Analysis of charcoal particles preserved in lake sediments has been frequently used to reconstruct fire, vegetation and climate history. Larger macroscopic (>125 μm) are attributed local fires, whereas microscopic (<125 μm), observed on pollen slides, a signal regional fire. Taxonomic identification the adds fire-history reconstruction by providing information about fuel composition past fire c...

In recent years, steppe degradation in North China has become a serious environmental problem. Most research on steppe degradation is conducted at the level of communities or at the scale of small regions. To better understand the spatio-temporal variation and driving factors of grassland degradation, monitoring and analysis at broad regional scales are needed. This paper systematically describ...

BACKGROUND The Mongolian steppe is one of the most important grasslands in the world but suffers from aridization and damage from anthropogenic activities. Understanding structure and function of this community is important for the ecological conservation, but has seldom been investigated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In this study, a total of 324 quadrats located on the three main types of...

Clarifying spatial variations in aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) of grasslands is critical for effective prediction of the response of terrestrial ecosystem carbon and water cycle to future climate change. Though the combination use of remote sensing products and in situ ANPP measurements, we quantified the effects of climatic [mean annual prec...

Background: Sudamala herb (Artemisia vulgaris L.) is often used in society as an anti tumor for organs of digestive system including oral cavity. Nevertheless, there are still no further scientific researches on active materials which can be used as anti carcinogen in oral cavity. Most of anti carcinogens are actually obtained from the genus Artemisia. Moreover, in Indonesia, the species of the...

The Asteraceae family is one of the largest families, comprising 67 genera and 264 species in Poland. However, only a few genera, including Artemisia and Ambrosia are potential allergenic sources. The aim of the study was to estimate how often and to what degree Artemisia and Ambrosia pollen seasons co-occur intensifying human health risk, and how synoptic situations influence frequency of days...

Artemisia scoparia, Artemisia sacrorum and Artemisia giraldii were three dominant Artemisia species which successive grew in the secondary succession on abandoned land of the Loess Plateau. The succession accompanied the soil moisture steady decrease with field age after their abandonment. To elucidate the relationship between the Artemisia species succession and their drought-adaptation, three...

Global warming is projected to continue, leading to intense fluctuations in precipitation and heat waves and thereby affecting the productivity and the relevant biological processes of grassland ecosystems. Here, we determined the functional responses to warming and altered precipitation in both typical and desert steppes. The results showed that watering markedly increased the aboveground net ...

The genetic diversity found in domestic breeds allows farmers to develop new characteristics in response to changes in the environment, the appearance of diseases, or of modifications in market conditions. Indigenous breeds often possess gene combinations and special adaptations (such as disease resistance, adaptation to harsh conditions or poor-quality feeds) not found in other breeds. Five Ro...

At the last deglaciation Earth’s largest biome, mammoth-steppe, vanished. Without knowledge of the productivity of this ecosystem, the evolution of man and the glacialeinterglacial dynamics of carbon storage in Earth’s main carbon reservoirs cannot be fully understood. Analyzes of fossils 14C dates and reconstruction of mammoth steppe climatic envelope indicated that changing climate wasn’t a r...