Scale dependence and mechanisms of grazing-induced biodiversity changes depend on herbivore type in semiarid grasslands

Grasslands support a variety of herbivores that profoundly impact biodiversity and ecosystem functioning at local and regional scales. Understanding how different herbivores influence plant diversity across multiple scales is crucial for effective biodiversity conservation. However, most studies have focused on the effects of grazing intensity on plant diversity, neglecting the impacts and associated mechanisms of different herbivores across scales.
Based on a 7-year grazing experiment with 16 plots in Inner Mongolia's typical steppe, we compared the scale-dependent effects of different herbivores (cattle, sheep, and goats) on plant diversity at moderate grazing intensity. We used the species-area relationship (SAR) and linear mixed models to analyze the changes in species richness across multiple scales (1, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, and 1024 m2). To understand SAR slope changes, we examined four potential mechanisms: overall species richness, total number of individuals, species abund..., , , # Scale dependence and mechanisms of grazing-induced biodiversity changes depend on herbivore type in semiarid grasslands

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.p5hqbzkxt](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.p5hqbzkxt)

## Description of the data and file structure

The data file is named `Supplement_Data.xlsx`. The data file contains three sheets: \"species.area\", \"plant.abundance\", and \"plant.aboveground.biomass\". The units are included in the column heading.

There are four grazing treatments: Control, Cattle, Sheep, and Goat. Each treatment has four replications.

草原支撑着多种草食动物，其对局地与区域尺度的生物多样性及生态系统功能具有深刻影响。明确不同草食动物如何在多尺度下调控植物多样性，对于高效开展生物多样性保护工作至关重要。然而，现有多数研究仅聚焦于放牧强度对植物多样性的影响，却忽略了不同草食动物在多尺度下的作用效应及其相关机制。
本研究依托内蒙古典型草原开展的7年放牧实验（共设置16个样地），在中度放牧强度下，对比了不同草食动物——牛（cattle）、绵羊（sheep）与山羊（goats）——对植物多样性的尺度依赖性效应。我们采用种-面积关系（species-area relationship, SAR）与线性混合模型（linear mixed models），分析了多尺度（1、16、32、64、128、256、512及1024 m²）下的物种丰富度变化。为探究种-面积关系斜率的变化机制，我们考察了4种潜在驱动因素：总物种丰富度、总个体数、物种多度……
# 半干旱草原中放牧引发的生物多样性变化的尺度依赖性与机制取决于草食动物类型
[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.p5hqbzkxt](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.p5hqbzkxt)

## 数据与文件结构说明
本数据集文件名为`Supplement_Data.xlsx`，包含三个工作表："species.area"、"plant.abundance"与"plant.aboveground.biomass"，各列表头已标注对应单位。
本实验设置4种放牧处理：对照组（Control）、牛组、绵羊组与山羊组，每种处理均设置4次重复。