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Purpose: During recent years, there has been a growing interest in CSR across disciplines. Various scholars document that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) narcissism is an important factor that should not be overlooked when analyzing CSR. Research on the relationship between CEO narcissism and CSR has treated CSR as a whole construct. However, little attention has been paid to its effect on different dimensions of CSR, especially the same psychological trait may have effects on charitable donations and employee welfare. The purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between CEO narcissism and charitable donations and employee welfare, while taking into account the moderating role of the legal environment.Methods: This study used the video survey method to measure CEO narcissism, the video information was obtained from Baidu.com and hao.360.com search engines. Other data were collected from Chinese Stock Market Research (CSMAR) database. We used OLS regression for data analysis and also used Tobit regression model to check the robustness of the estimation results. Meanwhile, all analyses will be performed with Stata 16.0 software.Results: Empirical analysis reveals that CEO narcissism has a positive and significant impact on charitable donations and has a negative and significant impact on employee welfare. Moreover, the legal environment will reduce the effect of CEO narcissism on charitable donations and employee welfare, indicating that a stronger legal environment could attenuate the effect of CEO personality traits, especially narcissism on charity donations and employee welfare.Conclusion: This study contributes to the behavioral finance theory and stakeholder theory to better understand the relationship between CEO narcissism and charitable donations and employee welfare. Meanwhile, this study is one of the few studies to investigate the patterns of CSR activities in China, an important emerging economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chairman narcissism has received extensive attention in social psychology and organizational behavior, but the relationship between chairman narcissism and social responsibility has not yet received much attention. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of chairman narcissism on various dimensions of CSR and the moderating roles of analyst coverages. Based on upper echelons theory and stakeholder theory, we distinguished internal corporate social responsibility (internal CSR) and external corporate social responsibility (external CSR) according to whether there was a formal contractual relationship. This study used a narcissism index of chairmen of Chinese listed companies to examine the relationship between chairman narcissism and internal CSR, external CSR, and the data were analyzed using Stata16.0. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between chairman narcissism and external CSR, and there was a negative correlation between chairman narcissism and internal CSR. That is, the higher the Chairman's narcissism degree is, the more external CSR and less internal CSR the firm makes. Further research showed that analyst coverage has weakened the impact of chairman narcissism on internal and external CSR. This paper enriches and expands the research on chairman narcissism and CSR and provides new ideas for selecting corporate managers and improving corporate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Glucuronic acid metabolism participates in cellular detoxification, extracellular matrix remodeling and cell adhesion and migration. Here, we aimed to explore the crosstalk between dysregulated glucuronic acid metabolism and crucial metastatic signalling in glutathione S‐transferase zeta 1 (GSTZ1)‐deficient hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Transwell, HCC xenograft and Gstz1−/‐ mouse models were used to examine the role of GSTZ1 in HCC metastasis. Non‐targeted and targeted metabolomics and global transcriptomic analyses were performed to screen significantly altered metabolic and signalling pathways in GSTZ1 overexpressing hepatoma cells. Further, RNA‐binding protein immunoprecipitation, Biotin‐RNA pull‐down, mRNA decay assays and luciferase reporter assays were used to explore the interaction between RNA and RNA‐binding proteins. Results: GSTZ1 was universally silenced in both human and murine HCC cells, and its deficiency contributed to HCC metastasis in vitro and in vivo. UDP‐glucose 6‐dehydrogenase (UGDH)‐mediated UDP‐glucuronic acid (UDP‐GlcUA) accumulation promoted hepatoma cell migration upon GSTZ1 loss. UDP‐GlcUA stabilized TGFβR1 mRNA by enhancing its binding to polypyrimidine tract binding protein 3, contributing to the activation of TGFβ/Smad signalling. UGDH or TGFβR1 blockade impaired HCC metastasis. In addition, UGDH up‐regulation and UDP‐GlcUA accumulation correlated with increased metastatic potential and decreased patient survival in GSTZ1‐deficient HCC. Conclusions: GSTZ1 deficiency and subsequent up‐regulation of the glucuronic acid metabolic pathway promotes HCC metastasis by increasing the stability of TGFβR1 mRNA and activating TGFβ/Smad signalling. UGDH and a key metabolite, UDP‐GlcUA, may serve as prognostic markers. Targeting UGDH might be a promising strategy for HCC therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyze CO2 fluxes under conditions of climate change in an alpine meadow on the central Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, we simulated the effect of warming using open top chambers (OTCs) from 2012 to 2014. The OTCs increased soil temperature by 1.62°C (P < 0.05), but decreased soil moisture (1.38%, P < 0.05) during the experiments. The response of ecosystem CO2 fluxes to warming was variable, and dependent on the year. Under conditions of warming, mean gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) during the growing season increased significantly in 2012 and 2014 (P < 0.05); however, ecosystem respiration (ER) increased substantially only in 2012 (P < 0.05). The net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) increased marginally in 2012 (P = 0.056), did not change in 2013(P > 0.05), and increased significantly in 2014 (P = 0.034) under conditions of warming. The GEP was more sensitive to climate variations than was the ER, resulting in a large increase in net carbon uptake under warming in the alpine meadow. Under warming, the 3-year averages of GEP, ER, and NEE increased by 19.6%, 15.1%, and 21.1%, respectively. The seasonal dynamic patterns of GEP and NEE, but not ER, were significantly impacted by warming. Aboveground biomass, particularly the graminoid biomass increased significantly under conditions of warming. Soil moisture, soil temperature, and aboveground biomass were the main factors that affected the variation of the ecosystem CO2 fluxes. The effect of warming on inter- and intra-annual patterns of ecosystem CO2 fluxes and the mechanism of different sensitivities in GEP and ER to warming, require further researched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare species can switch between abundant and rare, respond to various external disturbances, enhance community resilience, and reduce the lag in ecosystem recovery. However, the impact of N enrichment on microbial community dynamic changes in rare species during the growing season is still poorly understood. To clarify which taxa contribute most to the community variation under N enrichment and whether the responses of these taxa vary at different periods of the growing season, we set up a 6-years multi-level field N addition experiment in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. The variation in soil bacterial community diversity, composition, species interactions, and assembly process of different abundance profiles were investigated in the early, mid, and late-growing seasons. Approximately 80% of bacteria were classified as rare taxa (including permanently and conditionally rare taxa). The influence of N enrichment on the bacterial community was seasonally dependent. Bacterial community diversity and composition dissimilarity significantly increased only in the early growing season, especially in permanently rare taxa and conditionally rare taxa, but remained stable in the mid-and late-growing seasons. Seasonal fluctuations led to a shift in community composition, and conditionally rare taxa were the primary component of seasonal variation in community composition. Simultaneously, microbial network complexity and stability gradually increased over time, as evidenced by decreased modularity and vulnerability and increased robustness, clustering coefficient, connectivity, and keystone nodes. The assembly of conditionally rare taxa showed a significant difference under N addition, presented as decreased drift and increased dispersal limitation, which are closely related to the composition of the entire bacterial community. Our findings emphasize that the conditionally rare taxa decisive contribute to changes in the bacterial community under N enrichment, but seasonal fluctuations can make bacterial communities resistant to the influence of N enrichment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grassland cover is strongly influenced by climate change. The response of grassland cover to climate change becomes complex with background climate. There have been some advances in research on the sensitivity of grassland vegetation to climate change around the world, but the differences in climate sensitivity among grassland types are still unclear in alpine grassland. Therefore, we applied MODIS NDVI data and trend analysis methods to quantify the spatial and temporal variation of grassland vegetation cover on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Then, we used multiple regression models to analyze the sensitivity of fractional vegetation cover (FVC) to climatic factors (Temperature, Precipitation, Solar radiation, Palmer drought severity index) and summarized the potential mechanisms of vegetation sensitivity to different climatic gradients. Our results showed (1) a significant increasing trend in alpine desert FVC from 2000–2018 (1.12 × 10−3/a, R2 = 0.56, p < 0.001) but no significant trend in other grassland types. (2) FVC sensitivity to climatic factors varied among grassland types, especially in the alpine desert, which had over 60% of the area with positive sensitivity to temperature, precipitation and PDSI. (3) The sensitivity of grassland FVC to heat factors decreases with rising ambient temperature while the sensitivity to moisture increases. Similarly, the sensitivity to moisture decreases while the sensitivity to thermal factors increases along the moisture gradient. Furthermore, the results suggest that future climate warming will promote grassland in cold and wet areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and may suppress vegetation in warmer areas. In contrast, the response of the alpine desert to future climate is more stable. Studying the impact of climate variation at a regional scale could enhance the adaptability of vegetation in future global climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plateau pika ( Ochotona curzoniae ) is considered a keystone species on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Under a moderate burrow density condition, we investigated plant community and soil properties surrounding pika's burrows in comparison to the control sites (without pika's burrows) in an alpine meadow ecosystem. The results demonstrated that plant biomass, especially aboveground biomass around pika's burrow, was improved. The contents of available soil nutrients around the pika's burrow were improved as well. The highest aboveground biomass and highest contents of NH 4 -N, available phosphorus and available potassium was detected at the back of the burrow. The compositions of plant community were not changed significantly around the pika burrow, excluding at the front of the burrow. Our findings revealed that the activities of plateau pika can improve the production of alpine meadow and increase the soil fertility at individual burrow level when the burrow density was not out of control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grazing exerts a significant influence on greenhouse gases (GHGs) fluxes within temperate grasslands. While previous studies have explored the impact of varying grazing intensities on GHGs fluxes in meadow steppe, typical steppe, and desert steppe, there remains a knowledge gap regarding how grazing intensities affect GHGs fluxes across different grassland types and seasonal variations. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of Inner Mongolia grasslands involving 38 published reports and aggregating 143, 160, and 118 records for the CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O, respectively. Our results demonstrated that grazing reduced annual mean CO 2 emission, CH 4 uptake, and N 2 O emission by 15.29%, 10.56%, and 24.73%, respectively (P < 0.05). Specifically, during the freeze-thaw period, grazing induced a decrease of 28.06% and 58.41% in CH 4 uptake and N 2 O emissions, respectively, compared to ungrazed treatments (P < 0.05). Further dissecting the impact, we found that grazing reduced CO 2 emissions in desert steppe, typical steppe, and meadow steppe by 20.28%, 15.54%, and 11.79%, respectively. In addition, grazing decreased CH 4 uptake in typical steppe by 15.14% and decreased N 2 O emission in typical steppe, meadow steppe, and sown pasture by 20.25%, 24.18%, 52.91%, respectively. Crucially, the alteration in plant biomass due to grazing-induced changes underlying drivers that govern the responses of GHGs fluxes. These results furnish compelling evidence that grazing, particularly in non-growing season, holds the potential to mitigate grassland GHGs fluxes in temperate grasslands. Our results can deepen the understanding of the grazing effects on GHGs and offer valuable insights for refining grazing management strategies in pastoral regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenology is an important indicator of plant responses to environmental changes and is closely correlated with biomass production. However, how changes in phenological events affect plant biomass production when exposed to changing temperature and precipitation remain unclear.We conducted a 4‐year manipulative experiment of warming and precipitation addition to explore phenology–biomass interactions under climate change in a dry alpine meadow on the central Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau from 2015 to 2018.In dry and warm years, warming delayed phenology and precipitation addition advanced them. Warming decreased the biomass of Kobresia pygmaea in 2018 and the biomass of Poa pratensis in 2015, 2017 and 2018. However, precipitation addition significantly increased the biomass of Poa pratensis and Potentilla multifida in most of the experimental years. Phenological changes regulated the responses of biomass to treatments. Specifically, delay of green up of P. pratensis and delay of withering of K. pygmaea induced by warming can increase biomass production, but it can be offset by the direct negative effects of warming on biomass.Synthesis. Here we show how warming‐induced drought tend to decrease the biomass production of graminoids and the negative effects of warming on the biomass of P. pratensis and K. pygmaea were partially offset by green up postponement and withering postponement respectively. Our results highlights phenology is a crucial regulator for biomass production under climate change. Hence, both direct and indirect effects of warming and precipitation addition on phenology and biomass cannot be ignored when predicting biomass responses to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Climate is a driver of terrestrial ecosystem carbon exchange, which is an important product of ecosystem function. The Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau has recently been subjected to a marked increase in temperature as a consequence of global warming. To explore the effects of warming on carbon exchange in grassland ecosystems, we conducted a whole‐year warming experiment between 2012 and 2014 using open‐top chambers placed in an alpine meadow, an alpine steppe, and a cultivated grassland on the central Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. We measured the gross primary productivity, net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration, and soil respiration using a chamber‐based method during the growing season. The results show that after 3 years of warming, there was significant stimulation of carbon assimilation and emission in the alpine meadow, but both these processes declined in the alpine steppe and the cultivated grassland. Under warming conditions, the soil water content was more important in stimulating ecosystem carbon exchange in the meadow and cultivated grassland than was soil temperature. In the steppe, the soil temperature was negatively correlated with ecosystem carbon exchange. We found that the ambient soil water content was significantly correlated with the magnitude of warming‐induced change in NEE. Under high soil moisture condition, warming has a significant positive effect on NEE, while it has a negative effect under low soil moisture condition. Our results highlight that the NEE in steppe and cultivated grassland have negative responses to warming; after reclamation, the natural meadow would subject to loose more C in warmer condition. Therefore, under future warmer condition, the overextension of cultivated grassland should be avoided and scientific planning of cultivated grassland should be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scaling up of farming operations by land use rights transfers has been a growing trend in China in recent years. However, little is known about the implications of this trend for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and soil organic carbon (SOC) stock changes. Using farm survey data from Shandong Province, a typical grain production region in China, we used a life cycle assessment (LCA) method to evaluate the impact of different farm scales on input use efficiency, grain production, SOC stock changes and GHG emissions. Large-scale farming operations (LSFO) enhanced input use efficiency by reducing fertilizer and pesticide consumption rates and energy use for irrigation. Compared with small household farming operations (SHFO), LSFO attained higher grain yield in wheat-maize and wheat-rice cropping systems. Compared with small farms, carbon footprints per unit area of large-scale farms were lower for wheat (17%) and maize (28%) in the wheat-maize cropping system and for wheat (14%) and rice (8%) in the wheat-rice cropping system. Moreover, LSFO reduced GHG emissions (7–21%) and enhanced SOC stocks (6–9%), compared with SHFO. This study highlights that in China, land use rights transfers to promote large-scale farming can help achieve cleaner grain production with less negative impact on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganisms are the basis for sustaining ecosystem function and are extremely sensitive to global warming and altered precipitation. Nevertheless, the seasonal pattern of the microbial response to a coupled effect of warming and increased precipitation is largely unknown. We set up a six-year manipulative experiment to verify changes in microbial response to warming (approximately 2 °C), increased precipitation (20 %), and their interactive effect in a semiarid steppe in Inner Mongolia. We detected changes in microbial species richness, diversity, community structure, and microbial interactions during different periods of the growing season. The results suggest that warming and increased precipitation had a stronger impact on the microbial community in the early growing season than in the mid- and late growing seasons. In the early growing season, warming significantly decreased bacterial diversity, while increased precipitation did not significantly affect the microbial community. The interactive effect of increased precipitation and warming significantly increased bacterial richness but decreased fungal richness and amplified the dissimilarities among bacterial and fungal communities. Compared to the early growing season, less microbial taxa significantly responded to warming and increased precipitation in the mid- and late growing seasons. Warming weakened species interactions, as evidenced by fewer nodes and links and lower complexity and robustness in the network. Increased precipitation strengthened species interactions and eased the warming-induced negative effect under the interactive effect. Our findings emphasize that more attention should be given to the changes in the microbial community in the early growing season of grassland in Inner Mongolia under future climate change scenarios. • Climate change impacts were more obvious in the early growing season. • The interactive effect increased bacterial richness but reduced fungal richness. • Fewer taxa respond to climate change in the mid and late growing seasons. • Species interactions weakened by warming but enhanced by precipitation addition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand effects of soil microbes on soil biochemistry in alpine grassland ecosystems under environmental changes, we explored relationships between soil microbial diversity and soil total nitrogen, organic carbon, available nitrogen and phosphorus, soil microbial biomass and soil enzyme activities in alpine meadow, alpine steppe and cultivated grassland on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau under three-year warming, enhanced precipitation and yak overgrazing. Soil total nitrogen, organic carbon and NH4-N were little affected by overgrazing, warming or enhanced precipitation in three types of alpine grasslands. Soil microbial biomass carbon and phosphorus along with the sucrase and phosphatase activities were generally stable under different treatments. Soil NO3-N, available phosphorus, urease activity and microbial biomass nitrogen were increased by overgrazing in the cultivated grassland. Soil bacterial diversity was positively correlated with, while soil fungal diversity negatively with soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities. Soil bacterial diversity was negatively correlated with, while soil fungal diversity positively with soil available nutrients. Our findings indicated soil bacteria and fungi played different roles in affecting soil nutrients and microbiological activities that might provide an important implication to understand why soil biochemistry was generally stable under environmental changes in alpine grassland ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice cultivar is the most influential factor affecting methane emissions from double rice fields. A two-year field experiment was conducted at Huizhou, Guangdong province, South China, to identify from among nine cultivars those cultivars with high-yield potential and lower yield-scaled methane emissions (YSMEs). Methane emissions were measured using the static chamber – gas chromatograph method. Results indicate that the cultivars Qihuazhan (QH), Yexianzhan 8 (YX8) and Yue’erzhan (YE) provide higher rice grain yield (8.69%) with lower YSME (30.27%) compared to the other six cultivars (Yexianzhan 6, Yuejingsimiao, Hefengzhan, Huangsizhan, Huangruanzhan and Huangxiuzhan) (p < 0.05). In particular, QH has the highest yield potential (6777 kg ha−1) and lowest methane emission intensity (0.36 kg kg−1yield) capacity. Methane emissions from the double rice field was found to be significantly (p < 0.05) and positively correlated with tiller number, culm biomass and soil organic matter, dissolved soil organic carbon and total carbon content, but negatively correlated (p < 0.05) with rice harvest index (HI), and root and panicle biomass, suggesting that organic source strength provides the substrate of methane production while the oxidation potential in the rhizosphere and the methane transport capacity of rice roots and culm dominate the emissions of methane from soil to the atmosphere. Multivariate decision regression tree (DRT) analysis showed a significant class difference between QH, YX8 and YE with the other six cultivars. These three cultivars are suitable for promotion of low carbon agriculture in South China. DRT analysis also successfully illustrated a potential way to identify rice varieties for low YSME by decisive parameters of tiller number (<15), HI (>0.43) and nitrogen assimilation of leaves (<40). These findings suggest that optimization of rice cultivars may represent an effective way to address both food demand and climate change concerns by improving rice yields while simultaneously minimizing the impact of climate change per unit yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although sensitivity analysis (SA) was conducted on the DeNitrification–DeComposition (DNDC) model, a global SA over a long period of time is lacking. We used a method of Bayesian analysis of computer code outputs (BACCO) with the Gaussian emulation machine for sensitivity analysis software (GEM-SA) to conduct a long-term SA of DNDC for predicting the annual change of soil organic carbon (dSOC), nitrous oxide emission (N2O) and grain yield of spring wheat. Twenty seven non-weather input parameters with wide ranges were selected for SA using weather data recorded from Three Hills, Alberta over 86 years (1921–2006). The SA had two steps: 1) a preliminary BACCO GEM-SA was conducted to identify a more accurate emulator sampling method and to screen out parameters with insignificant influence on model outcomes; and 2) final BACCO GEM-SA was conducted with optimal input design set for emulator training runs varying only the significant input parameters. Results indicated that the Maximin Latin Hypercube sampling method outperformed the LP-τ method with higher emulator accuracy. Most of the 27 input parameters contributed little to the three outputs by the first step BACCO GEM-SA. In the second step of BACCO GEM-SA there were only three (in the case of dSOC) and six (in the cases of N2O and yield) input parameters whose influence contributed to more than 10% of the total output variances by their total effects. Among the selected parameters, initial soil organic carbon and clay content are very important and were important in determining results for all three outputs. Sensitivities of some parameters, such as clay content and urea fertilizer amount changed dramatically over the years. This indicates that a single year SA may overestimate or underestimate a long-term parameter effect on the model prediction. The two-step procedure with the BACCO GEM-SA method improved the accuracy of SA and provided important information for model validation and parameterization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Methane is produced in anaerobic environments by obligate anaerobic microorganisms through the decomposition of organic matters. To investigate the regression relationships between methane emissions and soil microbes in a double-rice paddy under various field practices, a two-year study was conducted to investigate the seasonal variation of methane emissions and the total activities of soil microbes (TASM) as well as the populations of methanogens (PMET) using the static closed-chamber-GC (gas chromatography) and the most probable number methods. Seven management practices were included in this study to look at the average effect of field treatments on methane emissions and TASM as well as PMET,viz. CWS (conventional tillage + without straw residues + urea), NWS (no tillage + without straw residues + urea), SCU (conventional tillage + without straw residues + controlled-release urea), HN (high stubbles + no tillage + urea), HC (high stubbles + conventional tillage + urea), SN (straw cover + no tillage + urea) and SNF (straw cover + no tillage + urea + continuous flooding). The daily average values of methane emissions and TASM as well as PMET from seven treatments were used for the analysis. Regression analysis was conducted using the R statistical software. Different field practices have significant effect on methane flux and TASM and PMET and similar seasonal variations of methane flux and TASM as well as PMET were found during the rice-growing seasons. Pronounced positive correlations between methane flux and TASM, and PMET were observed. Such relationships can be well described by the exponential or quadratic polynomial models, respectively. Regression analysis indicated that PMET could explain individually at least 97% of variance of methane flux (R2 = 0.97,P < 0.001), while the fitting precision of multiple nonlinear regression model for methane flux with two predictors of TASM and PMET was slightly higher than the univariate regression analysis (R2 = 0.98,P < 0.001). However, as we know, methane emissions from paddy soils are affected by many factors, of which TASM and PMET are the most direct influential variants. In order to reasonably reveal the interactions between methane emissions and environmental factors, the multivariate nonlinear regression analysis should be carried out based on data derived from the extensive field experiments rather than few laboratory trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau are sensitive and vulnerable to climate change and human activities. Climate warming and overgrazing have already caused degradation in a large fraction of alpine grasslands on this plateau. However, it remains unclear how human activities (mainly livestock grazing) regulates vegetation dynamics under climate change. Here, alpine grassland productivity (substituted with the normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI) is hypothesized to vary in a nonlinear trajectory to follow climate fluctuations and human disturbances. With generalized additive mixed modelling (GAMM) and residual-trend (RESTREND) analysis together, both magnitude and direction of climatic (in terms of temperature, precipitation, and radiation) and anthropogenic impacts on NDVI variation were examined across alpine meadows, steppes, and desert-steppes on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results revealed that accelerating warming and greening, respectively, took place in 76.2% and 78.8% of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The relative importance of temperature, precipitation, and radiation impacts was comparable, between 20.4% and 24.8%, and combined to explain 66.2% of NDVI variance at the pixel scale. The human influence was strengthening and weakening, respectively, in 15.5% and 14.3% of grassland pixels, being slightly larger than any sole climatic variable across the entire plateau. Anthropogenic and climatic factors can be in opposite ways to affect alpine grasslands, even within the same grassland type, likely regulated by plant community assembly and species functional traits. Therefore, the underlying mechanisms of how plant functional diversity regulates nonlinear ecosystem response to climatic and anthropogenic stresses should be carefully explored in the future. • Generalized additive model revealed nonlinear climatic and anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems. • Climate change dominantly drove grassland productivity changes on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. • Human impacts on grassland productivity on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau weakened in past decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our understanding on how soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, crop yield, and yield stability are influenced by climate is limited. To critically examine this, the impact of long-term (≥10 years) application of nutrient management practices on SOC storage, crop productivity, and yield stability were evaluated under different climatic conditions in China using a meta-analysis approach. The cropping area of China was divided into four distinct groups based on local climatic conditions (warm dry, DW; warm moist, WM; cool dry, CD; cool moist, CM). Results indicated that the impact of nutrient management practices on SOC storage, crop yield, and yield stability varies under different climatic zone in China. The use of unbalanced mineral fertilizer (UMF), and balanced mineral fertilizer (BMF) led to a loss in SOC storage by 6%, and 11% under CM climatic zone and gains in DW, WM, and CD climates. Organic fertilizers (OF), combined unbalanced mineral and organic fertilizers (UMOF), and combined balanced mineral and organic fertilizers (BMOF) were able to sustain and enhance SOC storage under all climatic conditions. However, the largest increase in SOC storage across all climates was seen for BMOF. Further, corresponding values of crop productivity and yield stability were also highest for BMOF among all the nutrient management treatments. A linear-plateau model indicated that maximal yield responsive SOC stock (C opt) levels ranged from 33.43 to 45.51 Mg C ha−1 for rice (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays), and wheat (Triticum aestivum) production. To enhance and sustain SOC storage, and crop productivity of croplands under different climates, BMOF appears to be the most appropriate nutrient management strategy. Our findings demonstrate that it is essential to optimize nutrient management strategies according to the local climate to protect soil from SOC losses, and for achieving sustainable crop production. • The impact of nutrient managements on SOC storage, crop yield, and yield stability varies under different climatic zones. • Unbalanced mineral, and balanced mineral fertilizer led to a loss in SOC storage by 6%, and 11% under cool moist climate. • Combined balanced mineral with organic inputs is crucial for maximal SOC storage and crop yields under different climates. • Maximal yield responsive SOC stock levels ranged from 33.43 to 45.51 Mg C ha−1 for rice, maize, and wheat production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem stability is one of the main factors maintaining ecosystem functioning and is closely related to temporal variability in productivity. Resistance and resilience reflect tolerance and recovering ability, respectively, of a plant community under perturbation, which are important for maintaining the stability of ecosystems. Generally, heavy grazing reduces the stability of grassland ecosystems, causing grassland degradation. However, how livestock grazing affects ecosystem stability is unclear in alpine steppe ecosystems. We conducted a five-year grazing experiment with Tibetan sheep in a semi-arid alpine steppe on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. The experimental treatments included no grazing (NG), light grazing (LG, 2.4 sheep per ha), moderate grazing (MG, 3.6 sheep per ha) and heavy grazing (HG, 6.0 sheep ha). We calculated resistance and resilience of three plant functional groups and ecosystem stability under the three grazing intensities using aboveground primary productivity. The results showed that with increasing grazing intensity, aboveground biomass of each functional group significantly decreased. As grazing intensity increased, the resistance of forbs first increased then decreased. The resilience of graminoids in HG was significantly lower than in LG plots, but the resilience of legumes in HG was higher than in LG and MG plots. The resilience of graminoids was significantly higher than legume and forbs under LG and MG treatments. In HG treatments, resilience of legumes was higher than graminoids and forbs. Ecosystem stability did not change under different grazing intensities, because of dissimilar performance of the resilience and resistance of functional groups. Our results highlight how the differential resistance and resilience of different function groups facilitate the tolerance of alpine steppe to grazing under even a heavy intensity. However, the degradation risk of alpine steppe under heavy grazing still needs to be considered in grassland management due to sharp decreases of productivity. • Grazing intensity have no significant effects on plant resistance. • Resilience of graminoids under heavy grazing was lower than other treatments. • Under heavy grazing, resilience of legumes was higher than graminoids and forbs. • Ecosystem stability did not change under different grazing intensities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]