The Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on the Structure and Function of Grassland Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

Grassland ecosystems have ecological functions such as wind prevention, sand fixation, soil conservation, climate regulation, air purification, and water conservation, and are closely related to human survival and well-being. In recent years, with the abnormal climate change and the intensification of unreasonable human activities, the structure and function of grassland ecosystems have been seriously affected. However, the response mechanism of grassland ecosystems to climate change and human activities at different spatial and temporal scales still has great uncertainty. In this respect, it is accurate to quantitatively assess the temporal and spatial change of grassland ecosystems under the influence of climate change and human activities, clarify the change and driving mechanism of species diversity, structure and function of grassland ecosystems under changing environment, reveal the change characteristics of soil microbial diversity and function and explore the carbon and water cycle characteristics of grassland ecosystem, providing a theoretical basis for formulating grassland climate adaptation strategies. This Special Issue will offer comprehensive coverage of the impacts of climate change and human activities on the changes in the structure and function change of grassland ecosystems. We kindly invite authors to submit a review article, an original research article, or a short communication on topics related to the carbon water cycle of grassland ecosystems, plant community structure and species diversity, grassland eco-hydrology, soil microbial diversity and function and remote sensing monitoring of grassland degradation and its driving mechanism.

As Guest Editors, we look forward to reviewing your relevant contributions to this Special Issue.

Dr. Yangyang Liu
Dr. Wei Zhang
Guest Editors

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