Relationship of ecosystem primary productivity to species diversity and functional group diversity: evidence from Stipa breviflora grassland in Nei Mongol

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1258.2013.00064

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has been a central issue in ecology. However, this relationship is poorly understood for the Stipa breviflora grassland, which is a major community type of desert steppe in Nei Mongol. With unpredictably fluctuating climate conditions, these desert steppe ecosystems are fragile and provide a unique opportunity to test our current understanding of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This study has two objectives: (1) to examine if species diversity and functional group diversity affect ecosystem primary productivity in the desert steppe of Nei Mongol and (2) to explore how resource supply levels affect the relationship between diversity and productivity.
Methods Based on life forms, species were classified into five functional groups: shrub and semishrub, perennial bunchgrass, perennial rhizome grass, perennial forb, and annual and biennial. Species richness and functional group richness were used to represent species diversity and functional group diversity, respectively. Based on the dryness coefficient, 202 sites across the S. breviflora grassland in Nei Mongol were sampled, and divided into two resource supply levels: arid and semiarid zones. In order to tease out the effect of precipitation, partial regression analysis and partial correlation analysis were used for exploring the relationship of ecosystem primary productivity to species richness and functional group richness, respectively. According to the determination coefficient of regression analysis, the effect of resource supply levels on the diversity-productivity relationship was evaluated.
Important findings Species richness and ecosystem primary productivity were both positively and linearly correlated with precipitation, but no significant correlation was found between functional group richness and precipitation. Ecosystem primary productivity increased significantly with species richness, but not with functional group richness. Resource supply levels could affect the diversity-productivity relationship in that plant species diversity generally had a weaker effect on ecosystem primary productivity at the lower resource supply level and a stronger effect at the higher resource supply level.

Key words: functional group richness, productivity, resource supply, species richness

MA Wen-Jing,ZHANG Qing,NIU Jian-Ming,KANG Sarula,LIU Peng-Tao,HE Xin,YANG Yan,ZHANG Yan-Nan,WU Jian-Guo. Relationship of ecosystem primary productivity to species diversity and functional group diversity: evidence from Stipa breviflora grassland in Nei Mongol[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2013, 37(7): 620-630.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1258.2013.00064

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2013/V37/I7/620

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1 Distribution of sites.

Fig. 2 Relationships between annual precipitation and species richness, functional group richness, and productivity.

Table 1 Relationships between species richness, functional group richness and productivity

尺度 Scale	相关分析 Correlation	研究区 Study zone	半干旱区 Semiarid zone	干旱区 Arid zone
物种丰富度 Species richness	p_偏相关 p_partial	0.000	0.001	0.016
物种丰富度 Species richness	R²_偏相关 R²_partial	0.078	0.085	0.076
功能群丰富度 Functional group richness	p_偏相关 p_partial	0.376	0.227	0.693
功能群丰富度 Functional group richness	R²_偏相关 R²_partial	0.004	0.012	0.002

Fig. 3 Relationships between species richness, functional group richness and productivity. A, Study zone. B, Semiarid zone. C, Arid zone.

Fig. 4 Contribution of species richness and functional group richness to productivity.

Fig. 5 Impact of resource supply on relationships between diversity and productivity.

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