Clarifying the impact of interactions at the cropland–grassland interface on grassland biodiversity:A case study of the agropastoral ecotone in northern ChinaOA
The frequent conversion between cropland and grassland in agropastoral ecotones poses severe challenges to the protection of grassland biodiversity,and a systematic understanding of the relationship between these two aspects is urgently needed.In this study,the West Liaohe River Basin,which is a typical agropastoral ecotone in northern China,was chosen as an example.Using the field investigation data from 2023 and 2024,we calculated various biodiversity indices at bothαandβscales for grassland vegetation and soil bacteria,and then analyzed the effects of the interactions at the cropland–grassland interface on grassland above-ground biodiversity,below-ground biodiversity,and their interrelationships.Moreover,we explored the driving factors of grassland biodiversity at the cropland–grassland interface.Notably,interactions at the cropland–grassland interface adversely affected grassland above-and below-ground biodiversity.Compared with the sampling points that were farther from the cropland–grassland interface(25 and 50 m),the sampling points located very close to the interface(5 and 10 m)had a decrease in species richness of more than 5.00%.This effect was jointly determined by various vegetation and soil attribute indicators and the regional environment.The litter and soil organic carbon played a prominent role in modulating the relationships between grassland above-and below-ground biodiversity at the cropland–grassland interface.The results suggested that intensive management of cropland and grassland should be enhanced in areas where agriculture and animal husbandry alternate,the disorderly reclamation and random abandonment of cropland should be prohibited,and the policy of returning cropland to grassland should be promoted systematically.These findings could provide reference data for related studies and promote the protection of grassland biodiversity in agropastoral ecotones.
LYU Xin;LI Xiaobing;DANG Dongliang;WANG Kai;ZHANG Chenhao;LI Mengyuan;LIU Siyu;DU Yixuan;CAO Wanyu;SI Wanyi
State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction,Faculty of Geographical Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction,Faculty of Geographical Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875,China School of Geography and Tourism,Shaanxi Normal University,Xi''an 710119,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction,Faculty of Geographical Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction,Faculty of Geographical Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction,Faculty of Geographical Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction,Faculty of Geographical Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction,Faculty of Geographical Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction,Faculty of Geographical Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction,Faculty of Geographical Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction,Faculty of Geographical Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875,China
农业科技
cropland–grassland interfacegrassland biodiversityα-diversityβ-diversityagropastoral ecotone
《Journal of Arid Land》 2026 (7)
P.1099-1114,16
supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32201345,42271291).
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