Effect of desertification on productivity in a desert steppe

Abstract

Desertification, one of the most severe types of land degradation in the world, is of great importance because it is occurring, to some degree, on approximately 40% of the global land area and is affecting more than 1 billion people. In this study, we used a space-for-time method to quantify the impact of five different desertification regimes (potential (PD), light (LD), moderate (MD), severe (SD), and very severe (VSD)) on a desert steppe ecosystem in northern China to examine the relationship between the productivity of the vegetation and soil properties and to determine the mechanism underlying the effects of desertification on productivity. Our results showed that the effects of desertification on TP (total phosphorus) and AP (available phosphorus) were not significant, and desertification decreased productivity in the desert steppe as a result of direct changes to soil physical properties, which can directly affect soil chemical properties. Therefore, intensive grassland management to improve soil quality may result in the long-term preservation of ecosystem functions and services.

Ecosystem functions including soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and available potassium are crucial for vegetation recovery

“…Moreover, biodiversity has not been considered with ecosystem functions related to plant production (plant cover and biomass) 21 to evaluate vegetation recovery in desertification reversal. Plant cover is a significant factor in the structure and functioning of an ecosystem 23 , and plant biomass is highly related to plant productivity 24 . Plant biodiversity is an indicator of ecosystem functioning in drylands 23 and is used as a measurement of vegetation recovery 25 .…”

Beta diversity diminishes in a chronosequence of desertification in a desert steppe

“…To a large extent, land degradation is caused by desertification in arid and semiarid regions (Verón & Paruelo, 2010). Both wind erosion and overgrazing are the major drivers of desertification (Deng, Zhang, & Shangguan, 2014;Li, Liu, & Wang, 2004;Tang et al, 2016). Wind erosion decreases the nutrition-rich fine sand and leads to soil impoverishment, which accelerates the progress of desertification (Tang et al, 2016).…”

“…Both wind erosion and overgrazing are the major drivers of desertification (Deng, Zhang, & Shangguan, 2014;Li, Liu, & Wang, 2004;Tang et al, 2016). Wind erosion decreases the nutrition-rich fine sand and leads to soil impoverishment, which accelerates the progress of desertification (Tang et al, 2016). Overgrazing seriously reduces productivity of desert steppe and this leaves soil expose to outside, which increasing the probability of soil erosion and desertification (Deng, Shangguan, Wu, & Chang, 2017).…”

Detection of areas susceptible to land degradation in Cyprus using remote sensed data and environmental quality indices

“…This phenomenon can be triggered or enhanced by the climatic changes and from the continuous increase of human‐induced activities upon land. Among the direct consequences of the land degradation included are the decrease of the vegetation, the loss of the natural fertility, soil erosion, the pollution of water resources, and the extreme weather events driven by the thermal disturbances that are caused from the changes in surface characteristics (Chen, Ma, & Zhao, ; J. Gao, Xue, & Wu, ; Hammad & Tumeizi, ; Omar, Abdi, Glover, & Luukkanen, ; Paix, Lanhai, Xi, Ahmed, & Varenyam, ; Tang et al, ).…”