Publications by authors named "Yani Meng"
Article Synopsis
- Grime's CSR theory suggests that during secondary succession, plant communities evolve from ruderal (quick-growing) to stress-tolerant species, but this idea has not been thoroughly tested with long-term data.
- Using 60 years of data on old-field succession, the study found that while communities generally shifted from ruderal to stress-tolerant strategies, the conditions at abandonment significantly influenced early succession trajectories.
- The research also highlighted a distinct difference between alien and native species, with aliens starting similar but shifting more toward ruderal strategies over time, indicating that both initial conditions and species origin are critical in understanding plant community dynamics.
Article Synopsis
- - The study tests the assumption that ecosystem stability increases over time (succession) by analyzing 60 years of data from 480 plots in 10 fields.
- - Findings show that while overall ecosystem stability (γ stability) increases at the larger field scale, local plot stability (α stability) does not increase, primarily due to changes in spatial and temporal species stability.
- - A positive relationship between diversity and stability was observed at the larger scale, indicating that greater functional diversity contributes to overall ecosystem stability over time, highlighting the importance of spatial context in ecological assessments.
Nitrogen enrichment and land use are known to influence various ecosystems, but how these anthropogenic changes influence community and ecosystem responses to disturbance remains poorly understood. Here we investigated the effects of increased nitrogen input and mowing on the resistance and recovery of temperate semiarid grassland experiencing a three-year drought. Nitrogen addition increased grassland biomass recovery but decreased structural recovery after drought, whereas annual mowing increased grassland biomass recovery and structural recovery but reduced structural resistance to drought.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Elton's biotic resistance hypothesis suggests that communities with high species diversity are better at resisting invasive species, and this has been backed by numerous experiments.
- A 4-year grassland study using common ragweed showed that higher resident species diversity consistently led to lower invasibility, regardless of nitrogen availability.
- The research highlights that factors like increased biomass, greater trait dissimilarity among species, and the presence of resource-conservative traits contribute to this resistance, underscoring the importance of functional traits in understanding biological invasions, especially in changing environments.
[Effects of fertilization and water addition on soil acid neutralizing capacity in an old-field grassland].
Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao
May 2020
Increasing nitrogen (N) deposition results in soil acidification in grasslands. Acid buffering capacity of soil is a critical index evaluating soil acidification, the response of which to N input is regulated by precipitation and concentration of other limiting elements. To explore the responses of soil acidification to N, phosphorus (P), and water inputs, we conducted a 13-year field experiment in an old-field grassland and calculated the acid buffering capacity (ABC) and acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) at the reference of pH=5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF