Vegetation pattern variation,soil degradation and their relationship along a grassland desertification gradient in Horqin Sandy Land,northern China |
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Authors: | Xiaoan Zuo Halin Zhao Xueyong Zhao Yirui Guo Jianying Yun Shaokun Wang Takafumi Miyasaka |
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Affiliation: | (1) Naiman Desertification Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions of Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Donggang West Road, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China;(2) Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan |
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Abstract: | The Horqin Sandy Land is one of the most severely desertified regions in northern China. Plant communities and soil conditions at five stages of grassland desertification (potential, light, moderate, severe and very severe) were selected for the study of vegetation pattern variation relating to soil degradation. The results showed that vegetation cover, species richness and diversity, aboveground biomass (AGB), underground biomass, litter, soil organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), total phosphorus (P), electrical conductivity, very fine sand (0.1–0.05 mm) content and silt (0.05–0.002 mm) content decreased with the desertification development. Plant community succession presented that the palatable herbaceous plants gave place to the shrub species with asexual reproduction and sand pioneer plants. The decline of vegetation cover and AGB was positively related to the loss of soil organic C and total N with progressive desertification (P < 0.01). The multivariate statistical analysis showed that plant community distribution, species diversity and ecological dominance had the close relationship with the gradient of soil nutrients in the processes of grassland desertification. These results suggest that grassland desertification results in the variation of vegetation pattern which presents the different composition and structure of plant community highly influenced by the soil properties. |
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Keywords: | CCA Desertification Horqin Sandy Land Soil properties Vegetation pattern |
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