Changes in precipitation and wind velocity tend to alter structure and composition of the annual herb plant community, which will affect ecological functions and biodiversity maintenance. 

Although the changes in global precipitation regimes are unquestioned, the interactive mechanism of changing atmospheric wind and precipitation remains uncertain, the responses of plant community characteristic to both of that are not acknowledged. 

Recently, scientists from Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences examined the effects of increased precipitation and reduced wind velocity on annual herb plant community characteristics via a manipulative experiment from the middle of April to middle of August, 2016. 

The results showed that supplement precipitation evidently enhances plant species richness, in consistent with previous study of increased precipitation impacting mechanism. 

The study showed that increased precipitation, lower wind velocity as well as their interaction significantly stimulated plant development. 

The study also indicated that water availability dominated the increment of plant coverage, while wind activity made primary donation to plant height elevation. 

Besides, the research also suggested the positive relation of the dominant plants to the whole community ecosystem, and researchers should take more attention to the dominant species prospering. 

Furthermore, the study had important implication for understanding and predicting herbaceous plant community characteristics and mechanism of the semiarid ecosystems under changing climatic environment. 

The study result was published in Ecology and Evolution. 

Contact: 

LIU Xinping 

liuxinping@lzb.ac.cn 

Naiman Desertification Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China