Impact of plateau pika burrowing activity on the grass/sedge ratio in alpine sedge meadows in China

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.INTRODUCTION : Burrowing activities of plateau pikas cause widespread bare patches in alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, affecting the plant community composition and forage production. However, it is not clear how these bare patches influence the main forage composition in alpine meadows. METHODS : Therefore, we investigated the plant communities in bare patches (BP) and neighboring control plots (CK) in alpine meadows in Maqu county in the Gannan region of China. RESULTS : Our results showed that plant communities in the CK plots differed from those in the BP plots. The sedge cover, number of sedge species and number of grass species were all significantly higher in the CK plots compared to the BP plots. However, grass cover and its dry weight were significantly higher in the BP plots. Grass cover and the grass dry weight in the BP plots were 1.859 times and 1.802 times higher than that in the CK plots across the five sites, respectively. Grasses also had a significantly higher cover and dry weight than sedge in the BP plots, grass cover was 66.5 times higher than the sedge cover, and the grass dry weight was 68.242 times that of the sedge dry weight. Therefore, bare patches resulting from plateau pika burrowing activity significantly increase the grass/sedge ratio in alpine meadows. DISCUSSION : A potential explanation is that grasses have a stronger reproductive potential than sedges in bare soil. This has implications for pasture yields since grasses have a higher biomass per unit area compared to sedges in alpine meadows.Sichuan Natural Science Foundation of China, the Open Project Funding of the Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resource Conservation (Ministry of Education) and the Research and Demonstration on Crucial Technologies of Wetland Eco-environment Protection Under the Influence of Highway Engineering on theWestern Sichuan Plateau.https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-scienceam2023Zoology and Entomolog

Experimental duration determines the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant biomass in pot experiments

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play various important roles in promoting plant growth. Numerous environmental and evolutionary factors influence the response of plants to AMF. However, the importance of the individual factors on the effects of AMF on plant biomass is not clearly understood. In this study, a meta-analysis using 1,640 observations from 639 published articles related to the influence of AMF on the plant shoot, root, and total biomass was performed; 13 different experimental setting factors that had an impact on the influence of AMF and their importance were quantitatively synthesized. The meta-analysis showed that AMF had positive effects on the plant shoot, root, and total biomass; moreover, the experimental duration, plant root-to-shoot ratio (R/S), AMF root length colonization, plant family, pot size, soil texture, and the soil pH all influenced the effects of AMF on the shoot, root, and total biomass. In addition, the plant root system and plant functional type had impacts on the effect of AMF on shoot biomass; AMF guild also impacted the effect of AMF on root biomass. Of these factors, the experimental duration, plant R/S, and pot size were the three most important predicting the effects of AMF on the plant shoot, root, and total biomass. This study comprehensively assessed the importance of the different factors that influenced the response of plants to AMF, highlighting that the experimental duration, plant R/S, and pot size should be taken into consideration in pot experiments in studies of the functions of AMF. Multiple unfavorable factors that may obscure or confound the observed functions of AMF should be excluded.The Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program; the Fundamental Research Funds of China West Normal University; the National Natural Science Foundation of China; and the Applied Basic Research Program of Sichuan Province.https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-scienceam2023Mammal Research Institut