Forb stability, dwarf shrub stability and species asynchrony regulate ecosystem stability along an experimental precipitation gradient in a semi‐arid desert grassland

Precipitation pattern changes may affect plant biodiversity, which could impact ecosystem stability. However, the effects of changes in precipitation regime on ecosystem stability and their potential mechanisms are still unclear. We conducted a 3‐year field manipulation experiment with five precipit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant biology (Stuttgart, Germany) Germany), 2024-04, Vol.26 (3), p.378-389
Main Authors: Zhang, L., Gao, J., Zhao, R., Wang, J., Hao, L., Wang, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aridity
Biodiversity
Biomass
Coefficients
Community biomass
Deserts
Ecosystem
Ecosystem stability
Ecosystems
Environmental impact
functional group stability
Functional groups
Grassland
Grasslands
Growing season
Plants
Precipitation
precipitation changes
Precipitation effects
Precipitation patterns
Precipitation regime
Soil
species asynchrony
Species diversity
Stability
Structural stability
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Summary:Precipitation pattern changes may affect plant biodiversity, which could impact ecosystem stability. However, the effects of changes in precipitation regime on ecosystem stability and their potential mechanisms are still unclear. We conducted a 3‐year field manipulation experiment with five precipitation treatments (−40%, −20%, 0% (CK), +20% and +40% of ambient growing season precipitation) in a semi‐arid desert grassland to examine the effects of precipitation alterations on functional group stability, species asynchrony, and diversity, and the underlying mchanisms of ecosystem stability using structural equation modelling. Alterations in precipitation had different effects on community biomass and functional group biomass. Moreover, ecosystem stability was mainly driven by forb stability (path coefficient = 0.79). Changes in precipitation had significant effects on soil dissolved inorganic N (P 
ISSN:1435-8603
1438-8677
DOI:10.1111/plb.13622