Plant functional types and climate along a precipitation gradient in temperate grasslands, north-east China and south-east Mongolia

Abstract Using data from three field surveys along a precipitation gradient of temperate grasslands in north-east China (the Northeast China Transect, NECT) and south-east Mongolia, the spatial distribution of six plant functional types (PFTs): C 3 species, C 4 species, grasses, shrubs, forbs and succulents and their relationships with climate were analysed. The spatial distribution of different PFTs varies in different regions and in different grassland types of the study area. The species richness in each PFT also has different relationships with climate (significantly or not). Generally, the number of C 3 species, C 4 species, grasses and forbs have positive relationships with precipitation and aridity. Shrubs have negative relationship with precipitation and aridity. Succulents were found to have no relationship with precipitation and aridity. Shrubs, grasses and forbs have stronger relationships with precipitation than C 3 and C 4 species. The relationships between C 3 species, forbs and aridity are more significant than with precipitation. On a regional basis, the combined effect of precipitation and temperature, the aridity, is more significantly correlated with the distribution of C 3 species and forbs, which are more dominant in the study area, than with C 4 species, grasses and succulents.

[1]  J. Ni,et al.  Climate variability, ecological gradient and the Northeast China Transect (NECT) , 2000 .

[2]  Wolfgang Cramer,et al.  Plant functional types and disturbance dynamics – Introduction , 1999 .

[3]  J. Paruelo,et al.  Relative Abundance of Plant Functional Types in Grasslands and Shrublands of North America , 1996 .

[4]  Thomas M. Smith,et al.  Plant functional types : their relevance to ecosystem properties and global change , 1998 .

[5]  Sandra Díaz,et al.  Plant functional traits and environmental filters at a regional scale , 1998 .

[6]  W. Cramer,et al.  A global biome model based on plant physiology and dominance, soil properties and climate , 1992 .

[7]  Lili Xia.  Modelling the Response of Vegetation in North-East China Transect to Global Change , 1995 .

[8]  Will Steffen,et al.  The terrestrial Biosphere and global change: implications for natural and managed ecosystems. Synthesis volume. , 1997 .

[9]  Q. Gao,et al.  A model of regional vegetation dynamics and its application to the study of Northeast China Transect (NECT) responses to global change , 1998 .

[10]  A. Kinzig,et al.  Original Articles: Plant Attribute Diversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Function: The Nature and Significance of Dominant and Minor Species , 1999, Ecosystems.

[11]  Mark Westoby,et al.  A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecology strategy scheme , 1998, Plant and Soil.

[12]  Elgene O. Box,et al.  Plant functional types and climate at the global scale , 1996 .

[13]  S. Díaz,et al.  Plant functional types and ecosystem function in relation to global change , 1997 .

[14]  Thomas M. Smith,et al.  Plant Functional Types , 1993 .

[15]  E. D. Martonne.  Regions of Interior-Basin Drainage , 1927 .

[16]  V. Pyankov,et al.  C4 plants in the vegetation of Mongolia: their natural occurrence and geographical distribution in relation to climate , 2000, Oecologia.

[17]  F. Stuart Chapin,et al.  16 – Functional Role of Growth Forms in Ecosystem and Global Processes , 1993 .

[18]  Will Steffen,et al.  The IGBP terrestrial transects , 1998 .

[19]  H. Shugart,et al.  Vegetation Dynamics and Global Change , 1993 .

[20]  O. Sala,et al.  Ecosystem responses to changes in plant functional type composition: An example from the Patagonian steppe , 1996 .

[21]  Haiping Tang.  Distribution of C4 plants along the Northeast China transect and its correlation to the environmental factors , 1999 .

[22]  Wolfgang Cramer,et al.  Plant functional types and climatic change: Introduction , 1996 .

[23]  A. I. Breymeyer,et al.  Global change: effects on coniferous forests and grasslands. , 1996 .

[24]  Valério D. Pillar,et al.  On the identification of optimal plant functional types , 1999 .

[25]  M. Kent,et al.  Plant functional types: an alternative to taxonomic plant community description in biogeography? , 2000 .

[26]  Xin-shi Zhang,et al.  Response of photosynthesis of different plant functional types to environmental changes along Northeast China Transect , 1999, Trees.