Indicator species and functional groups as predictors of proximity to ecological thresholds in Mongolian rangelands |
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Authors: | Takehiro Sasaki Satoru Okubo Tomoo Okayasu Undarmaa Jamsran Toshiya Ohkuro Kazuhiko Takeuchi |
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Institution: | (1) Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan;(2) Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan;(3) Center for Ecosystem Study, Mongolian State University of Agriculture, Ulaanbaatar, 210153, Mongolia |
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Abstract: | We focused on responses to grazing by individual species and functional groups in relation to ecological thresholds in Mongolian
rangelands, with repeated measures from the same ecological sites to account for rainfall variability. At all sites, even
under rainfall fluctuations, there were robust combinations of indicator species that could be used to forewarn managers to
take action to minimize the probability of crossing ecological thresholds. Depending on the landscape condition of each site,
the cover of functional groups, which shared traits of perennial life history, grass or forb growth form, linear leaf shape,
and alternate leaf attachment, or the cover of functional groups of woody shrubs dramatically decreased before an ecological
threshold was crossed. Thus, across all sites, the responses of certain functional groups to grazing appeared to predict the
crossing of an ecological threshold. The ecological indicators derived in this study should help to improve land managers’
ability to prevent adverse changes in states before ecological thresholds are reached. |
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