Stability of alpine meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is considered to be sensitive to climate change. An understanding of the alpine meadow ecosystem is therefore important for predicting the response of ecosystems to climate change. In this study, we use the coefficients of variation (Cv) and stability (E) obtained from the Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station to characterize the ecosystem stability. The results suggest that the net primary production of the alpine meadow ecosystem was more stable (Cv = 13.18%) than annual precipitation (Cv = 16.55%) and annual mean air temperature (Cv= 28.82%). The net primary production was insensitive to either the precipitation (E = 0.0782) or air temperature (E = 0.1113). In summary, the alpine meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is much stable. Comparison of alpine meadow ecosystem stability with other five natural grassland ecosystems in Israel and southern African indicates that the alpine meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is the most stable ecosystem. The alpine meadow ecosystem with relatively simple structure has high stability, which indicates that community stability is not only correlated with biodiversity and community complicity but also with environmental stability. An average oscillation cycles of 3-4 years existed in annual precipitation, annual mean air temperature, net primary production and the population size of consumers at the Haibei natural ecosystem. The high stability of the alpine meadow ecosystem may be resulting also from the adaptation of the ecosystem to the alpine environment.

Seasonal changes in weight and body composition of yak grazing on alpine-meadow grassland in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau of China

Forty-five male yaks (born April 2001) were studied to determine how seasonal changes on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau affected BW and body composition. Thirty yaks were weighed monthly from birth to 26 mo of age to determine seasonal changes in BW. The remaining 15 yaks were allocated randomly to five groups (three yaks per group), designated for slaughter at 13, 15, 18, 22, and 25 mo to measure seasonal effects on body chemical composition. All yaks were grazed on the alpine-meadow grassland of the plateau without any supplementation. All BW and body composition data were calculated on an individual basis. Body weight and body composition data were both compared across seven growth periods spanning 2 yr and defined by season. From April (birth) to December 2001 of the first growing season, yak BW increased (P < 0.01); however, during the subsequent cold season (December 2001 to May 2002), BW decreased (P < 0.01). The second growing season ran from May 2002 (13 mo of age) to October 2002 (18 mo of age), and the second live weight-loss season ran from October 2002 until May 2003. The weight loss experienced by yaks during the first weight loss season was 25.64% of the total weight gain in the first growing season. The weight loss experienced by yaks during the second weight-loss season was 29.73% of the total weight gain in the second growing season. Energy retention in the second growing season was 291.07 MJ, 50.8% of which was consumed during the subsequent cold season. Energy accumulation in the summer (from May to July) and fall (from July to October) of the second growing season did not differ (5.01 and 6.30 MJ/kg of EBW gain, respectively; P = 0.63). The energy mobilized during the second winter (from October 2002 to February 2003) was 16.49 MJ/kg of EBW, and in the second spring (from February to May 2003), it was 9.06 MJ/kg of EBW. These data suggest that the decrease in grazing yak BW during the first cold season is much less than during the second cold season, and that the energy content per unit of BW mobilized is greater (P = 0.02) in winter than in spring. Results from this study demonstrate highly efficient compensatory growth in grazing yaks following the first weight loss period during the first cold season. This benefit could be exploited by herders to improve yak production. Yaks may have developed a type of self-protection mechanism to overcome the long cold seasons in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.

A stable carbon isotopic approach for understanding the CO2 flux at the Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem - A simple model

Although respiration of organisms and biomass as well as fossil fuel burning industrial production are identified as the major sources, the CO2 flux is still unclear due to the lack of proper measurements. A mass-balance approach that exploits differences in the carbon isotopic signature (delta(13)C) of CO2 Sources and sinks was introduced and may provide a means of reducing uncertainties in the atmospheric budget. delta(13)C measurements of atmospheric CO2 yielded an average of - 10.3 parts per thousand relative to the Peedee Belemnite standard; soil and plants had a narrow range from -25.09 parts per thousand to -26.51 parts per thousand and averaged at -25.80 parts per thousand. Based on the fact of steady fractionation and enrichment during respiration of mitochondria, we obtained the emission Of CO2 of 35.451 mol m(-2) a(-1) and CO2 flux of 0.2149 mu mol m(-2) s(-)1. The positive CO2 flux indicated the Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem a source rather than a sink. The mass-balance model can be applied for other ecosystem even global carbon cycles because it neglects the complicated process of carbon metabolism, however just focuses on stable carbon isotopic compositions in any of compartments of carbon sources and sinks. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling trophic positions of the alpine meadow ecosystem combining stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of single tissues or whole bodies were analyzed to establish trophic positions of main consumers living at the alpine meadow ecosystem in the Tibetan Plateau. The results demonstrated that delta C-13 and delta N-15 values of vertebrates showed great variations and ranged from -26.83 to -22.51 parts per thousand and from 2.33 to 8.44 parts per thousand, respectively. Plateau pika, root vole, plateau hare, infants of rodents and hatchlings of passerine bird species had the lowest delta C-13 and delta N-15 values. delta C-13 and delta N-15 values of omnivorous and insectivorous birds and amphibians showed intermediate. Carnivorous species, steppe polecat and Upland buzzard, and omnivorous Robin accentor and White wagtail possessed extremely higher VC and delta N-15 values. Omnivorous birds captured in earlier year had significantly less negative delta C-13 and greater delta N-15 values than those captured later. Based on steady angular enrichment between trophic levels, an "alpha and vector model" combing delta C-13 and delta N-15 values was introduced to reveal trophic positions, the results indicated that Tibetan sheep, Tibetan yak, plateau pika, root vole, plateau hare, infants of small rodents showed the lowest trophic positions (TP 1.81-2.38). While omnivorous and insectivorous birds, their hatchlings and amphibians showed intermediate trophic positions (TP 2.06-2.89), carnivorous species steppe polecat and Upland buzzard, migrant birds possessed extremely higher trophic positions (TP 2.89-3.05). The isotopic investigation of organisms and the introduced "alpha and vector model" successfully demonstrated the same trophic positions and diet prediction of consumers as nitrogen enrichment model at the alpine meadow ecosystem. Besides of this information, the "alpha and vector model" can also be incorporated into multiple isotope signatures to infer trophic relationships. This angular enrichment model has the potential to address basic ecological questions, such as trophic structure, trophic dynamics, and energy flow in other terrestrial ecosystems of properly handled. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stable carbon isotope analyses show dominance of C3 grasses in the feed selected by small herbivores at the alpine meadow at the Tibetan Plateau

Muscle samples were collected from small herbivorous mammals (Ochotona curzoniae, Microtus oecnomus, Myospalax fontanierii and Lepus oiostolus) at the alpine meadow ecosystem at the Tibetan Plateau in order to address variability in stable carbon isotope composition. Stable carbon isotope values of muscles remain steady and show no significant variations (-25.72 to -27.04 parts per thousand) among the four small mammal species. Based on the mass balance theory of stable isotopes, it is proposed that small herbivorous mammals mainly (or totally) rely on C3 grasses as food supply, and there is few or no distribution of C4 grasses at the ecosystem. The results reflect our previous study on the isotope patterns of plant species. Thus, stable carbon isotope analysis of muscles provides a method to address dietary selection and dietary variability in herbivores. In addition, stable carbon isotopic analyses can be used to address changes in vegetation distributions in ecosystem and paleovegetaion and paleoclimate.

Effect of burrowing activity of root vole (Microtus oeconomus Pallas) on plant diversity in alpine meadow

Herbivory and burrowing activity of mammals may influence the species composition and diversity of plant communities. The effect of corridors and holes systems constructed by root vole (Microtus oeconomus Pallas) on the plant species diversity was studied in the habitat of high - mountain meadow (3250 in a.s.l in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China). By using grid method, these disturbances were studied on 16 plots (100 cm x 100 cm) distributed in 4 transects in studied area, in August 2000 and 2001. The disturbance intensity index, D, was calculated as the percent of the ground surface disturbed by voles in the study area. Plant species were identified and counted on the same plots. In total 46 plant species were identified - 39% of this number was considered as sensitive to the vole disturbances as their occurrence and/or abundance decreased along the disturbance intensity. Generally, a significantly negative correlation (r = - 0.911 P < 0.01) between vole aboveground disturbances and plant species diversity (H') was found. The results suggest that root vole ground disturbances, especially in the form of actively utilized holes and corridors have significantly negative influence on plant species diversity in high-mountain grassland habitat.

Local warming about 1.3 degrees C in alpine meadow has no effect on root vole (Microtus oeconomus L.) population during winter

The influence of air and soil warming on root vole (Microtus oeconomus L.) population was studied in winter period in top open chambers (OTC) (0.8-1.8 m(2) warmed by conical fiberglass material and situated in alpine meadow (3250 m) at Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. The OTCs were distributed on an area of 30 x 30 m of experimental warming site; another site of the same area was a control one. The root vole population was investigated on two pairs of sites in "low-grazing" and "high-grazing" (by sheep) parts of the meadow; mark-recapture method was used. The winter-season averaged air and soil temperature inside of the chambers were 1.3 degrees C higher than the temperature outside the chambers. The warming in the chambers had no statistically significant effect on root vole numbers, on average body mass of individual, and on average body mass of males and females. In conclusion, as small as 1.3 degrees C warming of soil and air introduced locally and on small (several m(2)) scale, in the alpine meadow habitat in winter period, has possibly no effect on root vole numbers and biomass.

Observation and modeling for terrestrial processes in alpine meadow

The water-heat transfer process between land and atmosphere in Haibei alpine meadow area has been systematically observed. A multi-layer coupling model for land-atmosphere interaction was presented with special attention paid to the moisture transfer in leaf stomata under unsaturated condition. A profound investigation on the physical process of turbulent transfer inside the vegetation has been performed with a revised formula of water absorption for root system. The present model facilitates the study of vertically distributed physical variables in detail. Numerical simulation was conducted according to the transfer process of Kinesia humility meadow in the area of Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Station, CAS. The calculated results agree well with observation.

Seasonal patterns of gross primary production and ecosystem respiration in an alpine meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

We measured the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) in an alpine meadow ecosystem (latitude 37degrees29'-45'N, longitude 101degrees12'-23'E, 3250 m above sea level) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau throughout 2002 by the eddy covariance method to examine the carbon dynamics and budget on this unique plateau. Diurnal changes in gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (R-e) showed that an afternoon increase of NEE was highly associated with an increase of R-e. Seasonal changes in GPP corresponded well to changes in the leaf area index and daily photosynthetic photon flux density. The ratio of GPP/R-e was high and reached about 2.0 during the peak growing season, which indicates that mainly autotrophic respiration controlled the carbon dynamics of the ecosystem. Seasonal changes in mean GPP and R-e showed compensatory behavior as reported for temperate and Mediterranean ecosystems, but those of GPP(max) and R-emax were poorly synchronized. The alpine ecosystem exhibited lower GPP (575 g C m(-2) y(-1)) than, but net ecosystem production (78.5 g C m(-2) y(-1)) similar to, that of subalpine forest ecosystems. The results suggest that the alpine meadow behaved as a CO2 sink during the 1-year measurement period but apparently sequestered a rather small amount of C in comparison with similar alpine ecosystems.

Carbon dioxide exchange between the atmosphere and an alpine meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

We used the eddy covariance method to measure the M exchange between the atmosphere and an alpine meadow ecosystem (37degrees29-45'N, 101degrees12-23'E, 3250m a.s.l.) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China in the 2001 and 2002 growing seasons. The maximum rates Of CO2 uptake and release derived from the diurnal course Of CO2 flux (FCO2) were -10.8 and 4.4 mumol m(-2) s(-1), respectively, indicating a relatively high net carbon sequestration potential as compared to subalpine coniferous forest at similar elevation and latitude. The largest daily CO2 uptake was 3.9 g cm(-2) per day on 7 July 2002, which is less than half of those reported for lowland grassland and forest at similar latitudes. The daily CO2 uptake during the measurement period indicated that the alpine ecosystem might behave as a sink of atmospheric M during the growing season if the carbon lost due to grazing is not significant. The daytime CO2 uptake was linearly correlated with the daily photosynthetic photon flux density each month. The nighttime averaged F-CO2 showed a positive exponential correlation with the soil temperature, but apparently negative correlation with the soil water content. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The impact of plateau zokor Myospalax fontanierii burrows on alpine meadow vegetation on the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) plateau

The impact of burrows constructed by plateau zokors Myospalax fontanierii (Milne-Edwards, 1867) on alpine meadow vegetation on the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) plateau was investigated. Plant samples taken from quadrats directly over active zokor burrows, back-filled burrows, adjacent burrow controls, and random sites from a field, in which no burrows or mounds occurred were compared. The biomass of plants (below- and above-ground) directly over shallow active burrows was significantly lower than on control plots. This reduction in biomass was not significantly different than that between deep active burrows and control plots. There were no significant differences between above- and below-ground plant biomass on areas perpendicular to active burrows when compared to random sites. Back-filling soil in burrows could promote the growth of above-ground monocotyledonous plants. However, the burrowing activities of zokors had a negative effect on biomass of dicotyledonous plants.

Grazing intensity alters soil respiration in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan plateau

Grazing intensity may alter the soil respiration rate in grassland ecosystems. The objectives of our study were to (1) determine the influence of grazing intensity on temporal variations in soil respiration of an alpine meadow on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau; and (2) characterise, the temperature response of soil respiration under different grazing intensities. Diurnal and seasonal soil respiration rates were measured for two alpine meadow sites with different grazing intensities. The light grazing (LG) meadow site had a grazing intensity of 2.55 sheep ha(-1), while the grazing intensity of the heavy grazing (HG) meadow site, 5.35 sheep ha(-1), was approximately twice that of the LG site. Soil respiration measurements - showed that CO2 efflux was almost twice as great at the LG site as at the HG site during the growing season, but the diurnal and seasonal patterns of soil respiration rate were similar for the two sites. Both exhibited the highest annual soil respiration rate in mid-August and the lowest in January. Soil respiration rate was highly dependent on soil temperature. The Q(10) value for annual soil respiration was lower for the HG site (2.75) than for the LG site (3.22). Estimates of net ecosystem CO2 exchange from monthly measurements of biomass and soil respiration revealed that during the period from May 1998 to April 1999, the LG site released 2040 g CO2 m(-2) y(-1) to the atmosphere, which was about one third more than the 1530g CO2 m(-2) y(-1) released at the HG site. The results suggest that (1) grazing intensity alters not only soil respiration rate, but also the temperature dependence of soil CO2 efflux; and (2) soil temperature is the major environmental factor controlling the temporal variation of soil respiration rate in the alpine meadow ecosystem. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All fights reserved.

Short-term variation of CO2 flux in relation to environmental controls in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

[1] The alpine meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau may play a significant role in the regional carbon cycle. To assess the CO2 flux and its relationship to environmental controls in the ecosystem, eddy covariance of CO2, H2O, and energy fluxes was measured with an open-path system in an alpine meadow on the plateau at an elevation of 3,250 m. Net ecosystem CO2 influx (Fc) averaged 8.8 g m(-2) day(-1) during the period from August 9 to 31, 2001, with a maximum of 15.9 g m(-2) day(-1) and a minimum of 2.3 g m(-2) day(-1). Daytime Fc averaged 16.7 g m(-2) day(-1) and ranged from 10.4 g m(-2) day(-1) to 21.7 g m(-2) day(-1) during the study period. For the same photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), gross CO2 uptake (Gc) was significantly higher on cloudy days than on clear days. However, mean daily Gc was higher on clear days than on cloudy days. With high PPFD, Fc decreased as air temperature increased from 10degreesC to 23degreesC. The greater the difference between daytime and nighttime air temperatures, the more the sink was strengthened. Daytime average water use efficiency of the ecosystem (WUEe) was 8.7 mg (CO2)(g H2O)(-1); WUEe values ranged from 5.8 to 15.3 mg (CO2)(g H2O)(-1). WUEe increased with the decrease in vapor pressure deficit. Daily albedo averaged 0.20, ranging from 0.19 to 0.22 during the study period, and was negatively correlated with daily Fc. Our measurements provided some of the first evidence on CO2 exchange for a temperate alpine meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which is necessary for assessing the carbon budget and carbon cycle processes for temperate grassland ecosystems.

Burrowing rodents as ecosystem engineers: the ecology and management of plateau zokors Myospalax fontanierii in alpine meadow ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau

1. Plateau zokors, Myospalax fontanierii, are the only subterranean herbivores on the Tibetan plateau of China. Although the population biology of plateau zokors has been studied for many years, the interactions between zokors and plants, especially for the maintenance and structure of ecological communities, have been poorly recognized. In the past, plateau zokors have been traditionally viewed as pests, competitors with cattle, and agents of soil erosion, thus eradication programmes have been carried out by local governments and farmers. Zokors are also widely and heavily exploited for their use in traditional Chinese medicine.2. Like other fossorial animals, such as pocket gophers Geomys spp. and prairie dogs Cynomys spp. in similar ecosystems, zokors may act to increase local environmental heterogeneity at the landscape level, aid in the formation, aeration and mixing of soil, and enhance infiltration of water into the soil thus curtailing erosion. The changes that zokors cause in the physical environment, vegetation and soil clearly affect the herbivore food web. Equally, plateau zokors also provide a significant food source for many avian and mammalian predators on the plateau. Zokor control leading to depletion of prey and secondary poisoning may therefore present problems for populations of numerous other animals.3. We highlight the important role plateau zokors play in the Tibetan plateau ecosystem. Plateau zokors should be managed in concert with other comprehensive rangeland treatments to ensure the ecological equilibrium and preservation of native biodiversity, as well as the long-term sustainable use of pastureland by domestic livestock.

Effects of plateau zokors (Myospalax Fontanierii) on plant community and soil in an alpine meadow

Effects of plateau zokors (Myospalax fontanierii) on seasonal above- and belowground plant biomass, plant species diversity, and soil moisture and organic matter were examined at an alpine meadow site in Qinghai Province, People's Republic of China. Above- and belowground biomass increased significantly in areas where zokors were removed or burrow systems were abandoned for 5 years compared with areas that zokors had occupied for >10 years. Biomass of monocotyledons was reduced greatly, but biomass of nonpalatable dicotyledons increased significantly, in occupied areas. Diversity of dicotyledons, monocotyledons, and total plants in unoccupied areas was significantly greater than in occupied or abandoned areas. Vegetation cover and height in occupied areas were significantly less than in unoccupied and abandoned areas. No consistent effect by zokors on soil moisture and organic matter was observed.