Effects of Grazing on the Grassland Vegetation Community Characteristics in Inner Mongolia

The continuous increase of livestock production in Inner Mongolia has caused severe degradation of the grassland ecosystems in recent years. Previous grazing experiments have shown a wide range of vegetation responses between the biome types on a global scale, but there is still a lack of sufficient studies to discern the relative responses of a given biome type. We conducted a meta-analysis of vegetation coverage(VC), plant density(PD), total biomass(TB), above-ground biomass(AGB), under-ground biomass(UGB) and Shannon–Weaver Index(SI) in different grassland types in Inner Mongolia obtained under conditions of different grazing intensities and durations. The results showed that grazing decreased VC, TB, AGB, UGB, and PD significantly. Compared to the global and national average values, the negative effects of grazing to steppe biomass in Inner Mongolia were higher than that on the global scale, while less pronounced than that in China. TB of the meadow steppe in Inner Mongolia increased by 40% under moderate grazing intensity and duration because of compensatory growth. SI of the desert and meadow steppe showed negative linear relationships with the grazing intensity in Inner Mongolia. The percentage changes in AGB, PD, and SI to grazing showed quadratic relationships with the mean annual temperature of the experimental year. With increasing mean annual precipitation, the negative effects of grazing on UGB and SI first decreased and then increased, with that of VC and grazing showing a cubic relationship.

Impact of a retrogressive thaw slump on surrounding vegetation communities in the Fenghuoshan mountains,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Under global warming,permafrost around the world is experiencing degradation which is especially so on the Third Pole,the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP),China.Retrogressive thaw slump(RTS)is one of the thermokarst features caused by rapid degradation of ice rich permafrost,which transforms landforms and threatens infrastructures,and even affects the terrestrial carbon cycle.In this work,vegetation communities surrounding a RTS in the Fenghuoshan Mountains of the interior portion of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have been investigated to examine the impact from RTS.This investigation indicates that the occurrence of RTS influences the vegetation community by altering their habitats,especially the soil water content,which forces the vegetation community to evolve in order to adapt to the alterations.In the interior part of RTS where it has been disturbed tremendously,alterations have produced a wider niche and richer plant species.This favors species of a wet environment in a habitat where it was a relatively dry environment of alpine steppe prior to the occurrence of RTS.This study adds to limited observations regarding the impact of RTS to vegetation community on the QTP and helps us to reach a broader understanding of the effects of permafrost degradation as well as global warming.

Study on the Characteristics of Main Vegetation Communities in the Limestone Region of Taihang Mountain

[Objective] The aim was to study the characteristics of main vegetation communities in the limestone region of Taihang Mountain,so as to lay foundation for the further improvement of site conditions and the scientific breeding of vegetation used to restore the mountain field in limestone region.[Method] Based on the investigation of various vegetation communities in controlled test area,forbidden region and barren hillsides in Daqing Mountain basin,Beishui Valley,Mancheng County,Hebei Province,the difference among controlled region,forbidden region and barren hillsides could be found through data analysis and composite score,and the modes of vegetation communities in controlled region and forbidden region were compared to select predominant species of arbor,shrub and grass in limestone region.[Result] Under the similar site conditions,nutrient content and physical properties of soil in controlled region and forbidden region were superior to those of barren hillsides,and persimmon had high nutrient content and better physical properties compared with oriental arborvitae in controlled region;soil water maintenance and litter characters in controlled region and forbidden region improved more obviously than that of barren hillsides,and shrubbery in forbidden region was the most excellent,arborvitae and persimmon in controlled region the second;the biomass and the coverage rate of vegetation communities in controlled region and forbidden region were higher than those of barren hillsides,and those of shrubbery in forbidden region were better than tussock in closing hill,while persimmon was better than arborvitae in controlled region.The predominant species of arbor,shrub and herbage were obtained through composite score.[Conclusion] From the aspects of soil nutrient,physical properties,soil water maintenance,litter characters,vegetation biomass,canopy density and coverage,controlled region and forbidden region were superior to barren hillsides,and the selection of predominant species of arbor,shrub and herbage considered both ecological and economic benefits.

Reasonable grazing may balance the conflict between grassland utilization and soil conservation in the semi-arid hilly areas, China

Soil erosion caused by unsustainable grazing is a major driver of grassland ecosystem degradation in many semi-arid hilly areas in China.Thus,grazing exclusion is considered as an effective method for solving this issue in such areas.However,some ecological and economic problems,such as slow grassland rejuvenation and limited economic conditions,have become obstacles for the sustainable utilization of grassland ecosystem.Accordingly,we hypothesized that the conflict between grassland use and soil conservation may be balanced by a reasonable grazing intensity.In this study,a two-year grazing fence experiment with five grazing intensity gradients was conducted in a typical grassland of the Loess Plateau in China to evaluate the responses of vegetation characteristics and soil and water losses to grazing intensity.The five grazing intensity gradients were 2.2,3.0,4.2,6.7,and 16.7 goats/hm2,which were represented by G1-G5,respectively,and no grazing was used as control.The results showed that a reasonable grazing intensity was conducive to the sustainable utilization of grassland resources.Vegetation biomass under G1-G4 grazing intensity significantly increased by 51.9%,42.1%,36.9%,and 36.7%,respectively,compared with control.In addition,vegetation coverage increased by 19.6%under G1 grazing intensity.Species diversity showed a single peak trend with increasing grazing intensity.The Shannon-Wiener diversity index under G1-G4 grazing intensities significantly increased by 22.8%,22.5%,13.3%,and 8.3%,respectively,compared with control.Furthermore,grazing increased the risk of soil erosion.Compared with control,runoff yields under G1-G5 grazing intensities increased by 1.4,2.6,2.8,4.3,and 3.9 times,respectively,and sediment yields under G1-G5 grazing intensities were 3.0,13.0,20.8,34.3,and 37.7 times greater,respectively,than those under control.This result was mainly attributed to a visible decrease in litter biomass after grazing,which decreased by 50.5%,72.6%,79.0%,80.0%,and 76.9%,respectively,under G1-G5 grazing intensities.By weighing the grassland productivity and soil conservation function,we found that both two aims were achieved at a low grazing intensity of less than 3.5 goats/hm2.Therefore,it is recommended that grassland should be moderately utilized with grazing intensity below 3.5 goats/hm2 in semi-arid hilly areas to achieve the dual goals of ecological and economic benefits.The results provide a scientific basis for grassland utilization and health management in semi-arid hilly areas from the perspective of determining reasonable grazing intensity to maintain both grassland production and soil conservation functions.

Agricultural non-point nitrogen pollution control function of dierent vegetation types in riparian wetlands: A case study in the Yellow River wetland in China

Riparian wetland is the major transition zone of matter, energy and information transfer between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and has important functions of water purification and non-point pollution control. Using the field experiment method and an isotope tracing technique, the agricultural non-point nitrogen pollution control function of different vegetation types in riparian wetland was studied in the Kouma Section of the Yellow River. The results showed that the retention of agricultural non-point nitrogen pollution by riparian wetland soil occurs mainly in top 0-10 cm layer. The amount of nitrogen retained by surface soils associated with three types of vegetation are 0.045 mg/g for Phragmites communis Trin Linn, 0.036 mg/g for Scirpus triqueter Linn, and 0.032 mg/g for Typha angustifolia Linn, which account for 59.21%, 56.25%, and 56.14% of the total nitrogen interception, respectively. Exogenous nitrogen in 0-10 cm soil layer changes more quickly than in other layers. One month after adding KISNO3 to the tested vegetation, nitrogen content was 77.78% for P communis Trin, 68.75% for T. angustifolia, and 8.33% for S. triqueter in the surface soil. After three months, nitrogen content was 93.33% for P. communis Trin, 72.22% for S. triqueter, and 37.50% for T. Angustifolia. There are large differences among vegetation communities respecting to purification of agricultural non-point nitrogen pollution. The nitrogen uptake amount decreases in the sequence： new shoots ofP. communis Trin （9.731 nag/g） 〉 old P. communis Trin （4.939 mg/g） 〉 S. triqueter （0.620 mg/g） 〉 T. angustifolia （0.186 mg/g）. Observations indicated that the presence of riparian wetlands as buffers on and adjacent to stream banks could be recommended to control agricultural non-point pollution.

Ecological characteristics of artificial vegetation communities on excavated slopes at the Xiangjiaba hydroelectric power station

This paper reports the investigation of artificial vegetation communities on excavated slopes in a construction perturbed area of the Xiangjiaba hydroelectric power station in the Jinsha River Basin, P. R. China. Belt transect and random quadrats were used in sampling and recording the vegetation of the four selected plots on the slopes. The community of each plot was characterized based on the coverage, relative importance value, richness, diversity, evenness of species derived from the survey data. Problems of these communities were identified and corresponding regulation measures were proposed to accelerate the positive succession process of the ecosystem. It is demonstrated that the artificial vegetation restoration on the excavated slope has improved the ecological environment.

Plant community composition and interspecific relationships among dominant species on a post-seismic landslide in Hongchun Gully, China

The 5.12 Earthquake in 2008 and 8.14 Debris Flow in 2010 resulted in large-scale landslides that disturbed vast areas of vegetation in the Hongchun Gully, Wenchuan County, China. To define the specific characteristics of vegetation restoration during natural recovery after catastrophic events,vegetation species composition and interspecific associations were investigated on this typical landslide. Field survey data selected from a total of 51 sample plots belonged to seven belt transects and were analysed by Schluter's variance ratio, pearson's chi-squared test, Spearman's correlation coefficients and ecological species groups. Plant communities on the landslide consisted of 78 species, 65 genera and52 families. Of the total of 78 species, 25 are identified as dominant species, among which Camptotheca acuminate, Toxicodendron vernicifluum, Coriaria nepalensis, Robinia pseudoacacia, Buddleja alternifolia, Anemone vitifolia and Nephrolepis auriculata play a constructive role during the natural afforestation. Moreover, according to environmental and ecological factors, these 25 dominant species could be divided into four ecological species groups.This study found that even though the landslide had frequently suffered from interference due to heavy rain, the vegetation succession processes are ongoing,and it is now at a shrub–herb community succession stage, which indicates that vegetation can naturally recover in the denuded sites. This study provides a useful insight into the ecological interactions and interdependence between plant species during the natural recovery of vegetation and provides valuable information on vegetation recovery modelling in the landslide area.

Effect of groundwater depth on riparian plant diversity along riverside-desert gradients in the Tarim River

Aims Riparian plant diversity is sensitive to changes in groundwater in arid regions.However,little is known about how plant diversity responds to changes in environment along riverside-desert gradi-ents in riparian ecosystem.Our objectives were to(i)identify ri-parian plant diversity along riverside-desert gradients in Tarim desert riparian forests,(ii)analyze the impact of environment variables on plant diversity,(iii)determine the optimum groundwater depth for different plant life-forms.Methods Six transects 90 quadrats(with each size 100 m×100 m)distributed vertically to river bed along riverside-desert gradients~30 km in length were surveyed.At each quadrat,the morphological features of riparian plant communities were measured,and the groundwater depth,soil water,soil salinity,soil nutrient were also monitored at same sites.Important Finding Three distinct vegetation communities were identified based on cover and richness in the tree,shrub and herb layers:the riparian zone,the transitional zone and the desert margin zone.Twelve spe-cies were indicators of the three vegetation communities.Riparian plant diversity was influenced by groundwater depth,distance from river,soil moisture content,soil salinity and soil nutrient by redundancy analysis.In response to groundwater depth,the op-timal groundwater depths for species diversity,evenness and shrub cover were 2.8,2.7 and 3.7 m,respectively.Therefore,maintaining high plant diversity requires managers to ensure stable groundwater depth for different plant life-forms rather than for some of them.

Use of ciliate communities for monitoring ecological restoration of grain for the green in north-western China

A 1-year baseline survey was conducted in north-western China to evaluate the ecological restoration quality of grain for green(GFG)using soil ciliate communities.The aims of this study were focused on analyzing the changes of soil ciliate communities in four plots(A,GFG for 15 years;B,GFG for 13 years;C,layland;D,cultivated land)for GFG environmental assessment.Simultaneously we studied the effects of vegetation communities and physical-chemical variables with GFG changes on soil ciliates.A total of 114 species of ciliates were identified among the four sample sites,representing 9 classes,14 orders,22 families and 37 genera.The community patterns of the soil ciliates were significantly correlated with the individual abundance of aboveground plants,soil water content,and soil porosity.The contents of total nitrogen were the main factor affecting the soil ciliate community composition.The species number,individual abundance,and diversity index of the ciliates were each in the order A>B>C>D;that is,the community composition of ciliates was complicated with the implementation of the GFG.It was shown that the succession of ciliate community shifts toward promoting the complexity with the progress of GFG.These findings demonstrate that soil ciliate communities may be used as a useful indicator to evaluate the effects of the ecological restoration quality of GFG.