Arid Zone Research ›› 2024, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (4): 618-628.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2024.04.08

• Plant Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Species diversity in Minqin clay sand barrier-artificial Haloxylon ammodendron plantations and the characteristics of soil moisture changes

SONG Dacheng1,2(), MA Quanlin3(), LIU Shiquan1, WEI Linyuan1, WU Hao1, DUAN Xiaofeng1, GUO Shujiang1   

  1. 1. Gansu Desert Control Research Institute, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
    2. College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
    3. Gansu Academy Forestry Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
  • Received:2023-11-20 Revised:2024-01-11 Online:2024-04-15 Published:2024-04-26

Abstract:

In the present study, clay sand barrier-artificial Haloxylon ammodendron plantations and a mobile sand site (control) in the Minqin desert area were used to investigate the plant species composition, species importance value, dominant species characteristics, species diversity, and soil moisture content. This study explored the long term effects of clay sand barrier-artificial Haloxylon ammodendron plantation construction on regional plant community structure, species diversity, and soil moisture. In total, 12 species belonging to 12 genera and 6 families were recorded in the clay sand barrier-artificial Haloxylon ammodendron plantations in the Minqin desert area, with Chenopodiaceae and Zygophyllaceae being the dominant families. The construction of the artificial sand control system significantly increased the number of plant species in the region (from 4 species to 5-8 species). With an increase in the installation period, the vegetation structure gradually evolved from Agriophyllum squarrosum and Haloxylon ammodendrine (dominant species) to Grubovia dasyphylla, Kali collinum, Limonium aureum, and Haloxylon ammodendrine (dominant species). The life forms also shifted from a single type dominated by annual herbaceous plants to a composite type consisting of annual herbaceous plants, perennial herbaceous plants, and shrubs. Regarding alpha diversity, species richness index, Shannon-Wiener index, Simpson index, Pielou index, and Alatalo index showed an overall unimodal trend, with the highest species number and most even species distribution observed in the 20-year installation site and the lowest species number and most uneven species distribution observed in the control sand site. The Jaccard index of plant community similarity between neighboring sites with various installation periods showed the following order: control sand site > 1-year installation site > 20-year and 40-year installation sites > 1-year and 5-year installation sites > 10-year and 20-year installation sites > 40-year and 60-year installation sites > 5-year and 10-year installation sites. The dissimilarity index and Cody index showed the opposite trend. The fluctuation pattern of the regional soil moisture content was consistent with the trend of plant community succession. Compared with deeper soil layers (40-60 cm), the role of shallow soil layers (10-30 cm) in the natural succession process of regional plants was more pronounced.

Key words: clay sand barrier, Haloxylon ammodendron, species diversity, soil moisture, Minqin