Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2026, Vol. 50 ›› Issue (4): 859-869.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2025.0119  cstr: 32100.14.cjpe.2025.0119

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Interactions between shrub encroachment and nitrogen addition on nematode community and functional traits on Qingzang Plateau

ZHANG An-Ning1, XIAO Ya-Ning2, ZHAO Xia2, ZHANG Miao1, CUI Han-Wen2, CHEN Shu-Yan1,*(), AN Li-Zhe1,3,*()   

  1. 1 School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
    2 College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
    3 State Key Laboratory of Efficient Production of Forest Resources, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2025-04-02 Accepted:2025-09-09 Online:2026-04-20 Published:2026-06-25
  • Contact: CHEN Shu-Yan, AN Li-Zhe
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(41830321);National Natural Science Foundation of China(32471559);National Natural Science Foundation of China(32460262);National Natural Science Foundation of China(325B2066);Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province(24JRRA433);Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province(25JRRE015)

Abstract:

Aims Nematodes are a key component of belowground communities that maintain ecosystem structure and function. Global environmental changes, such as shrub encroachment and nitrogen deposition, have become key drivers of changes in belowground community structure and function. While multiple environmental factors may jointly influence biodiversity, the interactive effects of shrub encroachment and nitrogen deposition on soil nematode functional diversity remain poorly understood.

Methods In this study, we conducted a controlled experiment involving shrub removal and nitrogen addition on the eastern edge of Qingzang Plateau. We used the kernel density N-dimensional hypervolumes method to calculate nematode functional diversity and explore the response of nematodes to shrubs, nitrogen deposition, and their interactions.

Important findings Shrubs significantly increased nematode taxonomic diversity and altered their community composition, but these effects were less affected by nitrogen addition. Shrubs significantly increased nematode functional diversity, while nitrogen addition mitigated this positive effect. Shrubs altered the abundance proportion of nematodes with different diets, significantly increasing the proportion of herbivorous, bacterivorous, and fungivorous nematodes, but significantly decreasing the proportion of predatory nematodes. Moreover, nitrogen addition exacerbated the positive effects of shrub on lower trophic level nematodes and the negative effects on higher trophic level nematodes. Correlation and redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that plant biomass and soil moisture were key factors driving nematode community composition and functional traits. Our findings suggest that under future nitrogen deposition and shrub encroachment, nematode functional diversity will become more homogenized.

Key words: soil nematode, functional diversity, functional trait, shrub effect, nitrogen addition, Qingzang Plateau