青藏高原高寒草甸夏季植被特征及对模拟增温的短期响应

以青藏高原高寒草甸为研究对象,研究了草甸植被夏季生长动态特征;同时采用红外辐射器模拟增温的方法,探讨了草甸植被对增温的短期(1a)响应.结果表明:(1)高寒草甸夏季植被高度与地下生物量、总生物量相关性不显著,盖度与二者相关性极显著;高度对地上生物量影响较大(R=0.892,P＜0.01),盖度对地下生物量(R=0.883,P＜0.01)和总生物量(R=0.888,P＜0.01)影响较大.(2)高寒草甸夏季植被地上部分和地下部分表现出不同的生长模式,地上部分近似等速生长(幂指数为1.011),地下部分则表现为异速生长(幂指数为0.459),但整体呈现异速生长(幂指数为0.473).(3)高寒草甸夏季植被地上生物量(P＜0.05)在6月份较地下生物量(P＞0.05)对环境更为敏感,且一年之后地上-地下生物量均呈减小趋势,这与空气温度、土壤温度和土壤水分的显著减小密切相关.(4)红外辐射器在高寒草甸的增温度效果较好,空气、地表、土壤温度都随增温幅度增强而增加;短期增温对高寒植被有正效应(T0-T1),而温度持续升高则对植被产生负效应(T1-T2);各植被指标的方差分析都未达到显著水平,表明短期增温对该植被影响不显著.     

Strong impacts of daily minimum temperature on the green‐up date and summer greenness of the Tibetan Plateau

Understanding vegetation responses to climate change on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) helps in elucidating the land–atmosphere energy exchange, which affects air mass movement over and around the TP. Although the TP is one of the world's most sensitive regions in terms of climatic warming, little is known about how the vegetation responds. Here, we focus on how spring phenology and summertime greenness respond to the asymmetric warming, that is, stronger warming during nighttime than during daytime. Using both in situ and satellite observations, we found that vegetation green‐up date showed a stronger negative partial correlation with daily minimum temperature (T_min) than with maximum temperature (T_max) before the growing season (‘preseason’ henceforth). Summer vegetation greenness was strongly positively correlated with summer T_min, but negatively with T_max. A 1‐K increase in preseason T_min advanced green‐up date by 4 days (P < 0.05) and in summer enhanced greenness by 3.6% relative to the mean greenness during 2000–2004 (P < 0.01). In contrast, increases in preseason T_max did not advance green‐up date (P > 0.10) and higher summer T_max even reduced greenness by 2.6% K^?1 (P < 0.05). The stimulating effects of increasing T_min were likely caused by reduced low temperature constraints, and the apparent negative effects of higher T_max on greenness were probably due to the accompanying decline in water availability. The dominant enhancing effect of nighttime warming indicates that climatic warming will probably have stronger impact on TP ecosystems than on apparently similar Arctic ecosystems where vegetation is controlled mainly by T_max. Our results are crucial for future improvements of dynamic vegetation models embedded in the Earth System Models which are being used to describe the behavior of the Asian monsoon. The results are significant because the state of the vegetation on the TP plays an important role in steering the monsoon.     

Different responses of ecosystem carbon exchange to warming in three types of alpine grassland on the central Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Climate is a driver of terrestrial ecosystem carbon exchange, which is an important product of ecosystem function. The Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau has recently been subjected to a marked increase in temperature as a consequence of global warming. To explore the effects of warming on carbon exchange in grassland ecosystems, we conducted a whole‐year warming experiment between 2012 and 2014 using open‐top chambers placed in an alpine meadow, an alpine steppe, and a cultivated grassland on the central Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. We measured the gross primary productivity, net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration, and soil respiration using a chamber‐based method during the growing season. The results show that after 3 years of warming, there was significant stimulation of carbon assimilation and emission in the alpine meadow, but both these processes declined in the alpine steppe and the cultivated grassland. Under warming conditions, the soil water content was more important in stimulating ecosystem carbon exchange in the meadow and cultivated grassland than was soil temperature. In the steppe, the soil temperature was negatively correlated with ecosystem carbon exchange. We found that the ambient soil water content was significantly correlated with the magnitude of warming‐induced change in NEE. Under high soil moisture condition, warming has a significant positive effect on NEE, while it has a negative effect under low soil moisture condition. Our results highlight that the NEE in steppe and cultivated grassland have negative responses to warming; after reclamation, the natural meadow would subject to loose more C in warmer condition. Therefore, under future warmer condition, the overextension of cultivated grassland should be avoided and scientific planning of cultivated grassland should be achieved.     

基于OTCs模拟增温方式探讨气候变暖对青藏高原草地生态系统的影响

开顶式生长室(OTCs)增温实验是研究全球气候变化与陆地生态系统关系的主要方法之一,已广泛应用于青藏高原地区。该文通过对近些年国内外研究文献的回顾,分别从植物物候、群落结构、生物量和土壤方面综合分析青藏高原草地生态系统对OTCs模拟增温实验的响应。研究发现:增温使群落返青期提前、枯黄期延迟,生长季延长;有利于禾本科植物的生长;高寒草甸地下生物量分配格局向深层转移;高寒草地生态系统对模拟增温的响应存在不确定性,受到地域、群落类型和实验时间的影响;在增温条件下,降雨和冻土融化引起的土壤水分变化通过调控生态系统的物候、生产力、土壤等途径控制着生态系统对气候变暖的响应。并在此基础上,提出了将来应着重研究的几个方面。     

Changes in the onset of spring growth in shrubland species in response to experimental warming along a north–south gradient in Europe

Aim To test whether the onset of spring growth in European shrublands is advanced in response to the warmer conditions projected for the next two decades by climate models, and, if there is a change, whether it differs across Europe. Location The studied sites spanned a broad north–south European gradient with average annual temperatures (8.2–15.6 °C) and precipitation (511–1427 mm). Methods ‘Bud break’ was monitored in eight shrub and grass species in six European sites under control and experimentally warmer conditions generated by automatic roofs covering vegetation during the night. Results Species responsive to increased temperatures were Vaccinium myrtillus and Empetrum nigrum in Wales, Deschampsia flexuosa in Denmark, Calluna vulgaris in Netherlands, Populus alba in Hungary and Erica multiflora in Spain. Although the acceleration of spring growth was the commonest response to warming treatments, the responses at each site were species specific and year dependent. Under experimental warming 25% of cases exhibited a significantly earlier onset of the growing season and 10% had a significantly delayed onset of vegetative growth. No geographical gradient was detected in the experimental warming effects. However, there was a trend towards a greater dominance of phenological advances with more intense the warming treatments. Above 0.8 °C warming, only advancements were recorded. Main conclusions Our results show that warmer temperatures projected for the next decades have substantial potential effects on the phenology of the spring growth of dominant species in different European shrublands, with a dominant trend towards advancements the more intense the warming is. However, our study also demonstrates the overall difficulties of applying simple predictive relationships to extrapolate the effects of global change on phenology. Various combinations of environmental factors occur concurrently at different European sites and the interactions between different drivers (e.g. water and chilling) can alter phenology significantly.     

Short-term responses of phenology, shoot growth and leaf traits of four alpine shrubs in a timberline ecotone to simulated global warming, Eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

The short-term effects of artificial warming on phenology, growth and leaf traits were investigated in four alpine shrubs using the open-top chamber (OTC) method in a timberline ecotone (3240 m a.s.l.) on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau. The OTC enhanced the mean air temperature by 2.9°C throughout the growing season. In contrast, only a slight difference (0.4°C) in the mean soil temperature was observed in the OTC compared with the control plots (CP). Spiraea mongolica , Potentilla fruticosa , Conicera hispida (deciduous shrubs) and Daphne retusa (evergreen shrub) showed earlier bud break, flowering and fruit coloring as well as longer flower longevity in the OTC than in the CP. All deciduous shrubs in the OTC had a longer leaf lifespan. Daphne retusa had higher leaf survival rates in the OTC. No significant differences in the total number of flowers and fruits were noticed for most species between the two treatments. Warming stimulated the shoot and leaf growth for most species. The specific leaf area tended to increase for many species in the OTC. However, the leaf nitrogen concentration tended to decrease in P. fruticosa and S. mongolica. The results obtained in the present study indicate that warming conditions can have strong impacts on alpine shrubs in a timberline ecotone.     

Effects of experimental warming on plant reproductive phenology in Xizang alpine meadow

Aims Climate warming strongly influences reproductive phenology of plants in alpine and arctic ecosystems. Here we focus on phenological shifts caused by warming in a typical alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Our objective was to explore phenological responses of alpine plant species to experimental warming. Methods Passive warming was achieved using open-top chambers (OTCs). The treatments included control (C), and four levels of warming (T1, T2, T3, T4). We selected Kobresia pygmaea, Potentilla saundersiana, Potentilla cuneata, Stipa purpurea, Festuca coelestis and Youngia simulatrix as the focal species. Plant phenology was scored every 3-5 days in the growing season. The reproductive phenology phases of each species were estimated through fitting the phenological scores to the Richards function. Important findings Under soil water stress caused by warming, most plants in the alpine meadow advanced or delayed their reproductive events. As a result, warming significantly delayed phenological development of K. pygmaea. Warming significantly advanced reproductive phenology of P. saundersiana, S. purpurea and F. coelestis, but not of P. cuneata and Y. simulatrix. In addition, warming significantly shortened the average flowering duration of alpine plant species. The potentially warmer and drier growing seasons under climate change may shift the reproductive phenology of the alpine systems in similar pattern.     

Dynamic and complex microclimate responses to warming and grazing manipulations

Synthesis efforts that identify patterns of ecosystem response to a suite of warming manipulations can make important contributions to climate change science. However, cross‐study comparisons are impeded by the paucity of detailed analyses of how passive warming and other manipulations affect microclimate. Here we document the independent and combined effects of a common passive warming manipulation, open‐top chambers (OTCs), and a simulated widespread land use, clipping, on microclimate on the Tibetan Plateau. OTCs consistently elevated growing season averaged mean daily air temperature by 1.0–2.0°C, maximum daily air temperature by 2.1–7.3°C and the diurnal air temperature range by 1.9–6.5°C, with mixed effects on minimum daily air temperature, and mean daily soil temperature and moisture. These OTC effects on microclimate differ from reported effects of a common active warming method, infrared heating, which has more consistent effects on soil than on air temperature. There were significant interannual and intragrowing season differences in OTC effects on microclimate. For example, while OTCs had mixed effects on growing season averaged soil temperatures, OTCs consistently elevated soil temperature by approximately 1.0°C early in the growing season. Nonadditive interactions between OTCs and clipping were also present: OTCs in clipped plots generally elevated air and soil temperatures more than OTCs in nonclipped plots. Moreover, site factors dynamically interacted with microclimate and with the efficacy of the OTC manipulations. These findings highlight the need to understand differential microclimate effects between warming methods, within warming method across ecosystem sites, within warming method crossed with other treatments, and within sites over various timescales. Methods, sites and scales are potential explanatory variables and covariables in climate warming experiments. Consideration of this variability among and between experimental warming studies will lead to greater understanding and better prediction of ecosystem response to anthropogenic climate warming.     

实验增温对藏北高寒草甸植物繁殖物候的影响

全球气候变暖对高寒和极地地区的植物物候产生强烈的影响。该研究主要关注增温条件下藏北高寒草甸不同功能型植物繁殖时间(生殖物候)的改变。实验采用开顶箱式增温方法, 对3个主要功能群浅根-早花、浅根-中花和深根-晚花植物的现蕾、开花、结实时间进行观测。研究结果表明: (1)增温导致了土壤水分胁迫, 显著推迟了浅根-早花植物高山嵩草(Kobresia pygmaea)的繁殖时间; (2)增温显著提前了浅根-中花植物钉柱委陵菜(Potentilla saundersiana)和深根晚花植物紫花针茅(Stipa purpurea)和矮羊茅(Festuca coelestis)的繁殖时间; (3)增温没有显著影响浅根-中花植物楔叶委陵菜(Potentilla cuneata)和深根-晚花植物无茎黄鹌菜(Youngia simulatrix)的繁殖时间; (4)增温缩短了3种类型植物的开花持续时间。这些结果显示增温改变了藏北高寒草甸群落中多数物种的繁殖时间, 这预示着在未来更热更干的生长季, 青藏高原高寒草甸系统的植物物候格局可能会被重塑。     

黄土高原林下草地对模拟增温的短期响应

气候变暖在高海拔山地更为明显,山地植被对气候变暖响应的空间格局将成为山地研究新的热点。在黄土高原东部沿纬度梯度选择北段管涔山、中段关帝山和南段五鹿山,分别划分高、中、低3个海拔梯度,每一梯度用开顶式生长室设置对照（CK）、低度增温（LW）、高度增温（HW）3种模拟增温样地,于增温1年后植被生长季调查山地林下草本群落的生长特征及水热因子,探究黄土高原林下草地对气候变暖的短期响应及其随纬度、海拔的变化格局。结果表明：在LW和HW处理下,（1）空气温度增加0.47℃和1.00℃,空气湿度增加1.37%和1.94%,其中空气温度增幅随海拔增加显著增大（P=0.012）;（2）土壤水分减小0.32%和0.64%,土壤温度减小0.07℃和增加0.06℃,其中土壤温度增幅随纬度增加显著减小（P=0.003）;（3）植物密度增加41.27株/m²和78.53株/m²,植物高度增加0.04 m和0.03 m,植物频度增加5.47%和3.47%,而植物盖度显著增加5.32%和0.88%（P=0.042）;（4）植被与温度关系的相关系数绝对值增加31.49%和56.82%,与水分关系的相关系数绝对值增加38.67%和62.89%。因此,山地温度对增温响应更大,且空气温度具正向海拔依赖性,土壤温度具负向纬度依赖性;增温加强植被与水分的关系,促进植物对水的依赖性,进而显著影响植物盖度。然而,增温的短期效应易受到降雨条件的影响,使结果出现误差,故在类似的研究中建议加强试验的时间尺度。     

Moisture-driven changes in the sensitivity of the radial growth of Picea crassifolia to temperature,northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Precipitation is one of the most important climate factors controlling tree growth, yet it is not fully understood how changes in precipitation affect the relationship between growth and temperature. On the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, nine tree-ring chronologies of Picea crassifolia were developed along a precipitation gradient from semi-arid (mean annual precipitation, 255 mm) to semi-humid (710 mm). We analyze the growth-climate relationships along this precipitation gradient and assess whether these associations are regulated by local precipitation. From 1960 to 2014, temperature increased significantly while precipitation remained stable at the nine sampling sites. The radial growth of P. crassifolia decreased at the semi-arid sites but increased at the semi-humid sites. Growth-temperature relationships gradually changed from negative to positive along the precipitation gradient (from dry to wet sites), particularly during summer. The moist P. crassifolia sites are also characterized by positive correlations with the Palmer Drought Severity Index. The temporal growth-temperature relationships varied significantly among the different spruce sites over the last five decades. Although temperature remains the main factor controlling the growth of P. crassifolia, local precipitation variability is becoming increasingly important. Our findings indicate that considering species distribution areas supports the analyses of the impact of climate change on tree growth.     

模拟增温对青藏高原高寒草甸根系生物量的影响

在青藏高原高寒草甸布设模拟增温实验样地,采用土钻法于2012—2013年植被生长季获取5个土层的根系生物量,探讨增温处理下根系生物量在生长季不同月份、不同土壤深度的变化趋势及其与相应土层土壤水分、温度的关系。结果表明:(1)根系生物量在2012年随月份呈增加趋势,其中7—9月较大,其平均值在对照、增温处理下分别为3810.88 g/m~2和4468.08 g/m~2;在2013年随月份呈减小趋势,其中5—6月较大,其平均值在对照、增温处理下分别为4175.39 g/m~2和4141.6 g/m~2。增温处理下的总根系生物量高出对照处理293.97 g/m~2,而各月份总根系生物量在处理间的差值均未达到显著水平。表明在增温处理下根系生物量略有增加,但在生长季不同月份其增加的程度不同,致使年际间的增幅出现差异。(2)根系生物量主要分布在0—10 cm深度,所占百分比为50.61%。在增温处理下,0—10 cm深度的根系生物量减少,减幅为8.38%;10—50 cm深度的根系生物量增加,增幅为2.1%。相对于对照处理,增温处理下0—30 cm深度的根系生物量向深层增加,30—50 cm深度的根系生物量增加趋势略有减缓。可见,在增温处理下根系生物量的增幅趋向于土壤深层。(3)根系生物量与土壤水分呈极显著的递减关系,在增温处理下线性关系减弱;与土壤温度呈极显著的递增关系,在增温处理下线性关系增强。表明土壤水分、温度都可极显著影响根系生物量,但在增温处理下土壤温度对根系生物量的影响较土壤水分更为敏感而迅速。     

青藏高原东北部祁连圆柏径向生长对不同类型干旱的响应

为研究祁连圆柏径向生长对不同时期(生长季前2—4月和生长季5—7月)气候因子的响应及面对不同类型(高温、缺水、高温+缺水)干旱事件的弹性(抵抗力和恢复力)变化,利用青藏高原东北部17个采样点的祁连圆柏树轮宽度资料,分析径向生长与不同时期气候因子的相关性,探究高低海拔祁连圆柏面对各类干旱事件的弹性差异。结果表明:祁连圆柏径向生长与干旱指数呈显著正相关,与生长季温度呈负相关(P<0.1)。祁连圆柏面对不同时期干旱事件的弹性存在显著差异,生长季前发生的干旱事件中,低海拔圆柏的抵抗力比高海拔增高2.3%,恢复力降低25.1%;生长季干旱事件中,低海拔圆柏的抵抗力比高海拔降低23.7%,恢复力增高107.1%。祁连圆柏面对缺水型干旱时恢复力更强,均值达到1.68,而面对高温型干旱时祁连圆柏的抵抗力更强,均值达到1.43。未来我国西部高山祁连圆柏,尤其是处于低海拔区的,其径向生长受到全球变暖造成的极端干旱事件的影响会更加显著。     

Common tree growth anomalies over the northeastern Tibetan Plateau during the last six centuries: implications for regional moisture change

The world's hydrological cycle is believed to intensify with global warming, yet current climate models have only a limited ability to assess moisture responses at regional scales. Tree-ring records are a valuable source of information for understanding long-term, regional-scale moisture changes, particularly for large regions such as the Tibetan Plateau (TP), where the observational data are short and sparse. Here, we present a new ring-width chronology developed from Qilian Juniper ( Sabina przewalskii ) wood at two sites on the northeastern TP. This chronology, combined with others from the same region, demonstrates that tree growth anomalies are linked to regional late spring to early summer moisture availability. Although late monsoon season precipitation in the study area decreased during recent decades, tree growth continued to increase due to persistent moisture availability in the early monsoon season. Comparison with global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) indicates that early (late) monsoon season precipitation is closely related to tropical Pacific (Indian Ocean) SSTs, suggesting a possible seasonal shift in the dominant moisture source area for monsoonal precipitation over the northeastern TP. It is further shown that there is a very high degree of coherency regarding low-frequency tree growth anomalies over the northeastern TP during the last six centuries. The most prominent drought epoch occurred during ca. 1450–1500, which may have been caused by a significant decrease in the thermal gradient between the Eurasian continent and the tropical oceans. A persistent tree growth increase since the 1880s is coincident with global warming, suggesting an intensified early monsoon season moisture regime in the study area.     

Plant phenological responses to a long‐term experimental extension of growing season and soil warming in the tussock tundra of Alaska

Climate warming is strongly altering the timing of season initiation and season length in the Arctic. Phenological activities are among the most sensitive plant responses to climate change and have important effects at all levels within the ecosystem. We tested the effects of two experimental treatments, extended growing season via snow removal and extended growing season combined with soil warming, on plant phenology in tussock tundra in Alaska from 1995 through 2003. We specifically monitored the responses of eight species, representing four growth forms: (i) graminoids (Carex bigellowii and Eriophorum vaginatum); (ii) evergreen shrubs (Ledum palustre, Cassiope tetragona, and Vaccinium vitis‐idaea); (iii) deciduous shrubs (Betula nana and Salix pulchra); and (iv) forbs (Polygonum bistorta). Our study answered three questions: (i) Do experimental treatments affect the timing of leaf bud break, flowering, and leaf senescence? (ii) Are responses to treatments species‐specific and growth form‐specific? and (iii) Which environmental factors best predict timing of phenophases? Treatment significantly affected the timing of all three phenophases, although the two experimental treatments did not differ from each other. While phenological events began earlier in the experimental plots relative to the controls, duration of phenophases did not increase. The evergreen shrub, Cassiope tetragona, did not respond to either experimental treatment. While the other species did respond to experimental treatments, the total active period for these species did not increase relative to the control. Air temperature was consistently the best predictor of phenology. Our results imply that some evergreen shrubs (i.e., C. tetragona) will not capitalize on earlier favorable growing conditions, putting them at a competitive disadvantage relative to phenotypically plastic deciduous shrubs. Our findings also suggest that an early onset of the growing season as a result of decreased snow cover will not necessarily result in greater tundra productivity.     

Experimental warming causes large and rapid species loss, dampened by simulated grazing, on the Tibetan Plateau

We investigated the independent and combined effects of experimental warming and grazing on plant species diversity on the north‐eastern Tibetan Plateau, a region highly vulnerable to ongoing climate and land use changes. Experimental warming caused a 26–36% decrease in species richness, a response that was generally dampened by experimental grazing. Higher species losses occurred at the drier sites where N was less available. Moreover, we observed an indirect effect of climate change on species richness as mediated by plant–plant interactions. Heat stress and warming‐induced litter accumulation are potential explanations for the species’ responses to experimental warming. This is the first reported experimental evidence that climate warming could cause dramatic declines in plant species diversity in high elevation ecosystems over short time frames and supports model predictions of species losses with anthropogenic climate change.     

Precipitation impacts on vegetation spring phenology on the Tibetan Plateau

The ongoing changes in vegetation spring phenology in temperate/cold regions are widely attributed to temperature. However, in arid/semiarid ecosystems, the correlation between spring temperature and phenology is much less clear. We test the hypothesis that precipitation plays an important role in the temperature dependency of phenology in arid/semiarid regions. We therefore investigated the influence of preseason precipitation on satellite‐derived estimates of starting date of vegetation growing season (SOS) across the Tibetan Plateau (TP). We observed two clear patterns linking precipitation to SOS. First, SOS is more sensitive to interannual variations in preseason precipitation in more arid than in wetter areas. Spatially, an increase in long‐term averaged preseason precipitation of 10 mm corresponds to a decrease in the precipitation sensitivity of SOS by about 0.01 day mm^?1. Second, SOS is more sensitive to variations in preseason temperature in wetter than in dryer areas of the plateau. A spatial increase in precipitation of 10 mm corresponds to an increase in temperature sensitivity of SOS of 0.25 day °C^?1 (0.25 day SOS advance per 1 °C temperature increase). Those two patterns indicate both direct and indirect impacts of precipitation on SOS on TP. This study suggests a balance between maximizing benefit from the limiting climatic resource and minimizing the risk imposed by other factors. In wetter areas, the lower risk of drought allows greater temperature sensitivity of SOS to maximize the thermal benefit, which is further supported by the weaker interannual partial correlation between growing degree days and preseason precipitation. In more arid areas, maximizing the benefit of water requires greater sensitivity of SOS to precipitation, with reduced sensitivity to temperature. This study highlights the impacts of precipitation on SOS in a large cold and arid/semiarid region and suggests that influences of water should be included in SOS module of terrestrial ecosystem models for drylands.     

藏北高山嵩草草甸群落特征及生产力对模拟增温幅度的响应

青藏高原气候严酷,陆地表层生态系统脆弱,其高寒植物群落特征及生态系统生产力对气候变化的响应极其敏感。利用开顶箱(OTCs,Open Top Chambers)式装置在藏北高山嵩草(Kobresia pygmaea)草甸设置不同增温梯度实验(W1、W2、W3、W4),探究增温对高寒草甸植物群落特征及地上生产力的影响。研究结果表明:1)与对照样地相比,增温减少了植物群落总盖度(2015年,W1、W2、W3、W4分别显著减少了28%、23%、59%、60%; 2016年,W4显著减少了83%)和高山嵩草盖度(2015年,W1、W2、W3、W4分别显著减少了26%、33%、681%、64%; 2016年,W4显著减少了85%),而低幅度增温(W1、W2)对委陵菜属植物盖度无显著影响,高幅度增温(W3、W4)显著减少了委陵菜属植物盖度(2015年,W3、W4分别显著减少了58%和60%;2016年,W4显著减少了71%); 2)对整个植物群落而言,增温幅度较低时,增温对群落的生长和生物量的积累有促进作用,当温度升高超过一定程度,这种促进作用会逐渐减弱甚至变成抑制作用(2015年,W4显著减少了地上生物量69%; 2016年,W4显著减少了地上生物量82%); 3)高山嵩草盖度和其他物种总盖度存在显著的年际差异,而委陵菜属植物盖度无明显的年际变化。研究结果预示着,一定程度的升温会促进高寒草甸植物群落的生长,但温度升高超过一定幅度时,会导致草地生产力下降,草地退化加剧,同时当地群落中委陵菜属植物在全球变化背景下相对稳定,这类物种在未来气候变暖的背景下可能具有更强的竞争力。     

藏北高原植被物候时空动态变化的遥感监测研究

利用遥感数据提取的植被物候格局及时空变化特征能很好地反映区域尺度上植被对全球变化的响应。目前关于青藏高原地区植被物候的少量报道基本上是基于物候站点的观测记录展开分析的。该文基于非对称高斯拟合算法重建了藏北高原2001-2010年的MODIS EVI (增强型植被指数)时间序列影像, 然后利用动态阈值法提取整个藏北高原2001-2010年植被覆盖的重要物候信息, 包括植被返青期、枯黄期与生长季长度, 分析了植被物候10年间平均状况的空间分异特征以及年际变化情况, 并结合站点观测记录分析了气温和降水对植被物候变化的影响, 结果表明: (1)藏北高原植被返青期在空间上表现出从东南到西北逐渐推迟的水平地带性与东南高山峡谷区的垂直地带性相结合的特征, 近60%区域的植被返青期提前, 特别是高山地区; (2)植被枯黄期的年际变化不太明显, 大部分地区都表现为自然的年际波动; (3)生长季长度的时空变化特征由植被返青期和枯黄期二者决定, 但主要受返青期提前影响, 大部分地区生长季长度延长; (4)研究区内不同气候区划植被物候的年际变化以那曲高山谷地亚寒带半湿润区和青南高原亚寒带半干旱区的植被返青期提前和生长季延长程度最为明显; (5)基于气象台站数据分析气候变化对物候的影响发现, 返青期提前及生长季延长主要受气温升高的影响, 与降水的关系尚不明确。     

Multi‐scale responses to warming in an experimental insect metacommunity

In metacommunities, diversity is the product of species interactions at the local scale and dispersal between habitat patches at the regional scale. Although warming can alter both species interactions and dispersal, the combined effects of warming on these two processes remains uncertain. To determine the independent and interactive effects of warming‐induced changes to local species interactions and dispersal, we constructed experimental metacommunities consisting of enclosed milkweed patches seeded with five herbivorous milkweed specialist insect species. We treated metacommunities with two levels of warming (unwarmed and warmed) and three levels of connectivity (isolated, low connectivity, high connectivity). Based on metabolic theory, we predicted that if plant resources were limited, warming would accelerate resource drawdown, causing local insect declines and increasing both insect dispersal and the importance of connectivity to neighboring patches for insect persistence. Conversely, given abundant resources, warming could have positive local effects on insects, and the risk of traversing a corridor to reach a neighboring patch could outweigh the benefits of additional resources. We found support for the latter scenario. Neither resource drawdown nor the weak insect‐insect associations in our system were affected by warming, and most insect species did better locally in warmed conditions and had dispersal responses that were unchanged or indirectly affected by warming. Dispersal across the matrix posed a species‐specific risk that led to declines in two species in connected metacommunities. Combined, this scaled up to cause an interactive effect of warming and connectivity on diversity, with unwarmed metacommunities with low connectivity incurring the most rapid declines in diversity. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of integrating the complex outcomes of species interactions and spatial structure in understanding community response to climate change.