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Agronomy
Volume 13
Issue 9
10.3390/agronomy13092296
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Article

Characteristics and Driving Factors of Precipitation-Use Efficiency across Diverse Grasslands in Chinese Loess Plateau

by
Zongping Ren
1,
Hailiang Qiao
2,
Ping Xiong
2,
Jianbo Peng
2,
Bo Wang
2 and
Kaibo Wang
3,4,*
1
State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
2
Shaanxi Forestry Survey and Planning Institute, Xi’an 710082, China
3
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
4
National Observation and Research Station of Earth Critical Zone on the Loess Plateau, Xi’an 710061, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agronomy 2023, 13(9), 2296; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092296
Submission received: 1 July 2023 / Revised: 26 August 2023 / Accepted: 29 August 2023 / Published: 30 August 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Grassland Productivity and Sustainability)
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Abstract

Understanding the characteristics of the precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) of grassland ecosystems and its drivers is critical for predicting how ecosystem functions will respond to future climate change. In this study, we investigated several covarying biotic and abiotic factors (e.g., biomass, coverage, diversity, precipitation, temperature, and humid index (HI)) of 81 sites across a broad natural grassland gradient in the Loess Plateau of China to determine how PUE changes along a precipitation gradient and to assess the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on PUE. Our results showed that HI, below-ground biomass (BGB), vegetation coverage, and species diversity were the most important biotic factors in controlling PUE. HI had a higher positive indirect effect on PUE mainly through its influence on community characteristics. Our results suggest that precipitation and community characteristics are both important for the precipitation-use efficiency of natural grasslands across the arid and semiarid areas of the Loess Plateau. Additionally, improving the vegetation structure and increasing species diversity can help enhance the adaptability of grassland ecosystems to climate change.
Keywords: precipitation-use efficiency; precipitation; above-ground net primary production; species richness; semiarid grasslands precipitation-use efficiency; precipitation; above-ground net primary production; species richness; semiarid grasslands

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ren, Z.; Qiao, H.; Xiong, P.; Peng, J.; Wang, B.; Wang, K. Characteristics and Driving Factors of Precipitation-Use Efficiency across Diverse Grasslands in Chinese Loess Plateau. Agronomy 2023, 13, 2296. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092296

AMA Style

Ren Z, Qiao H, Xiong P, Peng J, Wang B, Wang K. Characteristics and Driving Factors of Precipitation-Use Efficiency across Diverse Grasslands in Chinese Loess Plateau. Agronomy. 2023; 13(9):2296. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092296

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ren, Zongping, Hailiang Qiao, Ping Xiong, Jianbo Peng, Bo Wang, and Kaibo Wang. 2023. "Characteristics and Driving Factors of Precipitation-Use Efficiency across Diverse Grasslands in Chinese Loess Plateau" Agronomy 13, no. 9: 2296. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092296

APA Style

Ren, Z., Qiao, H., Xiong, P., Peng, J., Wang, B., & Wang, K. (2023). Characteristics and Driving Factors of Precipitation-Use Efficiency across Diverse Grasslands in Chinese Loess Plateau. Agronomy, 13(9), 2296. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092296

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