植物生态学报 ›› 2022, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (8): 941-950.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2022.0017

• 研究论文 • 上一篇    下一篇

放牧家畜类型对内蒙古典型草原植物多样性和群落结构的影响

王姝文, 李文怀(), 李艳龙, 严慧, 李永宏   

  1. 内蒙古大学生态与环境学院, 蒙古高原生态学与资源利用教育部重点实验室, 内蒙古草地生态学重点实验室, 呼和浩特 010021
  • 收稿日期:2022-01-11 接受日期:2022-02-23 出版日期:2022-08-20 发布日期:2022-08-20
  • 通讯作者: 李文怀 ORCID:0000-0002-1113-2020 (wenhuai.li@imu.edu.cn)
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金(32071883);内蒙古自治区科技重大专项(2021ZD0011);中国国家留学基金(202006810005)

Effects of different livestock types on plant diversity and community structure of a typical steppe in Nei Mongol, China

WANG Shu-Wen, LI Wen-Huai(), LI Yan-Long, YAN Hui, LI Yong-Hong   

  1. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau, Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
  • Received:2022-01-11 Accepted:2022-02-23 Online:2022-08-20 Published:2022-08-20
  • Contact: LI Wen-Huai ORCID:0000-0002-1113-2020 (wenhuai.li@imu.edu.cn)
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(32071883);Science and Technology Major Project of Nei Mongol(2021ZD0011);China Scholarship Council(202006810005)

摘要:

放牧家畜是调控草原植物多样性的重要因素, 探究不同家畜类型及其放牧行为下植物多样性的响应, 有助于全面理解草原植物多样性维持机制。该研究以内蒙古大学野外实验基地放牧控制实验为平台, 研究了中等放牧强度下不同家畜类型(牛、山羊、绵羊)及其选择性采食和聚集性放牧行为对植物α、β和γ多样性以及群落结构的影响。结果表明: (1)中等强度放牧牛、山羊和绵羊均在一定程度上提高了植物α、β和γ多样性。其中, 牛对植物多样性的提升作用最大且具有显著性。(2) 3种家畜放牧均显著改变了植物群落结构。绵羊的选择性采食导致下层优势物种糙隐子草(Cleistogenes squarrosa)的相对多度显著降低, 使其与牛或山羊放牧导致的群落结构变化趋势相反。(3) 3种家畜具有不同的牧草选择和放牧聚集行为。牛和山羊放牧使上层优势种羊草(Leymus chinensis)和大针茅(Stipa grandis)以及下层优势种糙隐子草地上生物量均显著降低, 而绵羊放牧仅使糙隐子草地上生物量显著降低。此外, 牛的采食空间聚集性显著低于山羊和绵羊。(4)植物多样性随上层或下层优势种地上生物量增加而显著降低或呈下降趋势, 表明放牧家畜能够通过抑制优势种生物量来提高植物多样性。(5)植物多样性随家畜采食空间聚集程度增加而显著降低或表现出下降趋势, 说明较低的放牧聚集性有利于植物多样性的维持。该研究表明, 内蒙古典型草原植物多样性保护和持续管理体系需要同时考虑放牧强度和家畜类型的影响。

关键词: 植物多样性, 物种组成, 选择性采食, 空间聚集性, 家畜轨迹定位

Abstract:

Aims Livestock grazing is one of the most important factors affecting grassland plant diversity. However, the information on the effects of different livestock types and their grazing behaviors on grassland plant diversity and community composition are less available. A better understanding of the changes in plant diversity and community composition in response to the grazing of various livestock types is essential to the management and preservation of grassland biodiversity.

Methods We conducted a grazing experiment in a typical steppe of Nei Mongol to examine the effects of different livestock species (cattle, goat, sheep) and their behaviors (forage selection and grazing aggregation) on plant diversity (i.e., α, β and γ diversity) and community composition.

Important findings Our results showed that: (1) cattle, goat, and sheep grazing all increased plant α, β, and γ diversity at moderate grazing intensity, and the increase was the largest and significant under cattle grazing. (2) Three livestock species all changed community structure; sheep grazing reduced the relative abundance of dominant short grass Cleistogenes squarrosa, which is in contrary to the changes in community structure induced by cattle and goat grazing. (3) Cattle and goat grazing significantly reduced the aboveground biomass of dominant species, including tall grasses Leymus chinensis and Stipa grandis and short grass C. squarrosa, while sheep grazing only decreased that of short grass C. squarrosa. Cattle grazing also had a lower spatial aggregation than that of goat and sheep. (4) Plant diversity decreased with the increase of the aboveground biomass of either tall or short dominant species, indicating that livestock grazing promoted plant species diversity by reducing plant aboveground biomass of dominant species. (5) Plant diversity decreased with the increase in spatial aggregation of livestock grazing, indicating a lower aggregation benefiting plant diversity maintenance. Overall, our study suggests that grazing animal types should be considered along with grazing intensity in the development of grazing management regime for better conservation and sustainable use of the grassland resources.

Key words: plant diversity, species composition, selective foraging, spatial aggregation, livestock tracking