TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental factors and soil properties that drive the distribution and diversity patterns of weeds and ecosystem multifunctionality in alpine grassland
AU - Qi, Tianyun
AU - Degen, Allan
AU - Wang, Wenyin
AU - Qi, Lingyan
AU - Huang, Mei
AU - Luo, Binyu
AU - Peng, Zhen
AU - Liu, Peipei
AU - Shang, Zhanhuan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2025/5/1
Y1 - 2025/5/1
N2 - Weed invasion, a prevalent consequence of global grassland degradation, necessitates an ecological understanding of the weed community to improve grassland ecosystem management and restoration. In this study we questioned which environmental factors are closely related to grassland weed distribution and what are the changes in grassland biodiversity and ecosystem function caused by grassland weed species? We selected a typical weed infested geographical unit of alpine grassland of 300,000 km2 to respond to these questions. Hierarchical cluster analysis delineated eight distinct weed community archetypes, each characterized by its unique species composition and community attributes. Climate, particularly precipitation, and soil properties, such as pH and moisture content, emerged as pivotal factors mediating the spatial distribution of weed communities. The α- and β-scale diversities revealed disparities in species composition, functional traits, and phylogenetic diversities among weed communities. Environmental factors influenced ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) through their effects on species, functional traits, and phylogenetic diversities. Environmental factors explained 48.5 % of the variance in EMF, but had an overall negative effect, while, biodiversity variables explained 51.5 % of the variance in EMF, and had an overall positive impact. Functional diversity exhibited a positive influence on EMF, whereas species and phylogenetic diversity exhibited mixed effects. The findings indicate that grassland weed communities alter species compositions and reduce EMF, with impacts from climatic and soil factors. These changes underscore the importance of understanding the complex interplay between environmental factors and biodiversity in managing degraded grasslands. In conclusion, our study provides important insights into the dynamics of weed communities that are essential for developing effective management strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of weed invasion in alpine grassland.
AB - Weed invasion, a prevalent consequence of global grassland degradation, necessitates an ecological understanding of the weed community to improve grassland ecosystem management and restoration. In this study we questioned which environmental factors are closely related to grassland weed distribution and what are the changes in grassland biodiversity and ecosystem function caused by grassland weed species? We selected a typical weed infested geographical unit of alpine grassland of 300,000 km2 to respond to these questions. Hierarchical cluster analysis delineated eight distinct weed community archetypes, each characterized by its unique species composition and community attributes. Climate, particularly precipitation, and soil properties, such as pH and moisture content, emerged as pivotal factors mediating the spatial distribution of weed communities. The α- and β-scale diversities revealed disparities in species composition, functional traits, and phylogenetic diversities among weed communities. Environmental factors influenced ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) through their effects on species, functional traits, and phylogenetic diversities. Environmental factors explained 48.5 % of the variance in EMF, but had an overall negative effect, while, biodiversity variables explained 51.5 % of the variance in EMF, and had an overall positive impact. Functional diversity exhibited a positive influence on EMF, whereas species and phylogenetic diversity exhibited mixed effects. The findings indicate that grassland weed communities alter species compositions and reduce EMF, with impacts from climatic and soil factors. These changes underscore the importance of understanding the complex interplay between environmental factors and biodiversity in managing degraded grasslands. In conclusion, our study provides important insights into the dynamics of weed communities that are essential for developing effective management strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of weed invasion in alpine grassland.
KW - Biodiversity
KW - Ecosystem multifunctionality
KW - Environmental factors
KW - Grassland degradation
KW - Weed communities
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105000709874&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111103
DO - 10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111103
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105000709874
SN - 0006-3207
VL - 305
JO - Biological Conservation
JF - Biological Conservation
M1 - 111103
ER -