Response of dominant population niche breadths and niche overlaps to various disturbance factors in typical steppe fenced grassland of China’s Loess Plateau region

doi:10.11686/cyxb2014410

Abstract

Abstract: The Levins niche breadth and Pianka niche overlap indices were used to assess the response of plant population niches to grazing, burning and fertilization in permanently fenced grassland of the Loess Plateau region. Species with highest niche width in fenced (control group), grazed, burned and fertilized grasslands were Carex rigesaens, Ixeridium chinense, Artemisia sacrorum, and Stipa bungeana, respectively. The niche breadth of S. bungeana in different disturbance situations (ranked highest to lowest) was: fertilization (1.362)>burning (1.244)>fencing (1.088)>grazing (1.026). The richness index for the same four treatments ranked: grazing>fertilization>burning>fencing. The average values of niche overlap of all the species and dominant species ranked: fertilization>fencing>burning>grazing. The pairs of species with the highest niche overlap in fertilized, fenced, burned, and grazed grasslands were, respectively, S. bungeana and C. rigesaens, Stipa grandis and C. rigesaens, S. grandis and C. rigesaens, and I. chinense and Poa sphondylodes, respectively. These findings indicate that human disturbance can increase the species richness and improve plant population niche width to facilitate maximum resource use in permanently fenced grassland.

JING Guang-Hua, CHENG Ji-Min, SU Ji-Shuai, WEI Lin, SHI Xiao-Xiao, JIN Jing-Wei. Response of dominant population niche breadths and niche overlaps to various disturbance factors in typical steppe fenced grassland of China’s Loess Plateau region[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2015, 24(9): 43-52.

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