Revision Checklist No. 1 2 Page 1 1 Line 7 17 3 2 1 4 2 5 5 6 2 2 5 6 7 2 8 8 3 2-3 9 3 8 10 3 9-10 11 3 15 12 3 15 13 3 15-16 14 3 20 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 4 4 4 4 5 6 6 6 4 6 10 12 5 8 9 11 23 6 16-17 (Page: Page in new version, Line: Line in new version) In old version In new version Univerisity University are were biological disturbances/biotic biological disturbances factors biological disturbances/biotic biological disturbances factors greatly affected significantly affected unpalatable weeds unpalatable weed biological disturbances/biotic biological disturbances factors around the world (Day and Buckley around the world ( Wiesmeier et 2013; Harris 2010; Zhang et al. 2011; al. 2009) Wiesmeier et al. 2009) added "resource allocation" added " (Brandta et al. 2013; Gao et al. 2009; Gao et al. 2013; Harris 2010; Luo et al. 2009; Shang and Long 2007; Wen et al. 2012)" Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau QTP (referred to as "the roof of the removed "(referred to as "the roof of the world") world")" Among 18.9 million km2 of Over 85% of the 18.9 million km2 of total land in this area, over 85% QTP is covered by … is covered by … Thay have also provided a great They also provided … deal of … Shang and Long 2005 Shang and Long 2007 being removed "being" Shang and Long 2005 Shang and Long 2007 especially of meadows especially meadows Globally For alpine vegetation 4 200 m 4,200 m The annually average The annual average 1 459 mm 1,459 mm added "The grasslands on sunny slopes are normally grazed by Tibetan sheep in the cold season from October to the next No. Page Line 24 6 17 25 7 2 26 7 3 27 7 3 28 7 4-5 29 7 6-7 30 31 7 7 9 11 32 7 12-13 33 7 13-16 34 7 17 35 7 17 36 37 38 7 7 8 18-19 19 1 In old version In new version May, lasting for almost 200 days." The degraded grasslands suffered damage from mole rats (Myospalax bailey). Four paralled 250 m transects were set at … Degraded grasslands on the sunny slope suffered damage from overgrazing and zokor (Myospalax bailey) activities. Four 250 m transects were set on … added a comma after "(north facing)" added a comma after " on the same mountain" The vegetation dominated by forb on the sunny aspect was sampled in … The forb-dominated vegetation on the sunny slope was sampled within … added "The vegetation on the shady slope was dominated by shrubs with a forb/herbaceous under canopy. " added "on both slopes" added " (Floyd and Anderson 1987) ...by recording the times that each species appeared in all quadrats in each sampling plot. In each plot the vegetation composition and plant diversity were identified, and (number of mole rat holes) ...by recording the number of individuals of each species occurring in all quadrats. added "According to the criteria for grading alpine grassland degradation (Ma et al. 2002), each quadrat was divided into five levels of degradation: severe degradation (SD), heavy degradation (HD), moderate degradation (MD), light degradation (LD), or non-degraded grassland (ND)." In each quadrat removed "the vegetation composition and plant diversity were identified, and" added "were analyzed" before semicolon removed "(number of mole rat holes)" added "(Gerlacha et al. 2006)" No. Page Line 39 8 9 40 8 10 41 8 11 42 43 44 8 8 9 14-15 17 1 45 9 6 46 9 21 47 10 7-9 48 10 9 49 10 12 In old version The grasslands on sunny aspects are normally grazed by Tibetan sheep in the cold season from October to the next May, lasting for almost 200 days. mole rat On this basis, the ralationships … Ren (Ren 1998) IVS Paul Jaccard (Jaccard 1912) The correlations between the species importance (IV) and biotic and abiotic factors were analyzed using SPSS 11.5. sunny aspect The most popular families of plants recorded were Asteraceae (n represents how many species appearing at the study site belonged to this family, n=20), Cyperaceae (n=9), Ranunculaceae (n=11), Poaceae (n=11), Rosaceae (n=8), Gentianaceae (n=6), Fabaceae (n=10), Polygonaceae (n=6), and Scrophulariaceae (n=8), presented at 100%, 98.3%, 97.1%, 96.6%, 96.6%, 93.7%, 92.0%,89.7% and 87.9% of these sampled quadrates, respectively. The most common genera were Kobresia (n=3), Potentilla (n=4), Saussurea (n=7), presented at 97.7%, 95.4% and 92.5% of these sampled quadrates, respectively. The highest occurrence … In new version removed "The grasslands on sunny aspects are normally grazed by Tibetan sheep in the cold season from October to the next May, lasting for almost 200 days. " zokor The relationships … Ren (1998) Ivs Jaccard (1912) removed “The correlations between the species importance (IV) and biotic and abiotic factors were analyzed using SPSS 11.5. ” sunny slope The most popular families of plants recorded were Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Ranunculaceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae, Gentianaceae, Fabaceae, Polygonaceae, and Scrophulariaceae (Table 1). The most common genera were Kobresia, Potentilla, Saussurea. The most frequent occurrence … No. Page Line 50 10 17-18 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 20 21 4 5 11 16 20 3 8 14 20 62 13 2 63 13 3 64 13 5 65 66 13 13 6 7 67 13 8 68 13 9 69 13 11-12 In old version According to the criteria for grading alpine grassland degradation (Ma et al. 2002), each quadrat on the sunny slope was divided into four degrees of degradation (Table I): severe degradation (SD), heavy degradation (HD), moderate degradation (MD), or light degradation (LD), whereas the quadrats on the shady slope were all categorized as non-degraded grassland. Table II 93 plants were sampled Table II 0.03 sunny aspect sunny aspect sunny aspect shady aspect In Figure 1, it can be seen that the … MD and HD sites, i.e., moderately degraded and heavily degraded habitats Szxifraga Greanium LD sites, i.e., lightly degraded habitat In new version Each quadrat on the sunny slope was divided into four levels of degradation (Table 2), whereas all quadrats on the shady slope were all categorized as ND. added "on the sunny slope" Table 3 93 plant species were recorded Table 3 0.030 sunny slope sunny slope sunny slope shady slope added "on the shady slope" removed "In Figure 1, it can be seen that the " added "(Fig. 1)" removed ", i.e., moderately degraded and heavily degraded habitats" Saxifraga Geranium removed ", i.e., lightly degraded habitat" added "(LD, MD, HD and SD)" great variations between the four sampled habitats in terms of their species composition (Table III). significant variations in species composition between the four sampled habitats (Table 3). No. 70 Page 13 Line 13 71 13 13 72 13 16 73 13 16-17 74 13 19 75 13 21 76 14 1 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 2 6 8 11 16 17 18 18 19 86 15 3 87 88 89 15 15 15 5 7 7 90 15 7-8 91 92 93 15 15 15 10 11 11 In old version are This result indicates that there were no significant variations in the species composition along the altitudinal gradient on the shady slope. (Figure 1) mole rat Figure 1 displays the ordination of species constrained by nine variables. The factors that most strongly influenced the species abundance were the grazing intensity, bare patch area, rat disturbance and altitude. Figure 1 mole rat mole rat Figure 2 shows that the … were Scnccio kashkarowii It can be concluded that unpalatable … as degradation dominate which did not contrary Astragalus speciel Szxifraga In new version were removed "This result indicates that there were no significant variations in the species composition along the altitudinal gradient on the shady slope." (Fig. 1) added "Fig. 1 displays the ordination of species constrained by nine variables. " zokor removed "Figure 1 displays the ordination of species constrained by nine variables. " removed "The factors that most strongly influenced the species abundance were the grazing intensity, bare patch area, rat disturbance and altitude. " added "(Fig. 1)" Fig. 1 zokor zokor added "(Fig. 2)" The … was added "(Fig. 2)" Senecio kaschkarowii Unpalatable … as degradation (removed a space) dominant with no added "This result indicates that there were no significant variations in the species composition along the altitudinal gradient on the shady slope. " contrast Astragalus spp. Saxifraga No. 94 95 96 97 98 99 Page 15 15 15 15 16 16 Line 12 14 20 20 3 15 100 16 20-21 101 16 21 102 17 1 103 104 17 17 3 5 105 17 7 106 107 17 17 10 11 In old version Greanium aspect increases away from reduced mole rat In this study Fan et al. (2010) found that the climate change was a factor associated with reductions in grassland yields. However, grazing management has been reported to be the most important factor for increasing grassland quality (Feng et al. 2009). sunny aspect Figure 1 and Table 3 Li et al. (2008) has also found that the vegetation variation showed no tendency along an altitudinal gradient with intervals of 100 m between 2,460 and 3,260 m on Tianshan Mountain in Xinjiang. Similarly, there should be no great variation in the vegetation composition along the environmental and geographic gradients on the sunny slope at a small scale. In new version Geranium slope decreses from reduces zokor added "Fan et al. (2010) found that the climate change was also a factor associated with reductions in grassland yields. " But, in this small scale study removed "Fan et al. (2010) found that the climate change was a factor associated with reductions in grassland yields. However, grazing management has been reported to be the most important factor for increasing grassland quality (Feng et al. 2009)." sunny slope Fig. 1 and Table 4 removed "Li et al. (2008) has also found that the vegetation variation showed no tendency along an altitudinal gradient with intervals of 100 m between 2,460 and 3,260 m on Tianshan Mountain in Xinjiang. Similarly, there should be no great variation in the vegetation composition along the environmental and geographic gradients on the sunny slope at a small scale. " added a comma after " significantly" added a comma after "slowly" No. Page Line 108 17 12 109 110 17 17 13 16 111 17 16-18 112 18 5-6 113 18 7 114 19 4-6 115 19 20-21 116 20 15-16 In old version We can also conclude that the effects of the moisture content and heat conditions on the special heterogeneity of the alpine grassland vegetation at a small scale were insignificant compared with those of grazing and rat disturbance. scientific grazing rat control and light grazing should be first be implemented in the application of restoration strategies, … A previous study implied that we concluded that diagnosis of he state In new version removed "We can also conclude that the effects of the moisture content and heat conditions on the special heterogeneity of the alpine grassland vegetation at a small scale were insignificant compared with those of grazing and rat disturbance. " added a comma after "factors" rational grazing we recommended that zokor controls be implemented and grazing be limited to low stock levels (2 sheep units/ha), … Previous studies have shown we conclude that the diagnosis of the state added "Brandta, J. S., Haynesb, M. A., Kuemmerlec, T., Wallerb, D. M., & Radeloffa, V. C. (2013). Regime shift on the roof of the world: Alpine meadows converting to shrublands in the southern Himalayas. Biological Conservation, 158, 116-127." added "Day, N. J., & Buckley, H. L. (2013). Twenty-five years of plant community dynamics and invasion in New Zealand tussock grasslands. Austral Ecology, doi:DOI: 10.1111/aec.12016." added "Floyd, D. A., & Anderson, J. E. (1987). A Comparison of Three Methods for Estimating Plant Cover. Journal of Ecology, 75, 221-228." No. Page Line 117 21 3-8 118 119 120 22 22 24 1 In old version Li, K. H., Wang, W. L., Hu, Y. K., Gao, G. G., Gong, Y. M., & Yin, W. (2008). Relationships between belowgrund biomass of alpine grassland and environmental factors along an altitude gradient. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 19(11), 2364-2368. removed "Li, K. H., Wang, W. L., Hu, Y. K., Gao, G. G., Gong, Y. M., & Yin, W. (2008). Relationships between belowgrund biomass of alpine grassland and environmental factors along an altitude gradient. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 19(11), 2364-2368." added "Luo, C., Chang, X., Zhang, Z., Duan, J., Zhao, X., Su, A., et al. (2009). Effects of grazing and experimental warming on DOC concentrations in the soil solution on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Soil biology & biochemistry, 41(12), 2493-2500." 7-9 1-2 In new version added "Gao, Q. Z., Wan, Y. F., Li, Y., Guo, Y. Q., Ganjurjav, Qin, X. B., et al. (2013). Effects of topography and human activity on the net primary productivity (NPP) of alpine grassland in northern Tibet from 1981 to 2004. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 34(6), 2057-2069. Gerlacha, R., Baumewerd-Schmidtb, H., Borgc, K. v. d., Eckmeierd, E., & Schmidtd, M. W. I. (2006). Prehistoric alteration of soil in the Lower Rhine Basin, Northwest Germany—archaeological, 14C and geochemical evidence. Geoderma, 136(1-2), 38-50. " Shang, Z. H., & Long, R. J. (2005). Formation reason and recovering problem of the "black soil type" degraded alpine grassland in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Chinese Journal of Ecology, 24, 652-656. Shang, Z. H., & Long, R. J. (2007). Formation causes and recovery of the “Black Soil Type” degraded alpine grassland in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Frontiers of Agricultrue in China, 1(2), 197-202. No. Page Line 121 25 3-4 122 25 12-14 123 27 124 27 2 125 28 1 126 28 2-4 127 128 29 29 1 2 129 29 3 130 30 1 131 30 2 132 133 31 31 1 3 In old version Table 1 Note: ND=non-degradation, SD=severe degradation, HD=heavy degradation, LG=light degradation, LG=light grazing, MG=moderate grazing, OG=over grazing, HG=heavy grazing. SC= soil total carbon, SN= soil total nitrogen, TDS= total dissolved salt. Table 2 aspects NOTE: The abbreviations are the same as in Table 1. Table 3 NOTE: The abbreviations are the same as in Table 1. Figure 1. rat hole In new version added "Wen, L., Dong, S. K., Li, Y. Y., Li, X. Y., Shi, J. J., & Dong, Q. M. (2012). The impact of land degradation on the C pools in alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Plant and Soil, Doi:10.1007/s11104-012-1500-4." added "Zhang, G., Kang, Y., Han, G., Mei, H., & Sakurai, K. (2011). Grassland degradation reduces the carbon sequestration capacity of the vegetation and enhances the soil carbon and nitrogen loss. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section B-Soil and Plant Science, 61(4), 356-364." added "Table 1 The most popular families and genera on both sunny and shady slopes" added "Note: n represents how many species appearing at the study sites belonged to this family." Table 2 Note: ND=not degraded, LD=light degradation, MD=moderate degradation, HD=heavy degradation, SD=severe degradation, LG=light grazing, MG=moderate grazing, OG=over grazing, HG=heavy grazing. SC= soil total carbon, SN= soil total nitrogen, TDS= total dissolved salt. Table 3 slopes Note: Abbreviations as in Table 2. Table 4 Note: Abbreviations as in Table 2. Fig. 1 zokor holes No. Page Line 134 31 3-5 135 31 10 136 31 11 137 31 12 138 139 140 141 142 Appendix In old version ND=non-degradation, SD=severe degradation, HD=heavy degradation, LD=light degradation, The meaning of the species abbreviations is given in the Appendix. Figure 2. NOTE: The abbreviations are the same as in Figure 1. Astragalus species1 Lvt pal lvticaoshu palustris Daucus specie Meconopsis specie In new version ND=not degraded, LD=light degradation, MD=moderate degradation, HD=heavy degradation, SD=severe degradation, Species abbreviations given in the Appendix. Fig. 2 NOTE: Abbreviations as in Fig. 1. Astragalus spp. Cal pal Caltha palustris Daucus spp. Meconopsis spp.