng Jianshuang Wu Meng Li Ben Chen Minyahel Tilahun Xianzhou Zhang |
| author_facet | Yunfei Feng Jianshuang Wu Meng Li Ben Chen Minyahel Tilahun Xianzhou Zhang |
| author_sort | Yunfei Feng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Carbon use efficiency (CUE) is essential for understanding how climate change impacts carbon fixation by vegetation across diverse ecosystems globally. However, the effects of anthropogenic efforts, such as ecosystem restoration of degraded grasslands via livestock grazing exclusion with fences on the spatiotemporal variation in CUE under ongoing climate change remain poorly evaluated and understood. In this study, we calculated CUE values for fenced and adjacent grazed alpine grasslands in Tibet, China. We considered soil properties, topographical features, and climate conditions as potential predictors to explain the spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of CUE across these grasslands. Our results showed that the annual mean CUE of fenced vs. grazed grasslands were similar with values of 0.6961 and 0.6956 across the whole plateau. However, the annual CUE of fenced grasslands increased at a faster rate (6.89 × 10−5 per year) compared to grazed grasslands (0.23 × 10−5 per year) from 2006 to 2019. CUE also exhibited substantial variation across alpine grassland communities, with the highest values observed in alpine steppe meadows under both fenced and grazed management. Precipitation was identified as the most influential factor controlling the spatial pattern of CUE and showed a significant negative correlation with CUE. Moreover, the presence of fences was found to reduce the sensitivity of CUE to in response to varying precipitation. The effectiveness of fences in enhancing CUE primarily depends on local environmental conditions. Our study sheds light on the interplays between ecological restoration efforts and climate change in shaping the CUE dynamics of alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau and emphasizes the importance of local environmental contexts when programming and implementing restoration projects. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a069316b833540b99400d54e659ec2ad |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj-art-a069316b833540b99400d54e659ec2ad2024-12-16T05:36:04ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942024-12-0156e03275Carbon use efficiency of alpine grasslands affected by grazing exclusion and local environmental context in Tibet, ChinaYunfei Feng0Jianshuang Wu1Meng Li2Ben Chen3Minyahel Tilahun4Xianzhou Zhang5Tangshan Key Laboratory of Simulation and Monitoring of Urban System Low-carbon Development, Department of Resource Management, Tangshan Normal University, Tangshan 063000, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; Corresponding author.School of Geographic Sciences, Nantong University, Nantong 226007, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; Wolkite University, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Wolkite, EthiopiaInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaCarbon use efficiency (CUE) is essential for understanding how climate change impacts carbon fixation by vegetation across diverse ecosystems globally. However, the effects of anthropogenic efforts, such as ecosystem restoration of degraded grasslands via livestock grazing exclusion with fences on the spatiotemporal variation in CUE under ongoing climate change remain poorly evaluated and understood. In this study, we calculated CUE values for fenced and adjacent grazed alpine grasslands in Tibet, China. We considered soil properties, topographical features, and climate conditions as potential predictors to explain the spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of CUE across these grasslands. Our results showed that the annual mean CUE of fenced vs. grazed grasslands were similar with values of 0.6961 and 0.6956 across the whole plateau. However, the annual CUE of fenced grasslands increased at a faster rate (6.89 × 10−5 per year) compared to grazed grasslands (0.23 × 10−5 per year) from 2006 to 2019. CUE also exhibited substantial variation across alpine grassland communities, with the highest values observed in alpine steppe meadows under both fenced and grazed management. Precipitation was identified as the most influential factor controlling the spatial pattern of CUE and showed a significant negative correlation with CUE. Moreover, the presence of fences was found to reduce the sensitivity of CUE to in response to varying precipitation. The effectiveness of fences in enhancing CUE primarily depends on local environmental conditions. Our study sheds light on the interplays between ecological restoration efforts and climate change in shaping the CUE dynamics of alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau and emphasizes the importance of local environmental contexts when programming and implementing restoration projects.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424004797Alpine grasslandsCarbon use efficiencyClimate changeLivestock grazingFenceTibetan plateau |
| spellingShingle | Yunfei Feng Jianshuang Wu Meng Li Ben Chen Minyahel Tilahun Xianzhou Zhang Carbon use efficiency of alpine grasslands affected by grazing exclusion and local environmental context in Tibet, China Global Ecology and Conservation Alpine grasslands Carbon use efficiency Climate change Livestock grazing Fence Tibetan plateau |
| title | Carbon use efficiency of alpine grasslands affected by grazing exclusion and local environmental context in Tibet, China |
| title_full | Carbon use efficiency of alpine grasslands affected by grazing exclusion and local environmental context in Tibet, China |
| title_fullStr | Carbon use efficiency of alpine grasslands affected by grazing exclusion and local environmental context in Tibet, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Carbon use efficiency of alpine grasslands affected by grazing exclusion and local environmental context in Tibet, China |
| title_short | Carbon use efficiency of alpine grasslands affected by grazing exclusion and local environmental context in Tibet, China |
| title_sort | carbon use efficiency of alpine grasslands affected by grazing exclusion and local environmental context in tibet china |
| topic | Alpine grasslands Carbon use efficiency Climate change Livestock grazing Fence Tibetan plateau |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424004797 |
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