The relationship between species richness and productivity in four typical grasslands of northern China

Abstract

The relationship between plant species richness and primary productivity has long been a central topic in biodiversity research. In this paper, we examine the relationship between species richness and productivity in four typical grasslands of Northern China at different spatial scales. At the community scale, a positive correlation was found for six of seven communities. A unimodal pattern was found only for one community (Stipa glareosa community), while at a large scale (vegetation type or landscape/region), the relationship was also found significantly positive. Species richness ranged from 4 to 35 species, and community aboveground productivity from 13 to 368 g · m^-2 · a^-1. The highest species richness and aboveground productivity were found in alpine meadow, followed by meadow steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe.