Li Yali, He Guoxing, Liu Xiaoni, Ji Tong
Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem, Ministry of Education, Pratacultural College, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Sino-U.S. Center for Grazing Land Ecosystem Sustainability, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2025 Jul 17;16:1619948. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1619948. eCollection 2025.
Ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) refers to the integrated capacity of an ecosystems to provide a variety of services and functions. It plays a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance and achieving sustainable grassland development. Grassland type is a classification unit based on dominant species within the grassland ecosystem. However, the response of EMF to grassland type is still unclear, and its influencing factors need to be studied in depth.
In this study, we investigated the distribution characteristics of EMF in the Longzhong Loess Plateau temperate desert under different grassland types ( type, type, type, and type grasslands) and identified the key factors driving changes in EMF.
The results indicated the type grassland exhibited higher EMF and belowground ecosystem multifunctionality (BEMF) indices (0.80 and 0.77, respectively), significantly greater compared to type, type, and type grasslands (< 0.05). EMF and BEMF were significantly correlated with plant factors (coverage, root-shoot ratio), soil factors (mean weight diameter, MWD and geometric mean diameter, GMD) ( 0.05), and showed strong positive relationships with Simpson diversity index. Hierarchical partitioning further indicated that MWD and GMD explained 29.86% and 38.21% of the variance in EMF, respectively. Structural equation modeling revealed that soil factors (MWD, GMD), plant factors (coverage, root-shoot ratio), and Simpson diversity index collectively explained 86% of the variation in EMF. Soil factors primarily exerted direct effects and indirectly promoted EMF by enhancing plant factors, with a total effect of 0.921. These findings suggest that type grassland can maintain EMF through soil factors, thereby supporting the sustainable development of temperate desert ecosystems in the Longzhong region of the Loess Plateau.
生态系统多功能性（EMF）是指生态系统提供多种服务和功能的综合能力。它在维持生态平衡和实现草原可持续发展方面发挥着关键作用。草原类型是基于草原生态系统中优势物种的分类单元。然而，EMF对草原类型的响应仍不明确，其影响因素需要深入研究。
在本研究中，我们调查了黄土高原陇中温带荒漠不同草原类型（型、型、型和型草原）下EMF的分布特征，并确定了驱动EMF变化的关键因素。
结果表明，型草原表现出较高的EMF和地下生态系统多功能性（BEMF）指数（分别为0.80和0.77），与型、型和型草原相比显著更高（<0.05）。EMF和BEMF与植物因素（盖度、根冠比）、土壤因素（平均重量直径，MWD和几何平均直径，GMD）显著相关（0.05），并与辛普森多样性指数呈强正相关。层次划分进一步表明，MWD和GMD分别解释了EMF变异的29.86%和38.21%。结构方程模型显示，土壤因素（MWD、GMD）、植物因素（盖度、根冠比）和辛普森多样性指数共同解释了EMF变异的86%。土壤因素主要发挥直接作用，并通过增强植物因素间接促进EMF，总效应为0.921。这些发现表明，型草原可以通过土壤因素维持EMF，从而支持黄土高原陇中地区温带荒漠生态系统的可持续发展。
