暖干化加剧东北半干旱地区油松人工林径向生长的水分限制

相较天然林,人工林生态系统对全球性气候变化更敏感。本文利用树木年代学方法,以东北半干旱地区油松人工林为对象建立油松年轮宽度年表,研究油松生长的动态变化及其径向生长与气象因子的相关关系,探讨升温对油松生长及分布的影响。结果表明: 研究区油松年轮宽度主要与生长季5—7月的平均温度呈显著负相关,与生长季早期4月和生长季5—7月的平均降水量和PDSI呈显著正相关,水分可利用性是限制研究区油松径向生长的主要因子。自西南向东北随着年降水量增加,各样点油松径向生长对年均温的敏感性增强,与年降水量的相关关系由显著正相关转变为负相关,说明偏干旱的西南部地区油松生长受水分限制更严重。气候变暖导致的干旱胁迫使得研究区西南部的部分人工林油松生长呈衰退状态。随着暖干化的持续,研究区油松分布边界将发生局地收缩,适宜生长的边界将向北移动。     

Effects of increased temperature on plant communities depend on landscape location and precipitation

Global climate change is affecting and will continue to affect ecosystems worldwide. Specifically, temperature and precipitation are both expected to shift globally, and their separate and interactive effects will likely affect ecosystems differentially depending on current temperature, precipitation regimes, and other biotic and environmental factors. It is not currently understood how the effects of increasing temperature on plant communities may depend on either precipitation or where communities lie on soil moisture gradients. Such knowledge would play a crucial role in increasing our predictive ability for future effects of climate change in different systems. To this end, we conducted a multi‐factor global change experiment at two locations, differing in temperature, moisture, aspect, and plant community composition, on the same slope in the northern Mongolian steppe. The natural differences in temperature and moisture between locations served as a point of comparison for the experimental manipulations of temperature and precipitation. We conducted two separate experiments, one examining the effect of climate manipulation via open‐top chambers (OTCs) across the two different slope locations, the other a factorial OTC by watering experiment at one of the two locations. By combining these experiments, we were able to assess how OTCs impact plant productivity and diversity across a natural and manipulated range of soil moisture. We found that warming effects were context dependent, with the greatest negative impacts of warming on diversity in the warmer, drier upper slope location and in the unwatered plots. Our study is an important step in understanding how global change will affect ecosystems across multiple scales and locations.     

Effects of livestock grazing on grassland carbon storage and release override impacts associated with global climate change

Predicting future carbon (C) dynamics in grassland ecosystems requires knowledge of how grazing and global climate change (e.g., warming, elevated CO₂, increased precipitation, drought, and N fertilization) interact to influence C storage and release. Here, we synthesized data from 223 grassland studies to quantify the individual and interactive effects of herbivores and climate change on ecosystem C pools and soil respiration (Rs). Our results showed that grazing overrode global climate change factors in regulating grassland C storage and release (i.e., Rs). Specifically, grazing significantly decreased aboveground plant C pool (APCP), belowground plant C pool (BPCP), soil C pool (SCP), and Rs by 19.1%, 6.4%, 3.1%, and 4.6%, respectively, while overall effects of all global climate change factors increased APCP, BPCP, and Rs by 6.5%, 15.3%, and 3.4% but had no significant effect on SCP. However, the combined effects of grazing with global climate change factors also significantly decreased APCP, SCP, and Rs by 4.0%, 4.7%, and 2.7%, respectively but had no effect on BPCP. Most of the interactions between grazing and global climate change factors on APCP, BPCP, SCP, and Rs were additive instead of synergistic or antagonistic. Our findings highlight the dominant effects of grazing on C storage and Rs when compared with the suite of global climate change factors. Therefore, incorporating the dominant effect of herbivore grazing into Earth System Models is necessary to accurately predict climate–grassland feedbacks in the Anthropocene.     

Interactive effects of global change factors on soil respiration and its components: a meta‐analysis

As the second largest carbon (C) flux between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems, soil respiration (Rs) plays vital roles in regulating atmospheric CO₂ concentration ([CO₂]) and climatic dynamics in the earth system. Although numerous manipulative studies and a few meta‐analyses have been conducted to determine the responses of Rs and its two components [i.e., autotrophic (Ra) and heterotrophic (Rh) respiration] to single global change factors, the interactive effects of the multiple factors are still unclear. In this study, we performed a meta‐analysis of 150 multiple‐factor (≥2) studies to examine the main and interactive effects of global change factors on Rs and its two components. Our results showed that elevated [CO₂] (E), nitrogen addition (N), irrigation (I), and warming (W) induced significant increases in Rs by 28.6%, 8.8%, 9.7%, and 7.1%, respectively. The combined effects of the multiple factors, EN, EW, DE, IE, IN, IW, IEW, and DEW, were also significantly positive on Rs to a greater extent than those of the single‐factor ones. For all the individual studies, the additive interactions were predominant on Rs (90.6%) and its components (≈70.0%) relative to synergistic and antagonistic ones. However, the different combinations of global change factors (e.g., EN, NW, EW, IW) indicated that the three types of interactions were all important, with two combinations for synergistic effects, two for antagonistic, and five for additive when at least eight independent experiments were considered. In addition, the interactions of elevated [CO₂] and warming had opposite effects on Ra and Rh, suggesting that different processes may influence their responses to the multifactor interactions. Our study highlights the crucial importance of the interactive effects among the multiple factors on Rs and its components, which could inform regional and global models to assess the climate–biosphere feedbacks and improve predictions of the future states of the ecological and climate systems.     

中国北方林生产力变化趋势及其影响因子分析

森林生产力是反映森林固碳能力的重要指标,是进行碳循环研究的重要环节。用模拟生态系统生物地球化学循环的CENTURY模型,模拟中国北方林(兴安落叶松林)近35a来的生产力动态,用3种趋势分析方法,检验了其变化趋势,并用多元线性回归模型分析了中国北方林生产力的年际波动与气温降水年际波动的关系,以及气温和降水对我国北方林生产力的影响程度。结果表明：中国北方林生产力呈增加的趋势,平均年增长率为0．34％;气温与森林生产力呈显著负相关,对森林生产力的贡献因子为4．0977;降水与森林生产力呈弱的正相关,其对森林生产力的贡献因子为0．3902。从而说明近35a来森林生产力的增加除了受气温降水等非生物因素的影响外,还受其它因素的影响;另外说明以气候变暖为标志的全球变化会对森林生产力产生重要的影响。     

Unchanged carbon balance driven by equivalent responses of production and respiration to climate change in a mixed‐grass prairie

Responses of grassland carbon (C) cycling to climate change and land use remain a major uncertainty in model prediction of future climate. To explore the impacts of global change on ecosystem C fluxes and the consequent changes in C storage, we have conducted a field experiment with warming (+3 °C), altered precipitation (doubled and halved), and annual clipping at the end of growing seasons in a mixed‐grass prairie in Oklahoma, USA, from 2009 to 2013. Results showed that although ecosystem respiration (ER) and gross primary production (GPP) negatively responded to warming, net ecosystem exchange of CO₂ (NEE) did not significantly change under warming. Doubled precipitation stimulated and halved precipitation suppressed ER and GPP equivalently, with the net outcome being unchanged in NEE. These results indicate that warming and altered precipitation do not necessarily have profound impacts on ecosystem C storage. In addition, we found that clipping enhanced NEE due to a stronger positive response of GPP compared to ER, indicating that clipping could potentially be an effective land practice that could increase C storage. No significant interactions between warming, altered precipitation, and clipping were observed. Meanwhile, we found that belowground net primary production (BNPP) in general was sensitive to climate change and land use though no significant changes were found in NPP across treatments. Moreover, negative correlations of the ER/GPP ratio with soil temperature and moisture did not differ across treatments, highlighting the roles of abiotic factors in mediating ecosystem C fluxes in this grassland. Importantly, our results suggest that belowground C cycling (e.g., BNPP) could respond to climate change with no alterations in ecosystem C storage in the same period.     

增加降水对干旱河谷区云南松人工林土壤呼吸的影响

2013年5月至2014年6月,对干旱河谷区云南松(Pinus yunnanensis)人工林进行增加降水试验,试验设置对照(CK,0 mm m~(-2)a~(-1))、增水10%(A1,80 mm m~(-2)a~(-1))、增水20%(A2,160 mm m~(-2)a~(-1))和增水30%(A3,240 mm m~(-2)a~(-1))4个处理水平。采用LI-8100开路式土壤碳通量测量系统测定每月土壤呼吸速率。结果表明,4个处理云南松人工林土壤呼吸速率均呈明显的季节变化,7月最高,2月最低。与CK相比,A1年均土壤呼吸速率无显著性差异(P0.05),A2显著增加了12.88%(P0.05),而A3明显减少了17.71%(P0.05)。3个增水处理均提高了土壤呼吸的温度敏感性,减弱了土壤呼吸与土壤湿度的关系。与土壤温度相比,土壤湿度对土壤呼吸的影响相对较小。增水增加了湿季土壤微生物碳、氮含量,干季对微生物碳含量无影响,但明显降低了微生物氮含量。这说明,降水增加对干旱河谷区云南松人工林土壤呼吸的影响是不尽相同的,适当的增水会促进土壤呼吸,而过量的增水会抑制土壤呼吸。     

南盘江流域云南松径向生长对气候暖干化的响应

全球气候变暖背景下, 西南地区气候呈现出明显的暖干化特征, 但区域优势树种云南松(Pinus yunnanensis)对气候暖干化的响应存在不确定性。该研究根据树木年代学方法选择研究区域87株云南松样本进行树芯采集, 构建云南松树轮年表, 结合1952-2016年的气温和降水等气象资料, 利用响应分析、多元回归分析以及滑动相关分析等方法研究了影响南盘江流域云南松径向生长的关键气候因子及其对气候暖干化的响应规律。研究结果表明: 1985年以来, 研究区域气候暖干化特征明显, 气温上升和降水量下降的速率是1984年前的5和6倍, 年平均气温、年平均最高气温、年平均最低气温的上升速率为0.044、0.041和0.050 ℃·a ^-1, 年降水量的下降速率为 6.02 mm·a ^-1。气候暖干化使云南松的生长对温度响应的敏感度降低, 对水分响应的敏感度增强, 气温的解释率由暖干化前的44.95%下降到21.97%, 水分的解释率由暖干化前的55.05%上升到78.03%。暖干化增强了当年气候因子对径向生长的影响, 减弱了上年气候因子的影响, 与径向生长显著相关的当年气候因子增加了3个, 当年气候因子对径向生长的解释率增加了16.05%。暖干化减弱了云南松生长的“滞后效应”, 气候变化对树木生长影响的时效性增强。在5-7月和9-11月, 气候变暖使径向生长与气温、水分的响应关系变得不稳定。该研究可为气候暖干化区域云南松林的经营、管理以及区域气候重建提供理论依据和基础数据。     

Consistent response of vegetation dynamics to recent climate change in tropical mountain regions

Global climate change has emerged as a major driver of ecosystem change. Here, we present evidence for globally consistent responses in vegetation dynamics to recent climate change in the world's mountain ecosystems located in the pan‐tropical belt (30°N–30°S). We analyzed decadal‐scale trends and seasonal cycles of vegetation greenness using monthly time series of satellite greenness (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and climate data for the period 1982–2006 for 47 mountain protected areas in five biodiversity hotspots. The time series of annual maximum NDVI for each of five continental regions shows mild greening trends followed by reversal to stronger browning trends around the mid‐1990s. During the same period we found increasing trends in temperature but only marginal change in precipitation. The amplitude of the annual greenness cycle increased with time, and was strongly associated with the observed increase in temperature amplitude. We applied dynamic models with time‐dependent regression parameters to study the time evolution of NDVI–climate relationships. We found that the relationship between vegetation greenness and temperature weakened over time or was negative. Such loss of positive temperature sensitivity has been documented in other regions as a response to temperature‐induced moisture stress. We also used dynamic models to extract the trends in vegetation greenness that remain after accounting for the effects of temperature and precipitation. We found residual browning and greening trends in all regions, which indicate that factors other than temperature and precipitation also influence vegetation dynamics. Browning rates became progressively weaker with increase in elevation as indicated by quantile regression models. Tropical mountain vegetation is considered sensitive to climatic changes, so these consistent vegetation responses across widespread regions indicate persistent global‐scale effects of climate warming and associated moisture stresses.     

Increased temperature and precipitation interact to affect root production,mortality, and turnover in a temperate steppe: implications for ecosystem C cycling

Fine root production and turnover play important roles in regulating carbon (C) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. In order to examine effects of climate change on root production and turnover, a field experiment with increased temperature and precipitation had been conducted in a semiarid temperate steppe in northern China since April 2005. Experimental warming decreased annual root production, mortality, and mean standing crop by 10.3%, 12.1%, 7.0%, respectively, while root turnover was not affected in 2006 and 2007 by the warming. Annual root production and turnover was 5.9% and 10.3% greater in the elevated than ambient precipitation plots. Changes in root production and mortality in response to increased temperature and precipitation could be largely attributed to the changes in gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) and belowground/aboveground C allocation. There were significant interactive effects of warming and increased precipitation on root productivity, mortality, and standing crop. Experimental warming had positive and negative effects on the three root variables (root production, mortality, standing crop) under ambient and increased precipitation, respectively. Increased precipitation stimulated and suppressed the three root variables in the unwarmed and warmed subplots, respectively. The positive dependence of soil respiration and ecosystem respiration upon root productivity and mortality highlights the important role of root dynamics in ecosystem C cycling. The nonadditive effects of increased temperature and precipitation on root productivity, mortality, and standing crop observed in this study are critical for model projections of climate–ecosystem feedbacks. These findings indicate that carbon allocation is a focal point for future research and that results from single factor experiments should be treated with caution because of factor interactions.     

Precipitation controls seed bank size and its role in alpine meadow community regeneration with increasing altitude

The Tibetan Plateau has undergone significant climate warming in recent decades, and precipitation has also become increasingly variable. Much research has explored the effects of climate change on vegetation on this plateau. As potential vegetation buried in the soil, the soil seed bank is an important resource for ecosystem restoration and resilience. However, almost no studies have explored the effects of climate change on seed banks and the mechanisms of these effects. We used an altitudinal gradient to represent a decrease in temperature and collected soil seed bank samples from 27 alpine meadows (3,158–4,002 m) along this gradient. A structural equation model was used to explore the direct effects of mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual temperature (MAT) on the soil seed bank and their indirect effects through aboveground vegetation and soil environmental factors. The species richness and abundance of the aboveground vegetation varied little along the altitudinal gradient, while the species richness and density of the seed bank decreased. The similarity between the seed bank and aboveground vegetation decreased with altitude; specifically, it decreased with MAP but was not related to MAT. The increase in MAP with increasing altitude directly decreased the species richness and density of the seed bank, while the increase in MAP and decrease in MAT with increasing altitude indirectly increased and decreased the species richness of the seed bank, respectively, by directly increasing and decreasing the species richness of the plant community. The size of the soil seed bank declined with increasing altitude. Increases in precipitation directly decreased the species richness and density and indirectly decreased the species richness of the seed bank with increasing elevation. The role of the seed bank in aboveground plant community regeneration decreases with increasing altitude, and this process is controlled by precipitation but not temperature.     

Climate change causes critical transitions and irreversible alterations of mountain forests

Mountain forests are at particular risk of climate change impacts due to their temperature limitation and high exposure to warming. At the same time, their complex topography may help to buffer the effects of climate change and create climate refugia. Whether climate change can lead to critical transitions of mountain forest ecosystems and whether such transitions are reversible remain incompletely understood. We investigated the resilience of forest composition and size structure to climate change, focusing on a mountain forest landscape in the Eastern Alps. Using the individual‐based forest landscape model iLand, we simulated ecosystem responses to a wide range of climatic changes (up to a 6°C increase in mean annual temperature and a 30% reduction in mean annual precipitation), testing for tipping points in vegetation size structure and composition under different topography scenarios. We found that at warming levels above +2°C a threshold was crossed, with the system tipping into an alternative state. The system shifted from a conifer‐dominated landscape characterized by large trees to a landscape dominated by smaller, predominantly broadleaved trees. Topographic complexity moderated climate change impacts, smoothing and delaying the transitions between alternative vegetation states. We subsequently reversed the simulated climate forcing to assess the ability of the landscape to recover from climate change impacts. The forest landscape showed hysteresis, particularly in scenarios with lower precipitation. At the same mean annual temperature, equilibrium vegetation size structure and species composition differed between warming and cooling trajectories. Here we show that even moderate warming corresponding to current policy targets could result in critical transitions of forest ecosystems and highlight the importance of topographic complexity as a buffering agent. Furthermore, our results show that overshooting ambitious climate mitigation targets could be dangerous, as ecological impacts can be irreversible at millennial time scales once a tipping point has been crossed.     

中国东北地区近50年净生态系统生产力的时空动态

东北地区处于我国最高纬度地区,是全球气候变化最敏感的区域之一,研究东北地区净生态系统生产力对气候变化的响应,对阐明北半球中高纬度陆地生态系统碳源汇格局具有重要意义。基于CEVSA(Carbon Exchange between Vegetation,Soil and Atomasphere)模型,对1961—2010年东北地区净生态系统生产力NEP的时空格局及变化趋势进行分析,并探讨了气候变化与区域碳源汇的关系。结果表明:(1)1961—2010年,东北地区年NEP总量在-0.094PgC/a—0.117PgC/a之间波动,年平均0.026PgC/a,占全国NEP总量的15%—37%。过去50年东北区域NEP没有明显的线性变化趋势,20世纪80年代碳吸收量最高,20世纪90年代后碳吸收量开始下降。(2)东北地区NEP的空间分布呈现出东部高,西部和中部低,北部高,南部低的空间格局。过去50年来,碳源区向大气释放的碳量在减少,碳汇区从大气吸收的碳也在减少。(3)NEP的年际变化与温度呈负相关(r=-0.343,P0.05),与降水呈显著正相关(r=0.859,P0.01),东北地区NEP和年降水量的变化规律基本一致,即同期上升或达到最高值,温度和降水共同作用导致东北地区NEP的年际变化,而年降水量的变化对NEP年际变化起主要作用。在空间上,东北地区NEP与降水呈极显著正相关(P0.01)的面积占研究区域总面积的91.5%,与温度呈显著负相关(P0.05)的面积占31.6%,降水也是决定NEP空间分布的最主要因子。(4)升温伴随降水增加导致1961—1990年NEP呈增加趋势,而其后升温伴随降水减少则是近20年东北区域碳汇能力减弱的重要原因。     

海南岛尖峰岭热带山地雨林区26年的气候变化特征——光、水和风因子

采用海南尖峰岭森林生态系统国家野外科学观测研究站天池气象站1980～2005年的地面常规气象观测资料,分析了光、水和风等气候因子的变化趋势,结果发现:26年来,尖峰岭热带山地雨林区年日照时数、年降水量、年蒸发量、年平均相对湿度、年平均水汽压和年平均风速的多年平均值分别为1467.4h、2449.0mm、1248.8mm、88.67%、20.77hPa、1.2m/s.年降水量、平均相对湿度、平均水汽压均呈上升趋势,其中平均水汽压升高趋势明显,每10a增加0.38hPa;日照时数、年蒸发量和年平均风速呈下降趋势,其中平均风速下降明显,每10a减小0.27m/s;月降水量和月蒸发量年代际变化规律不一,但10月份的降水量和9月份的蒸发量下降趋势明显.气候增暖作用分析表明,在全球气候变化背景下,尖峰岭山地雨林区气候增暖作用显著.     

澜沧江流域暴雨干旱灾害与海温异常波动规律的相关性

基于中国气象局国家气象信息中心提供的澜沧江区域1961—2011年50年气象资料,采用EMD(Empirical Mode Decomposition)分解、均生函数逐步回归模型、相关分析等方法,探讨了澜沧江流域极端天气灾害的变化特征,及其区域极端灾害变化和全球海温异常ENSO(El Nio/La Nia-Southern Oscillation)之间的联系。结果表明:(1)该区域降水和暴雨频次存在多尺度特征,降水量存在2a、7a、15a的变化周期,且主周期为准2 a。(2)降水量和暴雨频度序列的IMF1和IMF2周期在2—7 a之间,与ENSO在年际变化上的信号相吻合,NINO(El Nio)指数无论春夏秋冬或年际都与暴雨和干旱灾害频次呈现负相关,而SOI(Southern Oscillation Index)指数则呈现正相关,其中,NINO指数与干旱相关性指数在秋冬和年际接近-0.3。(3)澜沧江流域暴雨和干旱灾害与ENSO有重要联系,且随着气温升高干旱灾害频次明显增加。研究结果显示区域极端气温灾害的变化与全球气候变暖有某种关联,是全球气候变化的区域响应表现形式之一。     

气候变暖背景下春兰和蕙兰的适生区分布预测

为了阐明气候变暖背景下春兰(Cymbidium goeringii)和蕙兰(C. faberi)在我国的适生区分布变化情况,根据157条分布记录和19个生物气候变量,应用最大熵物种分布模型,对2070年4种温室气体排放情景下春兰和蕙兰在我国的适生区分布进行预测,并筛选影响其地理分布的主要气候因子。结果表明:(1)2070年春兰和蕙兰分布点的年均温(bio1)、最冷月最低温度(bio6)和最冷季平均温度(bio11)等均升高,气候有变暖趋势;(2)受试者工作特征曲线下面积(AUC)值在0.9—1.0之间,模型预测结果可信度较高;(3)影响春兰、蕙兰当前和2070年地理分布的限制性气候因子主要有最冷月最低温度(bio6)、最冷季平均温度(bio11)、年均降水量(bio12)和最干月份降水量(bio14);(4)气候变暖将会对春兰和蕙兰的适宜生境范围和面积产生影响。预测2070年春兰的适宜生境面积将会有所减小,而蕙兰的适宜生境面积将会增加,且整体有向北迁移的趋势。研究结果为野生春兰和蕙兰的生态风险评价和引种提供了重要依据。     

祁连山气候变化特征及其对水资源的影响

祁连山作为我国重要的生态功能区、西北地区重要的生态安全屏障和河流产流区,是气候变化敏感区和生态环境脆弱区,其生态环境对西北地区经济发展起着重要作用。本研究利用祁连山区气温和降水观测数据、MOD10A2积雪产品以及石羊河、黑河和疏勒河流量资料,系统分析了1961—2020年祁连山区的气候变化特征,以及在气候变暖背景下,气候变化对祁连山区水资源的影响。结果表明: 1961—2020年,祁连山区平均气温呈显著上升趋势,升温速率达0.39 ℃·(10 a)^-1,西段升温速率最大,中、东段次之,冬季升温趋势最显著,春季最小;祁连山区平均气温在1997年发生突变。祁连山区年降水量总体呈波动增加趋势[10 mm·(10 a)^-1],中段增加最明显,2004年以来祁连山区处于多雨时期,气候呈暖湿化趋势;四季降水量均呈增加趋势,夏季降水增加对年降水贡献最大;年降水以年际尺度变化为主,2.8年的年际尺度贡献率高达64.3%。祁连山积雪面积受气温和降雪影响明显,与夏季气温存在负相关,与降雪量存在正相关;2016—2020年,祁连山增温趋缓、降雪增多,积雪面积呈增加趋势。2000年以来,祁连山升温加剧,降水增多,冰雪融水增加,石羊河、黑河和疏勒河出山径流均呈增加趋势。研究结果对祁连山区生态文明建设和应对气候变化具有重要意义。     

青藏高原沼泽湿地植被NDVI时空变化及其对气候变化的响应

基于2000—2017年逐旬MODIS NDVI数据和逐月气温、降水数据,分析了青藏高原不同类型沼泽湿地植被生长季NDVI时空变化特征及其对气候变化的响应。研究结果表明：青藏高原沼泽植被生长季多年平均NDVI自西北向东南逐渐增加;沼泽植被生长季平均NDVI在2000—2017年总体呈现显著上升趋势 (0.010/10a) ,生长季NDVI呈上升趋势的面积占整个研究区面积的78.25%。青藏高原沼泽植被生长季NDVI与降水量总体上呈现弱的相关性,表明降水并不是影响该地区沼泽植被生长的主要因素。青藏高原沼泽植被生长主要受气温影响,气温升高能明显促进沼泽植被的生长。此外,首次发现白天和夜晚温度升高对青藏高原沼泽植被生长具有不对称性影响,其中夜晚增温对沼泽植被生长的促进效果更加显著。在全球白天和夜晚不对称增温的背景下,白天和夜晚温度对青藏高原沼泽植被的不对称影响应当引起重视,尤其是在利用模型模拟未来气候变化对该地区沼泽植被影响时。     

Responses of terrestrial ecosystems to temperature and precipitation change: a meta‐analysis of experimental manipulation

Global mean temperature is predicted to increase by 2–7 °C and precipitation to change across the globe by the end of this century. To quantify climate effects on ecosystem processes, a number of climate change experiments have been established around the world in various ecosystems. Despite these efforts, general responses of terrestrial ecosystems to changes in temperature and precipitation, and especially to their combined effects, remain unclear. We used meta‐analysis to synthesize ecosystem‐level responses to warming, altered precipitation, and their combination. We focused on plant growth and ecosystem carbon (C) balance, including biomass, net primary production (NPP), respiration, net ecosystem exchange (NEE), and ecosystem photosynthesis, synthesizing results from 85 studies. We found that experimental warming and increased precipitation generally stimulated plant growth and ecosystem C fluxes, whereas decreased precipitation had the opposite effects. For example, warming significantly stimulated total NPP, increased ecosystem photosynthesis, and ecosystem respiration. Experimentally reduced precipitation suppressed aboveground NPP (ANPP) and NEE, whereas supplemental precipitation enhanced ANPP and NEE. Plant productivity and ecosystem C fluxes generally showed higher sensitivities to increased precipitation than to decreased precipitation. Interactive effects of warming and altered precipitation tended to be smaller than expected from additive, single‐factor effects, though low statistical power limits the strength of these conclusions. New experiments with combined temperature and precipitation manipulations are needed to conclusively determine the importance of temperature–precipitation interactions on the C balance of terrestrial ecosystems under future climate conditions.     

Community structure and composition in response to climate change in a temperate steppe

Climate change would have profound influences on community structure and composition, and subsequently has impacts on ecosystem functioning and feedback to climate change. A field experiment with increased temperature and precipitation was conducted to examine effects of experimental warming, increased precipitation and their interactions on community structure and composition in a temperate steppe in northern China since April 2005. Increased precipitation significantly stimulated species richness and coverage of plant community. In contrast, experimental warming markedly reduced species richness of grasses and community coverage. Species richness was positively dependent upon soil moisture (SM) across all treatments and years. Redundancy analysis (RDA) illustrated that SM dominated the response of community composition to climate change at the individual level, suggesting indirect effects of climate change on plant community composition via altering water availability. In addition, species interaction also mediated the responses of functional group coverage to increased precipitation and temperature. Our observations revealed that both abiotic (soil water availability) and biotic (interspecific interactions) factors play important roles in regulating plant community structure and composition in response to climate change in the semiarid steppe. Therefore these factors should be incorporated in model predicting terrestrial vegetation dynamics under climate change.