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Effects of environmental factors on the distribution of plant communities in a semi-arid region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Against the background of global climate warming, the relationship between plant communities in high-cold ecosystems and environmental gradients has attracted much attention. We investigated the relationship between the distribution of plant communities and environmental factors in a semi-arid region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. We analyzed the effects of environmental factors on the distribution of plant communities using two-way indicator species analysis and canonical correspondence analysis. The most important factor explaining the distribution of plant communities was the depth of the active layer of permafrost (denoted as PF), followed by soil water content at 40-cm soil depth. There was a strong correlation between these two factors. With changes in the PF, the dominant species in plant communities showed an obvious transition. The indices of species richness and species diversity decreased markedly with increasing PF, whereas biomass and vegetation coverage showed weaker responses to changes in the PF. The distribution structure for plant communities in this area mainly results from changes in the PF. Furthermore, the PF has remarkable and important effects on the characteristics of the plant community.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the “Global Change Research Program of China” (Grant No. 2010CB951404); the “Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences” (Grant No. KZCX2-YW-QN310); the “National Natural Science Foundation of China” (Grant No. 10947110, No. 11005052, No. 41030527 and No. 41130368); and the “Strategic Priority Research Program-Climate Change: Carbon Budget and Related Issues” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA05050306-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China

    Zeng-Ru Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China

    Zeng-Ru Wang, Guo-Jing Yang, Shu-Hua Yi, Sheng-Yun Chen, Zhen Wu, Chuan-Cheng Zhao, Qiu-Dong Zhao & Bai-Sheng Ye

  3. Institute of Computational Physics and Complex Systems, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China

    Jian-Yue Guan

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  1. Zeng-Ru Wang
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Correspondence to Zeng-Ru Wang.

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Wang, ZR., Yang, GJ., Yi, SH. et al. Effects of environmental factors on the distribution of plant communities in a semi-arid region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Ecol Res 27, 667–675 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-012-0951-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-012-0951-7

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