Variation characteristics of different plant functional groups in alpine desert steppe of the Altun Mountains, northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Abstract

In grassland ecosystems, the plant functional group (PFG) is an important bridge connecting individual plants to the community system. The grassland ecosystem is the main ecosystem type on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Altun Mountain is located in the key grassland transcontinental belt of the northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The composition and changes in the PFG in this ecosystem reflect the community characteristics in the arid and semi-arid extreme climate regions of the Plateau. The main PFGs were forbs and grasses, and the importance values (IVs) accounted for more than 50%. Plant species diversity of the community was influenced by the IV of the legumes, and the increase in legumes would promote the increase in plant community diversity. The C, N, and P contents of plant communities were mainly influenced by forbs and grasses, and the relationship between forbs and C, N, and P was opposite to that of grasses. However, under the influence of different hydrothermal conditions, forbs and grasses as dominant functional groups had a stronger correlation with community and soil nutrients. This indicates that the dominant PFGs (forbs and grasses) can dominate the C, N, and P contents of the community and soil, and legumes affect community composition and succession. In this study, we analyzed the changing characteristics of functional groups in dry and cold extreme environments and the difference in their impacts on community development compared with other grassland ecosystem functional groups.