The importance of functional diversity in regulating forage biomass and nutrition: evidence from mowing in semi-arid grasslands

Mowing removes plant photosynthetic organs, thus decreasing plant biomass and nutrients in the community. Responses of community functional diversity, biomass, and nutrient status to mowing play a crucial role in the restoration and sustainable use of degraded grasslands, but have not been well stud...

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Autores principales: Zhao, Tianqi, Zhang, Feng, Suo, Rongzhen, Zhen, Jiahua, Qiao, Jirong, Zhao, Mengli, Bai, Keyu, Zhang, Bin
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119849
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author Zhao, Tianqi
Zhang, Feng
Suo, Rongzhen
Zhen, Jiahua
Qiao, Jirong
Zhao, Mengli
Bai, Keyu
Zhang, Bin
author_browse Bai, Keyu
Qiao, Jirong
Suo, Rongzhen
Zhang, Bin
Zhang, Feng
Zhao, Mengli
Zhao, Tianqi
Zhen, Jiahua
author_facet Zhao, Tianqi
Zhang, Feng
Suo, Rongzhen
Zhen, Jiahua
Qiao, Jirong
Zhao, Mengli
Bai, Keyu
Zhang, Bin
author_sort Zhao, Tianqi
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Mowing removes plant photosynthetic organs, thus decreasing plant biomass and nutrients in the community. Responses of community functional diversity, biomass, and nutrient status to mowing play a crucial role in the restoration and sustainable use of degraded grasslands, but have not been well studied. Our study linked functional diversity with forage biomass and nutrition in a semiarid grassland. We found that annual mowing reduced community biomass, in particular significantly reduced the dominant plants biomass, which was maintained with biennial mowing. In addition, this study showed that functional diversity could be maintained at a high level under biennial mowing compared to unmowed, but significantly decreased under annual mowing. Structural equation modeling indicated that annual mowing reduced dominant plants biomass by reducing community functional diversity. Mowing decreased dominant plants nutrients by decreasing community functional diversity and soil nutrients, but had no significant effect on nutrients of community and nondominant plants. Furthermore, there was a strong positive correlation between community functional diversity with forage production and nutrition. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that biennial mowing increases community biomass, litter mass, and dominant plant nutrition by regulating functional diversity. Therefore, biennial mowing can provide better conservation of grassland ecosystems and is a suitable grassland management practice in semiarid grasslands.
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spelling CGSpace1198492025-11-11T17:46:58Z The importance of functional diversity in regulating forage biomass and nutrition: evidence from mowing in semi-arid grasslands Zhao, Tianqi Zhang, Feng Suo, Rongzhen Zhen, Jiahua Qiao, Jirong Zhao, Mengli Bai, Keyu Zhang, Bin biomass production mowing plant nutrition diversification semiarid zones producción de biomasa siega nutrición de las plantas Mowing removes plant photosynthetic organs, thus decreasing plant biomass and nutrients in the community. Responses of community functional diversity, biomass, and nutrient status to mowing play a crucial role in the restoration and sustainable use of degraded grasslands, but have not been well studied. Our study linked functional diversity with forage biomass and nutrition in a semiarid grassland. We found that annual mowing reduced community biomass, in particular significantly reduced the dominant plants biomass, which was maintained with biennial mowing. In addition, this study showed that functional diversity could be maintained at a high level under biennial mowing compared to unmowed, but significantly decreased under annual mowing. Structural equation modeling indicated that annual mowing reduced dominant plants biomass by reducing community functional diversity. Mowing decreased dominant plants nutrients by decreasing community functional diversity and soil nutrients, but had no significant effect on nutrients of community and nondominant plants. Furthermore, there was a strong positive correlation between community functional diversity with forage production and nutrition. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that biennial mowing increases community biomass, litter mass, and dominant plant nutrition by regulating functional diversity. Therefore, biennial mowing can provide better conservation of grassland ecosystems and is a suitable grassland management practice in semiarid grasslands. 2023-02 2022-06-15T09:56:18Z 2022-06-15T09:56:18Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119849 en Open Access application/pdf Wiley Zhao, T.; Zhang, F.; Suo, R.; Zhen, J.; Qiao, J.; Zhao, M.; Bai, K.; Zhang, B. (2022) The importance of functional diversity in regulating forage biomass and nutrition: evidence from mowing in semi-arid grasslands. Restoration Ecology, Online first paper (30 May 2022). ISSN: 1526-100X
spellingShingle biomass production
mowing
plant nutrition
diversification
semiarid zones
producción de biomasa
siega
nutrición de las plantas
Zhao, Tianqi
Zhang, Feng
Suo, Rongzhen
Zhen, Jiahua
Qiao, Jirong
Zhao, Mengli
Bai, Keyu
Zhang, Bin
The importance of functional diversity in regulating forage biomass and nutrition: evidence from mowing in semi-arid grasslands
title The importance of functional diversity in regulating forage biomass and nutrition: evidence from mowing in semi-arid grasslands
title_full The importance of functional diversity in regulating forage biomass and nutrition: evidence from mowing in semi-arid grasslands
title_fullStr The importance of functional diversity in regulating forage biomass and nutrition: evidence from mowing in semi-arid grasslands
title_full_unstemmed The importance of functional diversity in regulating forage biomass and nutrition: evidence from mowing in semi-arid grasslands
title_short The importance of functional diversity in regulating forage biomass and nutrition: evidence from mowing in semi-arid grasslands
title_sort importance of functional diversity in regulating forage biomass and nutrition evidence from mowing in semi arid grasslands
topic biomass production
mowing
plant nutrition
diversification
semiarid zones
producción de biomasa
siega
nutrición de las plantas
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119849
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