Arid Zone Research ›› 2021, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (2): 438-449.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2021.02.15

• Plant and Plant Physiology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of biological soil crust type on herbaceous diversity in the Gurbantunggut Desert

LI Bin1(),WU Zhifang1,TAO Ye2,ZHOU Xiaobing2,ZHANG Bingchang1()   

  1. 1. School of Geographical Sciences, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen 041000, Shanxi, China
    2. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2020-05-30 Revised:2020-08-11 Online:2021-03-15 Published:2021-04-25
  • Contact: Bingchang ZHANG E-mail:932579511@qq.com;zhangbch@sxnu.edu.cn

Abstract:

As pioneer community and ecosystem engineers in desert ecosystems, biological soil crusts (BSCs) play critical roles in maintaining soil surface stability and improving ecosystem function in arid regions. BSCs affect the seed dispersal, germination, and survival of vascular plants. However, the effect of BSCs on herbaceous plant diversity in the Gurbantunggut Desert is still unknown. In this study, we investigated the factors influencing herbaceous plant diversity in bare sand and three BSC types (algae, lichen, and moss crusts) in northern, central, and southern regions of the Gurbantunggut Desert. We detected significant differences in soil physicochemical properties among BSC types. For example, soil organic matter, total N, total P, total K, clay, silt, and fine sand contents significantly increased with BSC development; however, sand and coarse sand contents declined significantly. Moreover, spatial heterogeneity was obvious among desert regions. The nutrient content and pH in bare sand and algal crusts at Site 2 were lower than those at Site 1 and Site 3. Herbaceous plant richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity increased with BSC succession. The species composition and community structure also varied significantly among BSC types and desert areas. Soil physicochemical properties, soil organic matter, available P, total K, pH, and silt were identified as key factors shaping the herbaceous plant community structure. The changes in microtopography and species composition in different BSC types, biological properties of seeds and soil, and environmental heterogeneity may all contribute to herbaceous plant species composition and abundance in BSCs, leading to herbaceous plant community succession.

Key words: biological soil crusts, succession, herbaceous plant, species diversity, Gurbantunggut Desert