Tan ZhaoXian, Chen XuePing, Wang Yun, Wang Suqin, Wang Rong, Yao BaoHui, Yang YanGang, Kong YaPing, Qu JiaPeng
School of Life Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China.
Sanjiangyuan Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2024 Jun 28;15:1392924. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1392924. eCollection 2024.
Roads are an increasingly prevalent form of human activity that drives the decrease in plant community functions and threatens global biodiversity. However, few studies have focused on the changes in the function and diversity of alpine meadows caused by road infrastructure in the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, the changes in species diversity, functional diversity, and community stability were examined at different distances from the Qinghai-Tibet highway. The results showed that the road intensified the degradation of vegetation, which significantly altered species diversity and community structure. This effect gradually decreased from near to far from the highway. Plant community cover and species diversity were highest at intermediate distances (50-100 m) from the roadway; species diversity and stability were lowest in the grassland most disturbed by the road (0 m), and species diversity and functional diversity tended to stabilize farther away from the road (250 m). Our findings indicate that changes in species diversity are synchronized with changes in functional diversity, which largely determines the outcome of degraded grassland community diversity and stability. Our results provide a reference point for restoring degraded alpine areas and mitigating the ecological impacts of roads.
道路是一种日益普遍的人类活动形式，它导致植物群落功能下降，并威胁到全球生物多样性。然而，很少有研究关注青藏高原道路基础设施对高寒草甸功能和多样性的影响。在本研究中，我们调查了青藏公路不同距离处物种多样性、功能多样性和群落稳定性的变化。结果表明，道路加剧了植被退化，显著改变了物种多样性和群落结构。这种影响从靠近公路到远离公路逐渐减弱。植物群落覆盖度和物种多样性在距道路中间距离（50 - 100米）处最高；在受道路干扰最严重的草地（0米），物种多样性和稳定性最低，而在离道路更远（250米）的地方，物种多样性和功能多样性趋于稳定。我们的研究结果表明，物种多样性的变化与功能多样性的变化同步，这在很大程度上决定了退化草地群落多样性和稳定性的结果。我们的研究结果为恢复退化高寒地区和减轻道路的生态影响提供了参考依据。
