English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

This Special Issue focuses on processes and mechanisms of bio-physical change in grassland ecosystems of north-east Asia by assessing vegetation dynamics, studying the response of plants to experimental manipulations of climate and modelling plant dynamics under predicted future climate. This focus complements the scope of two earlier Special Issues that addressed social and ecological aspects of climate change adaptation in northernChina grasslands, including InnerMongolia [Vol. 36 (6)] (Li and Whalley 2014), and resilience in the socialecological systems of the high altitude rangelands on the QinghaiTibetan Plateau [Vol. 37 (1)] (Dong and Sherman 2015). Rangeland, of various types including extensive grassland, covers more than 40% of China (Ren et al. 2008) and much of the land in adjoining countries of eastern and central Asia including Mongolia. As Li et al. (2015a) show for the QinghaiTibetan plateau, the ecosystem services generated by China’s grassland ecosystems are substantial, diverse and spatially heterogeneous. They underpin the well being of substantial numbers of people, both residents and distant populations. In recent decades, degradation has become an increasing threat to these ecosystem services. Papers in other Special Issues about China’s rangelands include research on the extent and characteristics of this degradation (Han et al. 2008; Tang et al. 2015; Wang et al. 2015b) and how it is perceived by local people (Hou et al. 2014b). Climate change, overgrazing and other factors have all contributed to degradation in different parts of Inner Mongolia and on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (Wu et al. 2014; Wang et al. 2015a). Management of livestock grazing is an ancillary theme in these two Special Issues (Wang et al. 2014a; Zhang et al. 2014; Su et al. 2015; Zhang et al. 2015) reflecting the importance of sound management for vegetation recovery and preventing future degradation. Although not necessarily the main cause of observed degradation, climate change has had substantial impacts on productivity and livelihoods in China’s rangelands as is evidenced by contributions to past Special Issues (Ding et al. 2014; Wang et al. 2014b; Yang et al. 2014; Zhang et al. 2015) and other scholarship (e.g. Li et al. 2012; Liu and Wang 2012; Li et al. 2014a; Yang et al. 2017). For example, monitoring at ecological observation stations in Inner Mongolia, where grazing has been excluded over a long period of time has shown decreases in aboveground biomass and biodiversity in response to climate change (Zhang et al. 2011; Li et al. 2015b). The impact of climate changes on China’s rangelands has been exacerbated by degradation caused by grazing, cropping and other land uses, severely hampering sustainable development (EBNCCA 2011; Zhao et al. 2015). Increased scientific understanding about the likely trajectory of future climate change, as described below, continues to raise questions about how flows of ecosystem services will be affected. The focus of this current Special Issue, on the response of ecosystem functions to global change and particularly to changes in climate, provides underpinning research for addressing such questions. Ecosystem functions are biological, chemical and physical processes, including carbon and nutrient cycling, that involve interactionsamongecosystemcomponents suchas theatmosphere, soils, water, vegetation types and species populations (Boyd and Banzhaf 2007; Bastian et al. 2012). As shown conceptually in Fig. 1, these processes are the foundation for ecosystem services which include the end products from the ecosystem that are used or consumed by people (Brown and MacLeod 2017; Sala et al. 2017). Ecosystem services also include supporting services such as biodiversity, habitat and primary productivity. Unlike other ecosystem services, supporting services are not directly used by people. However they are necessary for production of other ecosystem services. Their dependence on ecosystem functions is very direct (Sala et al. 2017) which may account for a lack of consistent distinction between the terms ‘ecosystem functions’ and ‘supporting ecosystem services’ that has been noted in the literature (Boyd and Banzhaf 2007; Bastian et al. 2012). Indeed, the focus of this Special Issue does extend beyond a strict definition of ecosystem functions to include research

Understanding ecosystem functions in grasslands under climate change for sustainable development of the Inner Mongolian Plateau