Distributions of trace elements with Long-term grazing exclusion in a semi-arid grassland of Inner Mongolia.

Trace elements are the essential mineral nutrients in grassland, however, we still know little about the distributions of trace elements in grassland with long-term grazing exclusion. The contents, stocks, and proportions of iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), manganese (Mn), and boron (B) in green plant-litter-root-soil were evaluated by enclosing for 18, and 39 years inside the fence (F18 and F39) and grazing outside the fence (F0) in Inner Mongolia grassland. The results showed that F18 and F39 decreased the stocks of Fe, Al, and Mn in green plant and root compared to F0 ( < .

Soil nematode metacommunities in different land covers: Assessment at the local and regional scales.

The metacommunity theory enhances our understanding of how ecological processes regulate community structure. Yet, unraveling the complexities of soil nematode metacommunity structures across various spatial scales and determining the factors influencing these patterns remains challenging. Therefore, we conducted an investigation on soil nematode metacommunities spanning from north to south in the Northeastern China.

Global richness patterns of alpine genus depend on multiple factors.

Environmental factors impact species richness differently across taxonomic groups, and understanding the geographic patterns and drivers influencing alpine plant richness remains limited. This study compiled global distribution data of 404 species of , an alpine genus, and analyzed the relative effects of different environmental factors and several previously proposed models on the variation of richness. By evaluating the effects of range size and regions on the relationships between richness and environmental factors, we found that all tested environmental factors had weak effects on richness variation for all species and wide-ranging species, while habitat heterogeneity was the best predictor for narrow-ranging species.

Spatiotemporal variation in vegetation phenology and its response to climate change in marshes of Sanjiang Plain, China.

Sanjiang Plain is the largest marsh distribution area of China, and marshes in this region significantly affect regional carbon cycle and biodiversity protection. The vegetation phenology of marsh significantly affects the energy exchange and carbon cycle in that region. Under the influence of global climatic change, identifying the changes in phenology and their responses to climatic variation in marshes of Sanjiang Plain is essential for predicting the carbon stocks of marsh ecosystem in that region.

Longitudinal multidiversity pattern and the environmental drivers of riparian bird communities along submontane rivers of Changbai Mountains, China.

Riparian zones are biodiversity hotspots in montane ecosystems and are of critical conservation concern. However, studies on longitudinal diversity patterns and environmental drivers have been restricted to aquatic fauna, while the animals that rely on both river and riparian resources have been of much less concern. Here, we examined the multifaceted diversity distribution of riparian birds along longitudinal gradients and analyzed the importance of environmental factors in shaping these patterns in the Changbai Mountains.

Associations between leaf developmental stability, variability, canalization, and phenotypic plasticity in .

Developmental stability, canalization, and phenotypic plasticity are the most common sources of phenotypic variation, yet comparative studies investigating the relationships between these sources, specifically in plants, are lacking. To investigate the relationships among developmental stability or instability, developmental variability, canalization, and plasticity in plants, we conducted a field experiment with , by subjecting plants to three densities under infertile vs. fertile soil conditions.

Drivers of Collembola assemblages along an altitudinal gradient in northeast China.

Altitudinal changes in the diversity of plants and animals have been well documented; however, soil animals received little attention in this context and it is unclear whether their diversity follows general altitudinal distribution patterns. Changbai Mountain is one of few well-conserved mountain regions comprising natural ecosystems on the Eurasian continent. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the diversity and community composition of Collembola along ten altitudinal sites representing five vegetation types from forest to alpine tundra.

Morphological canalization, integration, and plasticity in response to population density in : Influences of soil conditions and growth stages.

Phenotypic integration and developmental canalization have been hypothesized to constrain the degree of phenotypic plasticity, but little evidence exists, probably due to the lack of studies on the relationships among the three processes, especially for plants under different environments. We conducted a field experiment by subjecting plants of to three densities, under infertile and fertile soil conditions, and analyzing correlations among canalization, integration, and plasticity in a variety of measured morphological traits after 50 and 70 days, to investigate the relationships among the three variables in response to density and how these responses vary with soil conditions and growth stages. Results showed trait canalization decreased and phenotypic integration and the degree of plasticity (absolute plasticity) in traits increased with density.

Phenotypic plasticity of four Chenopodiaceae species with contrasting saline-sodic tolerance in response to increased salinity-sodicity.

It is unknown whether phenotypic plasticity in fitness-related traits is associated with salinity-sodicity tolerance. This study compared growth and allocation phenotypic plasticity in two species with low salinity-sodicity tolerance ( and ) and two species with high salinity-sodicity tolerance ( and ) in a pot experiment in the Songnen grassland, China. While the species with low tolerance had higher growth and allocation plasticity than the highly tolerant species, the highly tolerant species only adjusted their growth traits and maintained higher fitness (e.