Arid Zone Research ›› 2024, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (5): 788-796.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2024.05.07

• Land and Water Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Vegetation characteristics of herb communities on highway slopes of the Loess Plateau and their relationship with soil

MAO Guangrui1(), ZHAO Jinmei1(), ZHU Gong2, CUI Haiming1, LIU Wanzhi1   

  1. 1. College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
    2. Lanzhou City North and South Two Mountains Environmental Greening Project Headquarters, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
  • Received:2023-12-06 Revised:2024-03-17 Online:2024-05-15 Published:2024-05-29

Abstract:

This study examined the vegetation characteristics and species diversity of mixed herb communities in different years on the slope of expressway in the Loess Plateau, and explored the relationship between herb community characteristics, species diversity, and soil physical and chemical properties. The characteristics of herb communities, α species diversity, and their correlation with soil physical and chemical properties were studied using the Mantel test after 15 a, 12 a, 8 a, 4 a, and 2 a of restoration of herb communities on the highway slope of the Loess Plateau by space instead of time. In total, 13 species of 13 genera in 8 families were investigated in 15 a of slope restoration, 10 species of 10 genera in 7 families were investigated in 12 a of restoration, 5 species of 5 genera in 3 families were investigated in 8 years of restoration, 5 species of 5 genera in 3 families were investigated in 4 a of restoration, and 6 species of 6 genera in 4 families were investigated in 2 a of restoration. Patric species richness recovered in the order 15 a>12 a>8 a>2 a>4 a, the Shannon-Wiener and Simpson indices recovered in the order 15 a>12 a>2 a>8 a>4 a, and the Pielou evenness index recovered in the order 15 a>2 a>8 a>12 a>4 a. Patric species richness was significantly positively correlated with total porosity and capillary porosity, organic matter, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus (P<0.05), and the Shannon-Wiener index was significantly positively correlated with organic matter and total phosphorus (P<0.05). After spraying mixed grass species in different years on the slope, the herb communities mostly contained perennials, but there were differences in species composition and quantity of the community. The species richness, Shannon-Wiener index, and Simpson index of patric species showed an upward trend as the number of restoration years increased. Soil total porosity, capillary porosity, organic matter, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus were the key environmental factors affecting patric species richness and the Shannon-Wiener index.

Key words: Loess Plateau highway slope, prata, vegetation characteristics, soil