Moss Patch Drive Moss Growth and the Nutrient Characteristics in a Temperate Desert of Central Asia

Mosses, as an important component of biological soil crusts, are important stabilizers in desert ecosystems, are distributed patchily in arid lands. They play key functional roles in the ecosystems where they are prevalent. Patchy habitats, which accommodate many organisms, are an essential ecological phenomenon in terrestrial ecosystems. Patch size of moss are affected by environment and human activities in deserts, such as grazing, oil exploration, and reclamation.

The patch size of biological soil crusts also influences ecosystem multifunctionality in dryland. Moss are non-vascular plants which mainly absorbs water, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from the air. Moreover, while most studies have focused on the relationship between soil and vascular plants, the relationships between soil and non-vascular plant stoichiometry unclear.

To address this knowledge gap, a research team from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences examined the effects of moss patches of different sizes on moss and soil stoichiometry, and moss growth strategies in different microhabitats and environments.

They found although shrubs provide a protected environment for moss plants, the effects of patch size in open area are more significant than under shrubs. Specifically, increase in patch size benefits moss growth more in open areas than under the canopy of living shrubs. Moss stoichiometry (such as N, P and potassium [K]) and soil available nutrients were significantly influenced by distributed patterns of differ size patch. Thus, development of moss patch size can influence the ecological function of patches themselves and are closely related to improvement of environmental nutrient condition in desert ecosystems.

Taken together, these results can help understanding nutrient patterns and utilization strategy of N, P and K, and their potential responses to global climate changes in desert.

Results have been published in Plant and Soil and Journal of Plant Ecology entitled “Moss patch size and microhabitats influence stoichiometry of moss crusts in a temperate desert, Central Asia” and “Moss C, N, P and K stoichiometry and their relationships are related to soil nutrients and environment in a temperate desert of central Asia”.

Article link: https://www.jpe.ac.cn/EN/10.1093/jpe/rtac070 

                 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-019-04191-x

Contact:  

LIU Jie 

Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography 

Tel: 86-0991-7885505 

E-mail: liujie@ms.xjb.ac.cn 

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