Diversity, functionality, and stability: shaping ecosystem multifunctionality in the successional sequences of alpine meadows and alpine steppes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

作者：Xin Jin, Abby Deng, Yuejun Fan, Kun Ma, Yangan Zhao, Yingcheng Wang, Kaifu Zheng, Xueli Zhou, Guangxin Lu · 发表于：Frontiers in Plant Science · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fpls.2025.1436439 · 被引用次数：10 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Plant and animal studies、Ecosystem dynamics and resilience

Recent investigations on the Tibetan Plateau have harnessed advancements in digital ground vegetation surveys, high temporal resolution remote sensing data, and sophisticated cloud computing technologies to delineate successional dynamics between alpine meadows and alpine steppes. However, these efforts have not thoroughly explored how different successional stages affect key ecological parameters, such as species and functional diversity, stability, and ecosystem multifunctionality, which are fundamental to ecosystem resilience and adaptability. Given this gap, we systematically investigate variations in vegetation diversity, functional diversity, and the often-overlooked dimension of community stability across the successional gradient from alpine meadows to alpine steppes. We further identify the primary environmental drivers of these changes and evaluate their collective impact on ecosystem multifunctionality. Our analysis reveals that, as vegetation communities progress from alpine meadows toward alpine steppes, multi-year average precipitation and temperature decline significantly, accompanied by reductions in soil nutrients. These environmental shifts led to decreased species diversity, driven by lower precipitation and reduced soil nitrate-nitrogen levels, as well as community differentiation influenced by declining soil pH and precipitation. Consequently, as species loss and community differentiation intensified, these changes diminished functional diversity and erod...