Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau

Wenjin Li; Jinhua Li; Rulan Zhang; Shuangshuang Liu; Huakun Zhou; Buqing Yao; Meiling Guo; Fangping Wang

doi:doi:10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14

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Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau

Wenjin Li, Jinhua Li, Rulan Zhang, Shuangshuang Liu, Huakun Zhou, Buqing Yao, Meiling Guo, Fangping Wang

Published in Earth Sciences (Volume 6, Issue 5)

Received: 28 July 2017 Accepted: 10 August 2017 Published: 8 September 2017

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Abstract

An old-field chronosequence in the subalpine region of the Tibetan Plateau were used as a model system to test a hypothesis that forbs drive pathways of successional trajectories in earlier stages of succession and grasses drive the development of vegetation in later successional stages. All old fields were dominated by forbs, which accounted for 65-85% of species richness and abundance. Species richness and total plant abundance significantly increased with time since abandonment. This is in disagreement with ‘humped-back model’. Although no consistent changes in seed size in the different functional groups found over time, however, there was a significant decline for the forbs, legumes, and annuals, except for the 1-year old field. In this species-rich subalpine ecosystem, forbs rather than grasses and sedges were identified as key factors affecting community structure and plant assemblages, whenever in the earlier successional stages or in the later successional stages. These indicated that grassland managers and policy makers should recognize potential role of forbs in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning.

Published in	Earth Sciences (Volume 6, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14
Page(s)	80-87
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Forb Dominance, Chronosequence, Old-Field Succession, Shifts in Plant Community Composition, Plant Functional Groups, Subalpine Meadow, Tibet Plateau

References

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APA Style

Wenjin Li, Jinhua Li, Rulan Zhang, Shuangshuang Liu, Huakun Zhou, et al. (2017). Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau. Earth Sciences, 6(5), 80-87. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14

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ACS Style

Wenjin Li; Jinhua Li; Rulan Zhang; Shuangshuang Liu; Huakun Zhou, et al. Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau. Earth Sci. 2017, 6(5), 80-87. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14

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AMA Style

Wenjin Li, Jinhua Li, Rulan Zhang, Shuangshuang Liu, Huakun Zhou, et al. Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau. Earth Sci. 2017;6(5):80-87. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14

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@article{10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14,
  author = {Wenjin Li and Jinhua Li and Rulan Zhang and Shuangshuang Liu and Huakun Zhou and Buqing Yao and Meiling Guo and Fangping Wang},
  title = {Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau},
  journal = {Earth Sciences},
  volume = {6},
  number = {5},
  pages = {80-87},
  doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20170605.14},
  abstract = {An old-field chronosequence in the subalpine region of the Tibetan Plateau were used as a model system to test a hypothesis that forbs drive pathways of successional trajectories in earlier stages of succession and grasses drive the development of vegetation in later successional stages. All old fields were dominated by forbs, which accounted for 65-85% of species richness and abundance. Species richness and total plant abundance significantly increased with time since abandonment. This is in disagreement with ‘humped-back model’. Although no consistent changes in seed size in the different functional groups found over time, however, there was a significant decline for the forbs, legumes, and annuals, except for the 1-year old field. In this species-rich subalpine ecosystem, forbs rather than grasses and sedges were identified as key factors affecting community structure and plant assemblages, whenever in the earlier successional stages or in the later successional stages. These indicated that grassland managers and policy makers should recognize potential role of forbs in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau
AU  - Wenjin Li
AU  - Jinhua Li
AU  - Rulan Zhang
AU  - Shuangshuang Liu
AU  - Huakun Zhou
AU  - Buqing Yao
AU  - Meiling Guo
AU  - Fangping Wang
Y1  - 2017/09/08
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14
T2  - Earth Sciences
JF  - Earth Sciences
JO  - Earth Sciences
SP  - 80
EP  - 87
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5982
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14
AB  - An old-field chronosequence in the subalpine region of the Tibetan Plateau were used as a model system to test a hypothesis that forbs drive pathways of successional trajectories in earlier stages of succession and grasses drive the development of vegetation in later successional stages. All old fields were dominated by forbs, which accounted for 65-85% of species richness and abundance. Species richness and total plant abundance significantly increased with time since abandonment. This is in disagreement with ‘humped-back model’. Although no consistent changes in seed size in the different functional groups found over time, however, there was a significant decline for the forbs, legumes, and annuals, except for the 1-year old field. In this species-rich subalpine ecosystem, forbs rather than grasses and sedges were identified as key factors affecting community structure and plant assemblages, whenever in the earlier successional stages or in the later successional stages. These indicated that grassland managers and policy makers should recognize potential role of forbs in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning.
VL  - 6
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Wenjin Li

State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agroecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
Jinhua Li

State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agroecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
Rulan Zhang

State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agroecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
Shuangshuang Liu

State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agroecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
Huakun Zhou

Key Laboratory of Restoration Ecology of Cold Area in Qinghai Province, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, China
Buqing Yao

Key Laboratory of Restoration Ecology of Cold Area in Qinghai Province, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, China
Meiling Guo

Key Laboratory of Restoration Ecology of Cold Area in Qinghai Province, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, China
Fangping Wang

Key Laboratory of Restoration Ecology of Cold Area in Qinghai Province, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, China

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Wenjin Li, Jinhua Li, Rulan Zhang, Shuangshuang Liu, Huakun Zhou, et al. (2017). Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau. Earth Sciences, 6(5), 80-87. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14

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ACS Style

Wenjin Li; Jinhua Li; Rulan Zhang; Shuangshuang Liu; Huakun Zhou, et al. Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau. Earth Sci. 2017, 6(5), 80-87. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14

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AMA Style

Wenjin Li, Jinhua Li, Rulan Zhang, Shuangshuang Liu, Huakun Zhou, et al. Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau. Earth Sci. 2017;6(5):80-87. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14

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@article{10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14,
  author = {Wenjin Li and Jinhua Li and Rulan Zhang and Shuangshuang Liu and Huakun Zhou and Buqing Yao and Meiling Guo and Fangping Wang},
  title = {Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau},
  journal = {Earth Sciences},
  volume = {6},
  number = {5},
  pages = {80-87},
  doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20170605.14},
  abstract = {An old-field chronosequence in the subalpine region of the Tibetan Plateau were used as a model system to test a hypothesis that forbs drive pathways of successional trajectories in earlier stages of succession and grasses drive the development of vegetation in later successional stages. All old fields were dominated by forbs, which accounted for 65-85% of species richness and abundance. Species richness and total plant abundance significantly increased with time since abandonment. This is in disagreement with ‘humped-back model’. Although no consistent changes in seed size in the different functional groups found over time, however, there was a significant decline for the forbs, legumes, and annuals, except for the 1-year old field. In this species-rich subalpine ecosystem, forbs rather than grasses and sedges were identified as key factors affecting community structure and plant assemblages, whenever in the earlier successional stages or in the later successional stages. These indicated that grassland managers and policy makers should recognize potential role of forbs in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Forbs Rather Than Grasses as Key Factors Affecting Succession of Abandoned Fields - A Case Study from a Subalpine Region of the Eastern Tibet Plateau
AU  - Wenjin Li
AU  - Jinhua Li
AU  - Rulan Zhang
AU  - Shuangshuang Liu
AU  - Huakun Zhou
AU  - Buqing Yao
AU  - Meiling Guo
AU  - Fangping Wang
Y1  - 2017/09/08
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14
T2  - Earth Sciences
JF  - Earth Sciences
JO  - Earth Sciences
SP  - 80
EP  - 87
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5982
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20170605.14
AB  - An old-field chronosequence in the subalpine region of the Tibetan Plateau were used as a model system to test a hypothesis that forbs drive pathways of successional trajectories in earlier stages of succession and grasses drive the development of vegetation in later successional stages. All old fields were dominated by forbs, which accounted for 65-85% of species richness and abundance. Species richness and total plant abundance significantly increased with time since abandonment. This is in disagreement with ‘humped-back model’. Although no consistent changes in seed size in the different functional groups found over time, however, there was a significant decline for the forbs, legumes, and annuals, except for the 1-year old field. In this species-rich subalpine ecosystem, forbs rather than grasses and sedges were identified as key factors affecting community structure and plant assemblages, whenever in the earlier successional stages or in the later successional stages. These indicated that grassland managers and policy makers should recognize potential role of forbs in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning.
VL  - 6
IS  - 5
ER  -

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