Decision: Response of ecosystem structure to shrub encroachment varies with the degree of encroachment — R5/PR21
Rattachement africain : cn, au. Niveau de preuve : code pays fourni par la source.
Le résumé fourni par la source
Grasslands are one of the major ecosystem types in drylands. Encroachment of shrubs into grasslands affects the functioning of drylands by altering community structure, with impacts exacerbated under greater intensity of encroachment. Yet, we have a limited understanding of how ecosystem structure responds to the degree of shrub encroachment. Here, we describe a field-based study designed to examine changes in ecosystem structure beneath shrub patches (patch condition) and between patches (spatial distribution pattern of patches) along a gradient in encroachment in a semiarid grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. We found that greater encroachment was associated with wider and taller shrubs with more branches. As shrub encroachment intensified, the area beneath shrubs had more litter and was less exposed to grazing. The landscape was characterized by more discontinuous patches of vegetation and more bare ground as encroachment intensified. Either the patch condition or the patch spatial pattern was shaped mainly by the magnitude of shrub encroachment rather than by the structure of individual shrubs (e.g., height and canopy width). Our study highlights the idiosyncratic response of ecosystem structure (patch condition and patch spatial pattern) to intensifying encroachment, reinforcing the importance of considering the degree of shrub encroachment when managing encroached grasslands.
Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.
Le contrôle bibliographique ouvert
DOI retrouvé dans Crossref DOI retrouvé ; titre concordant.
- Titre Crossref
- Decision: Response of ecosystem structure to shrub encroachment varies with the degree of encroachment — R5/PR21
- Date Crossref
- 21/10/2025
- Éditeur
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Type
- peer-review
Ce recoupement confirme des métadonnées liées au DOI. Il ne confirme ni la méthode ni les conclusions de l’étude, et il ne compte pas comme une seconde source scientifique indépendante.
Où se fait cette recherche
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Beijing Normal University pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Jiangxi Normal University pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Southwest Minzu University Sichuan Zoige Alpine Wetland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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UNSW Sydney pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Faculty of Geographical Science State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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School of Geography and Environment Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research (Ministry of Education) pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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School of Natural Resources pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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School of Biological Centre for Ecosystem Science pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
Beijing Normal University, Jiangxi Normal University et Sichuan Zoige Alpine Wetland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station — Southwest Minzu University, avec 5 autres affiliations.
Une affiliation ne permet pas de déduire la nationalité d’un auteur.