Arid Zone Research ›› 2022, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (3): 933-942.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2022.03.27

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Soil mechanical composition and soil nutrient content of Reaumuria soongorica nebkhas

LI Xiaole1(),WEI Yajuan1,DANG Xiaohong1,2(),DAI Yuzhi3,ZHAI Bo1,CHI Xu1,WU Huimin1   

  1. 1. College of Desert Management, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, Inner Mongolia, China
    2. Hangjin National Positioning Observation and Research Station of Desert Ecosystem, Ordos 017400, Inner Mongolia, China
    3. Hohhot Weather Station, Hohhot 010018, Inner Mongolia, China
  • Received:2021-09-04 Revised:2021-12-12 Online:2022-05-15 Published:2022-05-30
  • Contact: Xiaohong DANG E-mail:lixiaole0107@126.com;dangxiaohong1986@126.com

Abstract:

Understanding the effects of desert shrubs on the soil structure and nutrient spatial heterogeneity of nebkhas is important for maintaining the stability of desert ecosystems and preventing regional desertification. In this study, soil grain-size composition and soil nutrient accumulation of Reaumuria soongorica in the steppe desert transition zone of Baiyinengel Nature Reserve, Hangjin Banner, Ordos City, were analyzed. (1) The soil was mainly fine sand (content ranging from 36.34% to 65.31%); the clay and silt content was less than 7.00%. (2) Reaumuria soongorica protects nebkhas from wind erosion and also plays a role in fixing quicksand. The sediment of nebkhas tended to be refined, and particle sorting became successively worse from the leeward side to the windward side and the open space between nebkhas. The particle distribution peak became wider and flatter, and the fractal dimension became smaller. The distribution of soil particle size composition in the shrub nebkha was more symmetrical than that in the open space between the mounds. (3) The soil organic matter (SOM), alkaline hydrolyzed nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK) contents on the windward and leeward sides of the nebkha increased by 29.37% and 40.63%, 23.49% and 35.12%, 62.72% and 66.45%, 30.10% and 22.75% (P<0.05), respectively, and RII (Relative Interaction Intense) > 0. Under the influence of wind erosion and plant feedback, nutrients were enriched in nebkhas, forming “fertile islands. ”

Key words: Reaumuria soongorica, nebkhas, soil mechanical composition, soil nutrient content