干旱区研究

Arid Zone Research ›› 2024, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (7): 1185-1194.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2024.07.10

• Plant Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Distribution characteristics of vegetation around blowout in the Hulun Buir Glassland

BAO Zhixin1(), YUAN Limin2,3,4(), WU Hongyan2,4, LU Haitao5, HAN Zhaorigetu5   

  1. 1. College of Desert Control Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010011, Inner Mongolia, China
    2. Inner Mongolia Science and Technology Innovation Center of Forestry and Grassland, Hohhot 010010, Inner Mongolia, China
    3. Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Key Laboratory of Sandy (Desert) Ecosystem and Ecological Engineering, Hohhot 010010, Inner Mongolia, China
    4. Key Laboratory of Conservation and Cultivation of Biological Resources in Sandy Land, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Hohhot 010010, Inner Mongolia, China
    5. Academy Institute of Forestry and Grassland of Hulun Buir, Hulun Buir 021008, Inner Mongolia, China
  • Received:2024-03-29 Revised:2024-05-16 Online:2024-07-15 Published:2024-08-01

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Abstract:

Blowouts are a common type of wind erosion landform in grasslands, and their occurrence is accompanied by different degrees of sand burial, resulting in specific variations in vegetation growth and distribution among different areas. This study focused on the blowouts in the active development stage of the Hulun Buir grassland as the research object to clarify the characteristics and distribution of vegetation in various areas of grassland blowouts. We investigated plant species and their growth in five different areas of the blowouts (sand pit, upwind, left sand accumulation, right sand accumulation, and downwind). The study also analyzed the heterogeneous effect of blowouts on the spatial distribution of plants in the blowout without being affected by sand burial in the upper wind direction as CK. This study aims to provide an essential basis for studying the development mechanisms of grassland blowouts and vegetation restoration technology. The results showed the following: (1) Compared with CK, the plant species of the wind erosion crater increased significantly, with 42 species belonging to 13 families and 34 genera, while CK had only 17 species belonging to eight families and 16 genera; most of these species were psammophytessuch as Agriophyllum squarrosum and Corispermum chinganicum insects. (2) There was marked heterogeneity in plant species from different areas of the blowout; the main species in the pit belonged to Asteraceae, and the number of species decreased by 85.42% compared with CK; the number of plant species in the upwind direction, and the left and right sand accumulation areas were dominated by those from Amaranthaceae; grasses were the primary plants in the downwind direction; and the number of species enhanced by 47.05%, 117.75%, 35.29%, and 29.17%, respectively, compared with CK. (3) The plant growth varied remarkably in the different regions, most significantly between the sand pit and downwind area compared with CK; plant density declined by 99.63% and 89.73%, vegetation coverage by 84.48% and 69.06%, and aboveground biomass by 93.15% and 56.78%. (4) The area of the sand-buried grasslands in the downwind area was the largest; the number of species gradually approached that of CK as the sand pit edge extended to the grasslands through the sandy area; the coincidence degree reached 52.63%; and plants such as Xanthium sibiricum and Agriophyllum squarrosum disappeared.

Key words: blowouts, psammophytes, class, biomass, Hulun Buir Sandy Land