Back to Search Start Over

Aboveground Biomass in China’s Managed Grasslands and Their Responses to Environmental and Management Variations

Authors :
Huimei Meng
Jingrui Yang
Wenjuan Sun
Liujun Xiao
Guocheng Wang
Source :
Agronomy, Vol 12, Iss 12, p 2913 (2022)
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2022.

Abstract

Aboveground biomass (AGB) in managed grasslands can vary across a suite of environmental and management conditions; however, there lacks a quantitative assessment at the national scale of China. Although the potential effects of individual drivers (e.g., species, nutrient fertilization, and water management) have been examined in China’s managed grasslands, no attempts have been made to comprehensively assess the effects of multiple variables on AGB. Using a meta-data analysis approach, we created a database composed of AGB and associated attributes of managed grasslands in China. The database was used to assess the responses of AGB to anthropogenic factors, in addition to a suite of natural variables including climate, soil, and topography. The average AGB in managed grasslands of China is approximately 630 g m−2 of dry matter, ranging from 55 to 2172 g m−2 (95% confidence interval). Medicago sativa is the most widely planted species in China’s managed grasslands, followed by Elymus dahuricus and Bromus japonicus. The national average AGB of these three species was around 692, 530, and 856 g m−2, respectively. For each species, AGB shows a large discrepancy across different places. In general, grassland AGB depends substantially on species, environments, and management practices. The dependence can be well described by a linear mixed-effects regression in which a series of biotic and abiotic factors are used as predictors. We highlight that establishing managed grassland can potentially contribute to not only AGB enhancement, but also grassland restoration on degraded natural grasslands.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20734395
Volume :
12
Issue :
12
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Agronomy
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.247dfebf9faf497e91ec5b0c24597544
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12122913