Spatial variation patterns of plant herbaceous community response to warming along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients in mountainous forests of the Loess Plateau, China

As climate warming is more obvious in high mountains, the spatial patterns of mountainous vegetation responding to climate warming are expected to become a new aspect in forest ecosystem research. However, we do not know how spatial patterns of vegetation in mountainous regions respond to climate warming, and we also do not know what will happen to the patterns when rainfall occurs. Here, we conducted warming experiments to explore the variation pattern of the response of the herbaceous community to experimental warming along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients in mountainous forests of the Loess Plateau. In low and high warming amplitudes, air temperature increased by a maximum of 0.86 degrees C and 2.83 degrees C, respectively; the response of air temperature was obviously affected by elevation, whereas air humidity was not sensitive to warming. When rainfall occurred, warming produced decreases in soil temperature by a maximum of 0.56 degrees C and 0.61 degrees C in low and high warming amplitudes, respectively; soil temperature was evidently affected by latitude; and soil moisture was insensitive to warming. That was, the corresponding responsiveness of air and soil temperature was dependent on elevation and latitude, and a sudden increase in soil moisture caused by rainfall influenced the effects of warming on soil temperature. Warming also increased plant height and coverage, but plant density and frequency did not respond to warming, thus leading to insignificant changes for importance values of grass, sedge, and forb. Moreover, plant richness and Simpson indices increased in low-amplitude warming and decreased in high-amplitude warming, but the Pielou index was insensitive to warming. The responsiveness of these plant factors decreased with latitude and increased with elevation. Correlations tended to be enhanced by warming among vegetation, temperature (air temperature and soil temperature), and moisture (air humidity and soil moisture); the correlation among vegetation, air humidity, and soil moisture increased relatively rapidly in response to warming. With soil moisture increasing, plant height diminished and species diversity enlarged in warming, demonstrating that moisture increase caused by rainfall modified warming effects on vegetation. In regions with water deficits as the Loess Plateau, warming reinforced the relationship of vegetation with water and thus promoted its dependence on water. Warming could be controlled in a certain range and thus exerted positive effects on vegetation and facilitated plant community development. In regions where water is the limiting factor, warming effects were largely influenced by rainfall; the moisture increment induced by rainfall might weaken warming effects on soil and its correlation with vegetation.