Arid Zone Research ›› 2023, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (6): 979-987.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2023.06.13

• Plant Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Differences in moss crust development between Artemisia ordosica and Salix pasmmophia shrubs

MO Qiuxia1(),SONG Wei2,BU Chongfeng3,4(),WANG Chun3,WANG Heming5,LI Yahong6   

  1. 1. College of Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China
    2. Landscape and Engineering Branch of Sichuan Highway Planning, Survey, Design and Research Institute Ltd., Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China
    3. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China
    4. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China
    5. College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China
    6. Office of Meixian County Party Committee, Baoji 722399, Shaanxi, China
  • Received:2022-11-17 Revised:2023-02-27 Online:2023-06-15 Published:2023-06-21

Abstract:

The soil properties and moss crust development indices in typical Artemisia ordosica and Salix pasmmophia shrub land plots in the sandy area of Mu Us Sandland have previously been analyzed in combination with allelopathic tests of the extracts from the different shrub organs. The results showed that moss crust development in A. ordosica shrub land was better than that in S. pasmmophia shrub land, but the reason is unclear, and elucidating it is the aim of this investigation. A significant difference in the moss crust coverage between the two kinds of shrubs (P < 0.05) was identified. The total moss crust coverage and sub-canopy and inter-canopy crust coverage were as follows: A. ordosica > S. pasmmophia, and the total moss crust coverage and subcanopy and intercanopy crust coverage in the A. ordosica shrub land were 1.6, 2.9, and 1.1 times higher than those in the sand S. pasmmophia shrub land, respectively. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in moss crust thickness between the two kinds of shrubs (P > 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the moss crust coverage in the sub-canopy was significantly positively correlated with the soil water content, moss crust thickness in the sub-canopy was significantly positively correlated with silt content, and inter-canopy moss crust coverage was significantly positively correlated with soil water and clay content (P < 0.05). The higher soil water, clay, and silt contents in the A. ordosica shrub land promoted the development of moss crusts. The aqueous extracts from the roots, stems, and leaves of the A. ordosica and S. pasmmophia inhibited the development of moss crusts; that is, the allelopathic synthesis effect (SE) was negative. Specifically, the allelopathic inhibitory effect of the 0.2 g·mL-1 aqueous extract of the S. pasmmophia leaves was the strongest, with an SE of -0.95. The inhibitory effect was significantly higher than that of the A. ordosica leaves (SE = -0.65). It can be inferred from the results that the higher soil water, clay, and silt contents in the A. ordosica shrub land and the significant allelopathic inhibition of the S. pasmmophia leaves on the moss crusts led to the improved development of moss crusts in A. ordosica shrub land when compared with S. pasmmophia shrub land.

Key words: Artemisia ordosica, Salix pasmmophia, moss crusts, allelopathy, comparative research, Mu Us Sandland