How species diversity-productivity relationships respond to temporal dynamics and land use is still not clear in semi-arid grassland ecosystems. We analyzed seasonal changes of the relationships between vegetation cover, plant density, species richness, and above-ground biomass in grasslands under grazing and exclosure in the Horqin Sandy Land of northern China. Our results showed that in grazed and fenced grassland, vegetation cover, richness, and biomass were lower in April than in August, whereas plant density showed a reverse trend. Vegetation cover during the growing season and biomass in June and August were higher in fenced grassland than in grazed grassland, whereas plant density in April and June was lower in fenced grassland than in grazed grassland. A negative relationship between species richness and biomass was found in August in fenced grassland, and in grazed grassland the relationship between plant density and biomass changed from positive in April to negative in August. The relationship between the density of the dominant plant species and the total biomass also varied with seasonal changes and land use (grazing and exclosure). These results suggest that long-term grazing, seasonal changes, and their interaction significantly influence vegetation cover, plant density, and biomass in grasslands. Plant species competition in fenced grassland results in seasonal changes of the relationship between species richness and biomass. Long-term grazing also affects seasonal changes of the density and biomass of dominant plant species, which further affects the seasonal relationship between plant density and biomass in grasslands. Our study demonstrates the importance of temporal dynamics and land use in understanding the relationship between species richness and ecosystem function.
In order to investigate the effects of afforestation on soil microbial abundance, microbial biomass carbon and enzyme activity in sandy dunes, 20-year-old Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv. (PSM) and Populus simonii Carrière (PSC) mature forests were selected in Horqin Sandy Land, and mobile dunes was set as a control (CK). Results show that PSM and PSC plantations can improve soil physicochemical properties and significantly increase microbiological activity in mobile dunes. Soil microbial abundance, microbial biomass carbon and enzyme activity show an order of PS>PSM>CK. Total soil microbial abundance in PSM and PSC was respectively 50.16 and 72.48 times more than that in CK, and the differences were significant among PSM, PSC and CK. Soil microbial biomass carbon in PSM and PSC was respectively 23.67 and 33.34 times more than that in CK, and the difference was insignificant between PSM and PSC. Soil enzyme activity, including dehydrogenase (DEH), peroxidase (PER), protease (PRO), urease (URE) and cellobiohydrolase (CEL) in PSM and PSC were respectively 19.00 and 27.54, 4.78 and 9.89, 4.05 and 8.67, 29.93 and 37.46, and 9.66 and 13.42 times of that in CK. P. sylvestris and P. simonii can effectively improve soil physicochemical and microbiological properties in sandy dunes and fix mobile dunes in Horqin Sandy Land. The C mic :C ratio is an applicable indicator to estimate soil stability and soil water availability, and based on an overall consideration of plantation stability and sustainability, P. sylvestris is better than P. simonii in fixing mobile dunes in sandy land.
Ecological patterns and processes in dune ecosystems have been a research focus in recent years, however the information on how dune stabilization influences the spatial scale dependence of plant diversity is still lacking. In this study, we measured the plant species richness, soil properties and altitude across four spatial scales(1, 10, 100 and 1,000 m2) at three different dune stabilization stages(mobile dune, semi-fixed dune and fixed dune) in Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China. We also examined the relationships between plant species richness, community composition and environmental factors along the gradient of dune stabilization. Our results showed that plant species richness increased with the increase of spatial scales in each dune stabilization stage, as well as with the increase of dune stabilization degrees. Canonical correspondence analysis(CCA) showed that plant distribu- tions in the processes of dune stabilization were determined by the combined environmental gradient in relation to soil organic carbon(SOC), total nitrogen(TN), carbon/nitrogen(C/N), pH, electrical conductivity(EC), soil water content(SWC), fine sand(FS), very fine sand(VFS), silt and clay(SC), and altitude. Plant species richness was significantly and positively correlated to SOC and TN in mobile dune, and significantly and positively correlated to SOC, TN, C/N, VFS and SC in semi-fixed dune. However, no significant correlation between plant species richness and environmental factors was observed in fixed dune. In addition, plant species richness in different dune stabili- zation stages was also determined by the combined gradient of soil properties and altitude. These results suggest that plant species richness has obvious scale dependence along the gradient of dune stabilization. Soil resources depending on dune habitats and environmental gradients caused by dune stabilization are important factors to de- termine the scale dependence of species diversity in sand dune ecosystems.
Land cover change plays an essential role in the alternation of soils properties.By field investigation and applying satellite images,land cover information in the Shelihu wetland was carried out in an area of 2,819 hm 2 in 1985,1995,2000,2005,2010 and 2011,respectively,in Horqin Sandy Land.A total of 57 soil sampling sites across Shelihu were chosen in wet meadow(CL0),cropland(CL) and sandy land(SL) according to the spatial characteristics of water body change.Soil texture,organic carbon(SOC),total nitrogen(TN) and total phosphorus(TP) contents,electrical conductivity(EC) and pH were measured at the soil depths of 0-10,10-20 and 20-40 cm to examine the influence of agricultural conversion and continuous cultivation on soil properties.The results showed that the study area was covered by water body in 1985,which gradually declined afterwards and then reclaimed rapidly at a mean annual rate of 132.1 hm 2 /a from wet meadow to cropland since 1995.In 2011,water body was drained and the area was occupied by 10.8% of CL0,76.9% of CL and 12.3% of SL.Large amounts of SOC,TN and TP were accumulated in the above depths in CL0.Soil in CL0 also had higher EC and silt and clay fractions,lower pH than in SL and CL.Soil in SL was seriously degraded with lower contents of SOC,TN and TP than in CL and CL0.SOC,TN content and EC in CL decreased with the increase of cultivation age,while pH showed a reverse trend with significance at plough horizon.The agricultural conversion in Shelihu was driven by the comprehensive factors of precipitation reduction,economic development and intense competitions for irrigation water.Continuous cultivation in this process is not sustainable because of SOC degradation and nutrient content reduction.The key point is that conventional tillage and removal of residuals induced further land degradation.Wetland reclamation for immediate economic interests led to greater costs in the long-term environmental restoration in Horqin Sandy Land.
Jie LIANIXueYong ZHAOXiaoAn ZUOShaoKun WANGXinYuan WANGYongQing LUO
Soil seed banks play an important role in the distribution and composition of plant communities in semiarid grassland ecosystems.However,information on how spatial scale influences the spatial heterogeneity of soil seed banks in a grassland under grazing disturbance is still lacking.Based on field sampling and greenhouse germination,we measured the species composition and seed density of soil seed banks at different spatial scales (30 m×30 m,30 m×60 m and 30 m×90 m)along a topographical gradient in a sandy grassland in Horqin Sand Land, Northern China.By applying geostatistical methods,we examined how spatial scale and topography affected the spatial distribution of soil seed banks in the study area.Our results showed that the total number of species in soil seed banks,as well as the number of dominant annuals,increased with the increase of spatial scales.Seed density in soil seed banks decreased with the increase of spatial scales due to an increase in the slopes and relative heights of the sampling points.Geostatistical analysis showed that the relative structural variance(C/(C0+C))of seed density and species richness were over 65%for all spatial scales,indicating that these variables had an obvious spatial autocorrelation and the spatial structured variance accounted for the largest proportion of the total sample variance.Spatial autocorrelation of seed density in soil seed banks increased with the increase of measured scales,while that of species richness showed a reverse trend.These results suggest that the total number of species in soil seed banks is spatial scale dependent and lower topography may accommodate more seeds.Spatial distribution of seed density in soil seed banks is also scale dependent due to topographic variation.Grassland management,therefore,needs to consider local grazing disturbance regime,spatial scale and topography.
Ecological patterns and processes in dune ecosystems have been a research focus in recent years, however information on how dune stabilization influences vegetation and soil at different spatial scales is still lacking. In this study, we measured vegetation characteristics and soil properties across three spatial scales(10, 100 and 1,000 m2) along gradient dune stabilization stages(mobile dune, semi-fixed dune and fixed dune) in Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China. Vegetation cover over all scales significantly increased with degree of dune stabilization, as well as species richness and C/N ratio at 10 m2 scale. Species richness significantly increased with the increase in measured scales at each stage of dune stabilization and was higher in fixed dune than that in mobile dune and semi-fixed dune at 100 and 1,000 m2 scales. Over all scales, aboveground biomass was lower in mobile dune than that in semi-fixed dune and fixed dune, and soil organic C, total N, EC, very fine sand and silt + clay contents were higher in fixed dune than those in mobile dune and semi-fixed dune. These results suggest that along the gradient dune stabilization, species richness has strong spatial scale-dependence, but vegetation cover, aboveground biomass and soil properties is generally scale independent(i.e., the pattern of response is consistent across all scales). Effect of dune stabilization on vegetation and soil over all spatial scales results in the positive correlation among vegetation cover, species richness, biomass, soil organic C, total N, C/N, EC, very fine sand and silt + clay along the gradient dune stabilization. In addition, species richness at the smallest scale(10 m2) has more sensitive response to dune stabilization. Thus, the monitoring strategies at small scales are essential to detect changes of species diversity in semiarid dune ecosystems.
Cellulose decomposing fungi play an important role in litter decomposition and are decisive in nutrient cycling in sandy land ecosystems. Thirty-one strains were isolated to select efficient cellulose decomposers, and four efficient cellulose decomposing fungi(NM3-1, NM3-2, NM3-3, and NM3-4) were screened using a CMC(carboxymethyl cellulose) carbon source in dune soil of Horqin Sandy Land. They were identified as Asperigillus calidoustus, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, and Hypocrea lixii by r DNA-ITS molecular biological methods. Cloth decomposition rates were 15.71%, 15.89%, 17.29%, and 17.89% by the four efficient decomposers incubated for 30 days, respectively. Screening of efficient cellulose decomposers can not only increase the dune soil functional microbe bank, but can also accelerate litter decomposition and available nutrient input in the Horqin Sandy Land.
