Long-term grazing exclusion affects the population genetics and functional traits of Artemisia frigida in Mongolia

Steppes have a long history of grazing, which has affected vegetation and ecosystem functioning to varying degrees depending on local environmental and climatic conditions. While the effects of grazing on plant species' diversity and composition are well documented, effects on plants' functional traits and genetic structures are far less widely studied. Similarly, the effects of climate/land-use interactions on plants’ functional traits or genetic structure have rarely been investigated.