Climate gradient‐driven intraspecific aggregation propensity linked to interpatch modulation in grassland communities
Huaiqiang Liu,
Xinyu Wang,
Zhiying Liu,
Saihanna Jaesong,
Jiayue Liu,
Qianhui Yang,
Ning Wang,
Xiaotian Gao,
Yarong Feng,
Haoxin Li,
Jianru Chai,
Jialu Zhang,
Kexin Li,
Frank Yonghong Li
Affiliations
Huaiqiang Liu
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Xinyu Wang
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Zhiying Liu
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Saihanna Jaesong
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Jiayue Liu
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Qianhui Yang
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Ning Wang
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Xiaotian Gao
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Yarong Feng
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Haoxin Li
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Jianru Chai
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Jialu Zhang
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Kexin Li
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Frank Yonghong Li
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
Abstract The response of vegetation to climate change on a large scale should be studied at the community level rather than the species level. This necessitates a focused exploration of emerging spatial patterns. Here, we surveyed 264 sites in the Inner Mongolia typical steppe, using the “needling” method to investigate 39,600 clumps formed through the coexistence relationships of dominant species. We found that the effects of slow climate change on grassland communities can be categorized into two general trends: (1) a monotone relationship, characterized by changes in the number of dominant species, compositional diversity, and optimal patch area, and (2) a unimodal relationship, reflected in variations in the number of patches and interspecific associations. The two distinct trends, connected by optimal patch area, concurrently support both the habitat amount hypothesis and the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. These findings suggest that climate change indirectly influences the area and amount of vegetation patches by regulating the arrangement of clumps. Moreover, they indicate that it is the distribution, rather than the number, of species that serves as the front line for plant communities adapting to climate change.
