The Facilitation of Restoration by Cushion Plant Androsace tapete in a Degraded Alpine Grassland

高寒退化草地中垫状点地梅的生态系统工程师作用

The cushion plant Androsace tapete is an endemic species that is widely distributed in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and also predominant in the alpine grassland that is locally degraded due to overgrazing and other reasons. As an ecosystem engineer cushion plant, its ability to facilitate the restoration of degraded alpine grassland was studied in a degraded alpine grassland at an elevation of 4500 m on the southern slope of the Nyainqentanglha Mountains in Damxung. The species diversity, soil nutrients and water content underneath and outside the cushion plant A. tapete were investigated. The results showed that soil nutrients underneath the A. tapete cushion were significantly increased by about 16%-48% compared to outside the cushion, of which the organic matter and total N were increased by 16.2% and 18.9% respectively, and the soil water content was increased about 12%. The index of species diversity of richness(S), Shannon-Wiener’s H and Simpson’s D all increased with the coverage of cushion plant A. tapete. Our results suggested that this cushion plant can facilitate restoration of the degraded alpine grassland by modifying the local soil environment and increasing the community diversity, so it should be conserved for the restoration of degraded alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

垫状植物是高寒地区广泛分布的一类具有特殊形态的植物,被称为高寒生态系统工程师,其在高寒退化草地中的作用如何?本研究以位于西藏当雄念青唐古拉山脉南坡4500m的一处高寒退化草地为例,调查了垫状点地梅覆盖区域内外的物种多样性、土壤养分以及水分的差异。结果表明:垫状点地梅可以显著改善土壤养分,提高幅度大约为16%-48%,其中有机质和总氮(N)分别增加了16.2%和18.9%;局部土壤含水量提高约12%;样方内的物种丰富度(S)、Shannon-Wiener指数(H)和Simpson指数(D)都随着垫状点地梅盖度的增加而呈增加的趋势。垫状点地梅在退化草地中具有显著的改善土壤微环境和提高群落物种多样性的作用,应加强保育以促进高寒退化草地的恢复。