Variability in precipitation influences the water sourcing and adaptive strategies of key plant species within the desert steppe ecosystem

作者：Hao Zhang, Kechen Song, Haiying Hu, S. Ma, Fenghua Ma · 发表于：Ecological Indicators · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.111333 · 被引用次数：13 · 研究领域：Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Tree-ring climate responses

The composition and species diversity of desert plant communities exhibit high sensitivity to changes in precipitation. From the perspective of plant community dynamics, alterations in precipitation levels result in increased complexity in water absorption and utilization strategies, consequently leading to diversified adaptation strategies. Focusing on the desert steppe within the transitional zone between agriculture and animal husbandry in northern China, this study investigates the mechanisms through which variations in precipitation impact plant species' water absorption and utilization strategies in desert steppes. In this study, a controlled precipitation experiment was conducted on site in a natural desert steppe setting with three precipitation treatments: 50 % reduction in precipitation (PE), normal precipitation (CK), and 50 % increase in precipitation (PD). By analysing the δ2H and δ18O values of plants, soil, and precipitation, as well as indicators such as plant species composition, biomass, specific leaf area (SLA), and δ13C values, the changes in plant community species and the main plant species' water sources and strategies under different precipitation conditions were studied. The results show that (1) Within each treatment, the variability of soil δ2H and δ18O in the 0–20 cm soil layer was greater than that in the 20–60 cm soil layer. The slope of the soil δ2H and δ18O fitting line in the PE treatment was larger than that in the PD and CK treatments. (2) E...