Reducing soil erosion by improving community functional diversity in semi-arid grasslands

CORC > 生态环境研究中心 > 中国科学院生态环境研究中心 > 城市与区域生态国家重点实验室

	Reducing soil erosion by improving community functional diversity in semi-arid grasslands
	Zhu, Huoxing; Fu, Bojie; Wang, Shuai; Zhu, Linhai; Zhang, Liwei; Jiao, Lei; Wang, Cong
刊名	JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
	2015-08
卷号	52 期号:4 页码:1063-1072
关键词	community functional composition ecological restoration erosion control services information-theoretic approach Loess Plateau plant-soil interactions trait-based approach
英文摘要	Great efforts have been made to control soil erosion by restoring plant communities in degraded ecosystems world-wide. However, soil erosion has not been substantially reduced mainly because current restoration strategies lead to large areas of mono-specific vegetation, which are inefficient in reducing soil erosion because of their simple canopy and root structure. Therefore, an advanced understanding of how community functional composition affects soil erosion processes, as well as an improved restoration scheme to reduce soil erosion, is urgently needed. We investigated the effect of community functional composition on soil erosion in restored semi-arid grasslands on the Loess Plateau of China. Community functional composition of 16 restored grasslands was quantified by community-weighted mean (CWM) and functional diversity (FD) trait values, which were calculated from nine plant functional traits of thirteen locally dominant plant species. Species richness and evenness were also measured. Soil erosion rates were measured using standard erosion plots. The multimodel inference approach was used to estimate the direction and the relative importance of these biodiversity indices in reducing soil erosion. A robust and strong negative effect of functional divergence (FDiv) on soil erosion was found. The prevalence of particular trait combinations can also decrease soil erosion. The greatest control over soil erosion was exerted when the community mean root diameter was small and the root tensile strength was great.Synthesis and applications: These findings imply that community functional diversity plays an important role in reducing soil erosion in semi-arid restored grasslands. This means that current restoration strategies can be greatly improved by incorporating community functional diversity into restoration design. We propose a trait-based restoration framework for reducing soil erosion, termed SSM' (Screening-Simulating-Maintaining). SSM aims to translate the target of community functional diversity into community assemblages that can be manipulated by practitioners. Based on this framework, a comprehensive procedure, highlighting functional diversity as the primary concern in determining optimal community assemblages, was developed to meet the pressing need for more effective restoration strategies to reduce soil erosion. These findings imply that community functional diversity plays an important role in reducing soil erosion in semi-arid restored grasslands. This means that current restoration strategies can be greatly improved by incorporating community functional diversity into restoration design. We propose a trait-based restoration framework for reducing soil erosion, termed SSM' (Screening-Simulating-Maintaining). SSM aims to translate the target of community functional diversity into community assemblages that can be manipulated by practitioners. Based on this framework, a comprehensive procedure, highlighting functional diversity as the primary concern in determining optimal community assemblages, was developed to meet the pressing need for more effective restoration strategies to reduce soil erosion.
研究领域[WOS]	Ecology
WOS记录号	WOS:000358004300029
公开日期	2016-03-08
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://ir.rcees.ac.cn/handle/311016/32364]
专题	生态环境研究中心_城市与区域生态国家重点实验室
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Zhu, Huoxing,Fu, Bojie,Wang, Shuai,et al. Reducing soil erosion by improving community functional diversity in semi-arid grasslands[J]. JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY,2015,52(4):1063-1072.
APA	Zhu, Huoxing.,Fu, Bojie.,Wang, Shuai.,Zhu, Linhai.,Zhang, Liwei.,...&Wang, Cong.(2015).Reducing soil erosion by improving community functional diversity in semi-arid grasslands.JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY,52(4),1063-1072.
MLA	Zhu, Huoxing,et al."Reducing soil erosion by improving community functional diversity in semi-arid grasslands".JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY 52.4(2015):1063-1072.