Effects of vegetation cover on recruitment of Ulmus pumila L. in Horqin Sandy Land, northeastern China

Understanding the effects of vegetation cover on seedling survival is helpful for promoting vegetation restoration in environmentally fragile zones. This study was conducted in the desertified, moving sand dunes of Horqin Sandy Land, Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. We hyphothesized that （1） seed density （i.e., number/m2） increases as vegetation cover increases, and （2） there will be more surviving seedlings in locations with higher vegetation covers. Total vegetation cover and initial densities of seeds, germinated seeds and surviving seedlings of Ulmus pumilia were evaluated under various vegetation covers in trying to clarify the effects of vegetation cover on the early stages of the plant life history. In agreement with the first hypothesis, initial seed densities were greater （P〈0.05） under higher vegetation covers. The relationship between vegetation cover and initial seed density was represented by a quadratic regression, where a threshold occurred with a vegetation cover of 36% （P〈0.05）. The higher total vegetation covers, however, did not result in increased densities of germinated seeds （P〉0.05）, which on average represented 16.7% of initial seed densities. Even more, three months after the study initiation, total vegetation covers were similar （P〉0.05） at all positions in the dunes, and they determined a similar number （P〉0.05） of surviving seedlings at those positions （i.e. the second hypothesis had to be rejected）. The mean number of seedlings that survived at all positions was only 4.5% of germinated seeds. The number of surviving elm seedlings （0 to 1.7 seedlings/m2） under various vegetations covers （12.2% to 20.8%） at all dune positions by late summer would most likely not contribute to vegetation restoration in the study area.

Species composition and diversity,and carbon stock in a dune ecosystem in the Horqin Sandy Land of northern China

In this study, we determined carbon allocation and carbon stocks in the plant-soil system of different dune ecosystems in northeastern China. We quantified the species composition, above and below-ground bio masses, and carbon stocks of three dune types （i.e. active dunes, semi-stabilized dunes and stabilized dunes） and their corresponding inter-dune lowlands （i.e. interdune lowlands of active dunes, interdune lowlands of semi-stabilized dunes and interdune lowlands of stabilized dunes） in the Horqin Sandy Land. The results showed that the succession series on interdune lowlands of the Horqin Sandy Land confirmed differences in species composition of the various dune types. Aboveground carbon （AGC） on the interdune lowlands of semi-stabilized dunes （33.04 g C/m2） was greater （P〈0.05） than that on the interdune lowlands of active dunes （10.73 g C/m2）. At the same time, the different dune types did not show any significant differences （/：〉〉0.05） in belowground plant carbon （BGC）. However, the percentage of plant BGC in interdune lowlands of active dunes （81.5%） was significantly higher （P〈0.05） than that in the interdune lowlands of semi-stabilized dunes （58.9%）. The predominant carbon pool in the study dune ecosystem was in the soil. It accounted for 95% to 99% of total carbon storage. Soil organic carbon （SOC） was at least 55% greater （P〈0.05） in the interdunes than in the dunes. Stabilized dunes showed at least a 37% greater （P〈0.05） SOC content than active dunes up to a 1-m soil depth. Meanwhile, SOC content of interdune lowlands of semi-stabilized dunes was greater （P〈0.05） than that of interdune lowlands of active dunes only up to a 20-cm soil depth. The dune ecosystem showed a great potential to store carbon when interdune lowlands of active dunes were conversed to interdune lowlands of semi-stabilized dunes, which stored up to twice as much carbon per unit volume as interdune lowlands of active dunes.

Root proliferation in native perennial grasses of arid Patagonia,Argentina

Pappophorum vaginatum is the most abundant C4 perennial grass desirable to livestock in rangelands of northeastern Patagonia, Argentina. We hypothesized that （1） defoliation reduce net primary productivity, and root length density and weight in the native species, and （2） root net primary productivity, and root length density and weight, are greater in P. vaginatum than in the other, less desirable, native species （i.e., Aristida spegazzinfi, A. subulata and Sporobolus cryptandrus）. Plants of all species were either exposed or not to a severe defoliation twice a year during two growing seasons. Root proliferation was measured using the cylinder method. Cylindrical, iron structures, wrapped up using nylon mesh, were buried diagonally from the periphery to the center on individual plants. These structures, initially filled with soil without any organic residue, were dug up from the soil on 25 April 2008, after two successive defoliations in mid-spring 2007. During the second growing season （2008-2009）, cylinders were destructively harvested on 4 April 2009, after one or two defoliations in mid- and/or late-spring, respectively. Roots grown into the cylinders were obtained after washing the soil manually. Defoliation during two successive years did reduce the study variables only after plants of all species were defoliated twice, which supported the first hypothesis. The greater root net primary productivity, root length den- sity and weight in P. vaginatum than in the other native species, in support of the second hypothesis, could help to explain its greater abundance in rangelands of Argentina.

Spatial variation of plant species richness in a sand dune field of northeastern Inner Mongolia, China

Species richness is an important indicator of species diversity. Different sampling intensities will very likely produce different species richness values. Substantial efforts have already been made to explicitly quantify the spatial variability of soil properties in different ecosystems. However, concerns still remain on how to characterize the effect of different sampling intensities on plant species richness within a given region. This study characterized the spatial variability of plant species richness and the species distribution pattern in a 25-hm2 sand dune plot in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China by using an intense sampling method（n=10,000）. We also evaluated the overall effect of information loss associated with the spatial variability and distribution patterns of species richness under various scenarios of sampling intensities（n=10,000 to 289）. Our results showed that semi-variograms of species richness were best described by the spherical and exponential models. As indicated by the nugget/sill ratio, species richness was different in terms of the strength of the spatial relationship. The different spatial metrics of species richness with increasing sampling intensities can represent different responses of the spatial patterns when compared with the reference set（n=10,000）. This study indicated that an appropriate sampling intensity should be taken into account in field samplings for evaluating species biodiversity properly. A sampling intensity of n＆gt;2,500 for species richness yielded satisfactory results to resemble the spatial pattern of the above-quantified reference set（n=10,000） in this sand dune region of China.