Productivity and Quality of Alpine Grassland Vary With Soil Water Availability Under Experimental Warming.

ABSTRACT: The plant productivity of alpine meadow is predicted to generally increase under a warming climate, but it remains unclear whether the positive response rates will vary with soil water availability. Without consideration of the response of community composition and plant quality, livestock grazing under the current stocking rate might still lead to grassland degradation, even in meadows with high plant biomass. We have conducted a warming experiment from 2010 to 2017 to examine the interactive effects of warming and soil water availability on plant growth and forage quality at individual and functional group levels in an alpine meadow located in the permafrost region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Warming-induced changes in community composition, biomass, and forage quality varied with so

SUBMITTER: Li C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6302047 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature