Arid Zone Research ›› 2025, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 637-645.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2025.04.06

• Land and Water Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Soil nutrient characteristics of 30-year aerial seeding plantations in the northeastern margin of Tengger Desert

FAN Hao1(), TANG Guodong2,3, ZHAO Zhenyu2,3, LI Jinrong2,3, DENG Chuntao1, WANG Haibing1   

  1. 1. College of Desert Management, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010020, Inner Mongolia, China
    2. China Academy of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Grassland Geohydrology in the North Foot of Yinshan Mountain, Inner Mongolia, Beijing 100038
    3. Institute of Pastoral Water Conservancy Science, Ministry of Water Resources, Hohhot 010020, Inner Mongolia, China
  • Received:2024-08-17 Revised:2025-02-24 Online:2025-04-15 Published:2025-04-10
  • Contact: WANG Haibing E-mail:13734710136@163.com

Abstract:

This study investigated the effect of vegetation restoration on soil nutrient accumulation in 1992 in the northeastern margin of the Tengger Desert. To provide a theoretical basis for vegetation construction in arid areas, this study analyzed the changes and cumulative effects of soil nutrients in the Calligonum mongolicum community and the mixed community (Hedysarum scoparium+C. mongolicum) in the aerial seeding area. (1) Vegetation restoration significantly increased the soil nutrient content in the aerial seeding area. Soil organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium in the soil of the C. mongolicum community and the mixed community increased by 60%-105%, 123%-161%, 129%-149%, and 145%-261%, respectively. The increase in the C. mongolicum community was significantly higher than that in the mixed community and the bare sand control (P< 0.05). The vertical distribution of nutrients revealed a surface accumulation effect; the content of the soil layer 0-10 cm from the surface was significantly higher than that of the soil layer 150-200 cm from the surface. (2) The two communities had a positive effect on nutrient accumulation in the soil layer 0-200 cm from the surface, and the effect decreased with increasing depth (P<0.05). The mean positive effect of the C. monogolicum community (0.39) was significantly higher than that of the mixed community (0.29). (3) The soil nutrient recovery indexes of the C. mongolicum and mixed communities were 62.19% and 51.63%, respectively. The results demonstrated that soil nutrients were significantly improved after 30 years of aerial seeding afforestation in the northeastern margin of the Tengger Desert. The C. mongolicum community promoted nutrient accumulation slightly better than did the mixed community, supporting the stable maintenance of artificial sand-fixing vegetation in arid areas.

Key words: aerial seeding afforestation, vegetation restoration, relative interaction strength, nutrient accumulation, Tengger Desert