Effects of clipping by plateau pika on plant interspecific associations in alpine meadows in the Qinghai Lake Region

doi:10.11686/cyxb2021306

Abstract

Abstract:

Plateau pikas prefer to clip the tall plants in thick alpine meadow， which often alter the interspecific and intraspecific relationships among plants in the meadow. This study used the variance ratio， Chi-square （χ²） test and Spearman rank correlation coefficient to determine the effects of clipping by plateau pikas on interspecific association among plants. It was found that the clipping by plateau pikas resulted in the overall interspecific association being transformed from a non-significant positive association to a significant negative association， and decreased the stability of the plant community. The clipping by plateau pikas decreased the number of paired species with positive interspecific association and positive correlation， while it increased the number of paired species with negative interspecific association， no-interspecific association and negative correlation. The overall results of χ² testing， association coefficient （AC） value and Ochiai （OI） index showed that there were no significant interspecific associations among most species pairs in the plant community， and the interspecific associations were unstable. These results indicate that the χ² test and Spearman rank correlation coefficient can be used to quantify the effect of small herbivores on plant interspecific associations， and provide basic information on the responses of plant community structure to disturbance by plateau pika.

Key words: plateau pika, clipping behavior, interspecific association, correlation

Hao-hao QI, Xiao-pan PANG, Su ZHOU, Zheng-gang GUO. Effects of clipping by plateau pika on plant interspecific associations in alpine meadows in the Qinghai Lake Region[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2022, 31(8): 61-71.

Figures/Tables 7

References 34

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编号 Code	物种 Species	重要值Importance value		编号 Code	物种 Species	重要值Importance value
编号 Code	物种 Species	对照Control	刈割Clipping	编号 Code	物种 Species	对照Control	刈割Clipping
1	高山嵩草K. pygmaea	26.51	23.83	14	二裂委陵菜P. bifurca	5.12	3.09
2	长毛风毛菊S. hieracioides	9.11	10.49	15	雪地黄耆Astragalus nivalis	4.69	4.06
3	高原早熟禾P. alpigena	8.80	8.02	16	车前Plantago asiatica	4.48	4.21
4	高山豆T. himalaica	8.71	8.54	17	达乌里秦艽Gentiana dahurica	4.07	3.93
5	披针叶黄华Thermopsis lanceolata	7.62	3.30	18	臭蒿Artemisia hedinii	3.63	2.98
6	肉果草Lagotis tibetica	7.52	8.12	19	冷蒿Artemisia frigida	3.45	3.02
7	紫花针茅Stipa purpurea	6.95	5.32	20	矮火绒草Lagotis nanum	3.39	4.31
8	直梗高山唐松草Thalictrum alpinum	6.28	7.37	21	珠芽蓼Polygonum viviparum	3.33	3.70
9	黄花棘豆Oxytropis ochrocephala	6.04	4.59	22	西伯利亚蓼P. sibiricum	3.27	2.68
10	乳白香青Anaphalis lactea	5.84	4.52	23	蒲公英Taraxacum mongolicum	3.26	3.07
11	莓叶委陵菜Potentilla fragarioides	5.55	5.47	24	三脉梅花草Parnassia trinervis	3.23	2.84
12	青藏苔草Carex moorcroftii	5.39	6.51	25	老鹳草Geranium wilfordii	3.01	3.28
13	小花草玉梅Anemone rivularis	5.37	5.33

编号 Code	物种 Species	重要值Importance value		编号 Code	物种 Species	重要值Importance value
编号 Code	物种 Species	对照Control	刈割Clipping	编号 Code	物种 Species	对照Control	刈割Clipping
1	高山嵩草K. pygmaea	26.51	23.83	14	二裂委陵菜P. bifurca	5.12	3.09
2	长毛风毛菊S. hieracioides	9.11	10.49	15	雪地黄耆Astragalus nivalis	4.69	4.06
3	高原早熟禾P. alpigena	8.80	8.02	16	车前Plantago asiatica	4.48	4.21
4	高山豆T. himalaica	8.71	8.54	17	达乌里秦艽Gentiana dahurica	4.07	3.93
5	披针叶黄华Thermopsis lanceolata	7.62	3.30	18	臭蒿Artemisia hedinii	3.63	2.98
6	肉果草Lagotis tibetica	7.52	8.12	19	冷蒿Artemisia frigida	3.45	3.02
7	紫花针茅Stipa purpurea	6.95	5.32	20	矮火绒草Lagotis nanum	3.39	4.31
8	直梗高山唐松草Thalictrum alpinum	6.28	7.37	21	珠芽蓼Polygonum viviparum	3.33	3.70
9	黄花棘豆Oxytropis ochrocephala	6.04	4.59	22	西伯利亚蓼P. sibiricum	3.27	2.68
10	乳白香青Anaphalis lactea	5.84	4.52	23	蒲公英Taraxacum mongolicum	3.26	3.07
11	莓叶委陵菜Potentilla fragarioides	5.55	5.47	24	三脉梅花草Parnassia trinervis	3.23	2.84
12	青藏苔草Carex moorcroftii	5.39	6.51	25	老鹳草Geranium wilfordii	3.01	3.28
13	小花草玉梅Anemone rivularis	5.37	5.33

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