Desert mosses, which are important stabilizers in desert ecosystems, are distributed patchily under and between shrubs. Mosses differ from vascular plants in the ways they take up nutrients. Clarifying their distribut...Desert mosses, which are important stabilizers in desert ecosystems, are distributed patchily under and between shrubs. Mosses differ from vascular plants in the ways they take up nutrients. Clarifying their distribution with ecological stoichiometry may be useful in explaining their mechanisms of living in different microhabitats. In this study, Syntrichia caninervis, the dominant moss species of moss crusts in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China, was selected to examine the study of stoichiometric characteristics in three microhabitats(under living shrubs, under dead shrubs and in exposed ground). The stoichiometry and enzyme activity of rhizosphere soil were analyzed. The plant function in the above-ground and below-ground parts of S. caninervis is significantly different, so the stoichiometry of the above-ground and below-ground parts might also be different. Results showed that carbon(C), nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P) contents in the below-ground parts of S. caninervis were significantly lower than those in the above-ground parts. The highest N and P contents of the two parts were found under living shrubs and the lowest under dead shrubs. The C contents of the two parts did not differ significantly among the three microhabitats. In contrast, the ratios of C:N and C:P in the below-ground parts were higher than those in the above-ground parts in all microhabitats, with significant differences in the microhabitats of exposed ground and under living shrubs. There was an increasing trend in soil organic carbon(SOC), soil total nitrogen(STN), soil available phosphorous(SAP), and C:P and N:P ratios from exposed ground to under living shrubs and to under dead shrubs. No significant differences were found in soil total phosphorous(STP) and soil available nitrogen(SAN), or in ratios of C:N and SAN:SAP. Higher soil urease(SUE) and soil nitrate reductase(SNR) activities were found in soil under dead shrubs, while higher soil sucrase(STC) and soil β-glucosidase(SBG) activities were respectively found in exposed ground and under living shrubs. Soil alkaline phosphatase(AKP) activity reached its lowest value under dead shrubs, and there was no significant difference between the microhabitats of exposed ground and under living shrubs. Results indicated that the photosynthesis-related C of S. caninervis remained stable under the three microhabitats while N and P were mediated by the microhabitats. The growth strategy of S. caninervis varied in different microhabitats because of the different energy cycles and nutrient balances. The changes of stoichiometry in soil were not mirrored in the moss. We conclude that microhabitat could change the growth strategy of moss and nutrients cycling of moss patches.展开更多
Biological soil crusts （BSCs） play an important role in surface soil hydrology. Soils dominated with moss BSCs may have higher infiltration rates than those dominated with cyanobacteria or algal BSCs. However, it is...Biological soil crusts （BSCs） play an important role in surface soil hydrology. Soils dominated with moss BSCs may have higher infiltration rates than those dominated with cyanobacteria or algal BSCs. However, it is unnown whether improved infiltration in moss BSCs is accompanied by an increase in soil hydraulic conductivity or water retention capacity. We investigated this question in the Tengger Desert, where a 43-year-old revegetation program has promoted the formation of two distinct types of BSCs along topographic positions, i.e. the moss-dominated BSCs on the interdune land and windward slopes of the fixed sand dunes, and the al- gal-dominated BSCs on the crest and leeward slopes. Soil water retention capacity and hydraulic conductivity were measured using an indoor evaporation method and a field infiltration method. And the results were fitted to the van Genuchten-Mualem model. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivities under greater water pressure （〈-0.01 MPa） and water retention capacities in the entire pressure head range were higher for both crust types than for bare sand. However, saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivities in the near-saturation range （〉-0.01 MPa） showed decreasing trends from bare sand to moss crusts and to algal crusts. Our data suggested that topographic differentiation of BSCs significantly affected not only soil water retention and hydraulic conductivities, but also the overall hydrology of the fixed sand dunes at a landscape scale, as seen in the reduction and spatial variability in deep soil water storage.展开更多
Biological soil crusts （BSCs） are an important type of land cover in arid desert landscapes and play an important role in the carbon source-sink exchange within a desert system. In this study, two typical BSCs, moss...Biological soil crusts （BSCs） are an important type of land cover in arid desert landscapes and play an important role in the carbon source-sink exchange within a desert system. In this study, two typical BSCs, moss crusts and algae crusts, were selected from a revegetated sandy area of the Tengger Desert in northern China, and the experiment was carried out over a 3-year period from January 2010 to November 2012. We obtained the effec- tive active wetting time to maintain the physiological activity of BSCs basing on continuous field measurements and previous laboratory studies on BSCs photosynthesis and respiration rates. And then we developed a BSCs carbon fixation model that is driven by soil moisture. The results indicated that moss crusts and algae crusts had significant effects on soil moisture and temperature dynamics by decreasing rainfall infiltration. The mean carbon fixation rates of moss and algae crusts were 0.21 and 0.13 g C/（m2.d）, respectively. The annual carbon fixations of moss crusts and algae crusts were 64.9 and 38.6 g C/（m2.a）, respectively, and the carbon fixation of non-rainfall water reached 11.6 g C/（m2.a） （30.2% of the total） and 8.8 g C/（m2.a） （43.6% of the total）, respectively. Finally, the model was tested and verified with continuous field observations. The data of the modeled and measured CO2 fluxes matched notably well. In desert regions, the carbon fixation is higher with high-frequency rainfall even the total amount of seasonal rainfall was the same.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41571256, 41471251, 31670007)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2015356)
文摘Desert mosses, which are important stabilizers in desert ecosystems, are distributed patchily under and between shrubs. Mosses differ from vascular plants in the ways they take up nutrients. Clarifying their distribution with ecological stoichiometry may be useful in explaining their mechanisms of living in different microhabitats. In this study, Syntrichia caninervis, the dominant moss species of moss crusts in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China, was selected to examine the study of stoichiometric characteristics in three microhabitats(under living shrubs, under dead shrubs and in exposed ground). The stoichiometry and enzyme activity of rhizosphere soil were analyzed. The plant function in the above-ground and below-ground parts of S. caninervis is significantly different, so the stoichiometry of the above-ground and below-ground parts might also be different. Results showed that carbon(C), nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P) contents in the below-ground parts of S. caninervis were significantly lower than those in the above-ground parts. The highest N and P contents of the two parts were found under living shrubs and the lowest under dead shrubs. The C contents of the two parts did not differ significantly among the three microhabitats. In contrast, the ratios of C:N and C:P in the below-ground parts were higher than those in the above-ground parts in all microhabitats, with significant differences in the microhabitats of exposed ground and under living shrubs. There was an increasing trend in soil organic carbon(SOC), soil total nitrogen(STN), soil available phosphorous(SAP), and C:P and N:P ratios from exposed ground to under living shrubs and to under dead shrubs. No significant differences were found in soil total phosphorous(STP) and soil available nitrogen(SAN), or in ratios of C:N and SAN:SAP. Higher soil urease(SUE) and soil nitrate reductase(SNR) activities were found in soil under dead shrubs, while higher soil sucrase(STC) and soil β-glucosidase(SBG) activities were respectively found in exposed ground and under living shrubs. Soil alkaline phosphatase(AKP) activity reached its lowest value under dead shrubs, and there was no significant difference between the microhabitats of exposed ground and under living shrubs. Results indicated that the photosynthesis-related C of S. caninervis remained stable under the three microhabitats while N and P were mediated by the microhabitats. The growth strategy of S. caninervis varied in different microhabitats because of the different energy cycles and nutrient balances. The changes of stoichiometry in soil were not mirrored in the moss. We conclude that microhabitat could change the growth strategy of moss and nutrients cycling of moss patches.
基金funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB429901)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41471434, 31170385)the Foundation for Excellent Youth Scholars of CAREERI, Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘Biological soil crusts （BSCs） play an important role in surface soil hydrology. Soils dominated with moss BSCs may have higher infiltration rates than those dominated with cyanobacteria or algal BSCs. However, it is unnown whether improved infiltration in moss BSCs is accompanied by an increase in soil hydraulic conductivity or water retention capacity. We investigated this question in the Tengger Desert, where a 43-year-old revegetation program has promoted the formation of two distinct types of BSCs along topographic positions, i.e. the moss-dominated BSCs on the interdune land and windward slopes of the fixed sand dunes, and the al- gal-dominated BSCs on the crest and leeward slopes. Soil water retention capacity and hydraulic conductivity were measured using an indoor evaporation method and a field infiltration method. And the results were fitted to the van Genuchten-Mualem model. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivities under greater water pressure （〈-0.01 MPa） and water retention capacities in the entire pressure head range were higher for both crust types than for bare sand. However, saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivities in the near-saturation range （〉-0.01 MPa） showed decreasing trends from bare sand to moss crusts and to algal crusts. Our data suggested that topographic differentiation of BSCs significantly affected not only soil water retention and hydraulic conductivities, but also the overall hydrology of the fixed sand dunes at a landscape scale, as seen in the reduction and spatial variability in deep soil water storage.
基金supported by the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-EW-301-3)the National Program on Key Basic Research Project (2013CB429905)+1 种基金the National Natural Scientific Foundation of China (41201084 31170385)
文摘Biological soil crusts （BSCs） are an important type of land cover in arid desert landscapes and play an important role in the carbon source-sink exchange within a desert system. In this study, two typical BSCs, moss crusts and algae crusts, were selected from a revegetated sandy area of the Tengger Desert in northern China, and the experiment was carried out over a 3-year period from January 2010 to November 2012. We obtained the effec- tive active wetting time to maintain the physiological activity of BSCs basing on continuous field measurements and previous laboratory studies on BSCs photosynthesis and respiration rates. And then we developed a BSCs carbon fixation model that is driven by soil moisture. The results indicated that moss crusts and algae crusts had significant effects on soil moisture and temperature dynamics by decreasing rainfall infiltration. The mean carbon fixation rates of moss and algae crusts were 0.21 and 0.13 g C/（m2.d）, respectively. The annual carbon fixations of moss crusts and algae crusts were 64.9 and 38.6 g C/（m2.a）, respectively, and the carbon fixation of non-rainfall water reached 11.6 g C/（m2.a） （30.2% of the total） and 8.8 g C/（m2.a） （43.6% of the total）, respectively. Finally, the model was tested and verified with continuous field observations. The data of the modeled and measured CO2 fluxes matched notably well. In desert regions, the carbon fixation is higher with high-frequency rainfall even the total amount of seasonal rainfall was the same.
