Response of vegetation and soils to desertification of alpine meadow in the upper basin of the Yellow River, China

Wang, Hui; Zheng, Guo; Xu, Xiang; Liang, Ting; Jian, Ren

doi:10.1080/00288230709510317

Cited by 19 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A small number of species on less moistened and highly compact locations due to higher soil bulk density than other locations suggested that soil compactness contributed to species loss (Wang et al 2007). Intensity of scraping, grazing and trampling may alter the habitat suitability for many species (Pandey and Shukla 1999;Sagar et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Overgrazing together with less soil moisture may convert fertile grassland into a desert (Singh et al 2006). However, increased soil bulk density could be a surrogate measure for increased desertification (Wang et al 2007). Thus, it can be inferred that desertification leads to loss in species diversity by reducing the soil moisture content.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil nitrogen is supposed to be the most limiting nutrient in a majority of terrestrial ecosystems (Fenn et al 1998). Wang et al (2007) reported a dramatic reduction in soil organic matter with progressive desertification and desertification compelled to significant loss in soil nutrients (total N, P and K). Here, it can be argued that soil physical features, particularly, moisture parameters that are interlinked with each other, profoundly determined the pattern of a-diversity and its components in the middle Gangetic Plains of India.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of soil physical characteristics and biotic interferences on the herbaceous community composition and species diversity on the campus of Banaras Hindu University, India

Sagar

Verma

2010

Environmentalist

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Soil, water and species diversity relationships are central components of the vegetation ecology. In this connection, the present study was performed on the three sites within the campus of Banaras Hindu University of India, to relate herbaceous species diversity to soil physical characteristic and the intensity of biotic interferences. At each site, three, 10 m 9 10 m plots were randomly established and within each plot, four quadrats each 50 cm 9 50 cm were randomly placed for sampling. For each quadrat, number of individuals and their herbage cover were recorded by species. Soil physical characteristics (soil moisture, water-holding capacity, soil porosity and bulk density), elements of biotic interferences and a-diversity and its components were determined for each plot. The plots were ordinated by Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS) using Importance Value Indices of the component species. Results showed that the selected locations differed in terms of soil moisture and species diversity parameters due to differences in biotic interferences. NMS ordination yielded three groups corresponding to the three communities experiencing different intensity of land use. NMS axes were substantially related to the soil and herbaceous diversity parameters and suggested that the elements of soil physical characteristics, intensity of biotic interferences and regional herbaceous species pool had profound effect on the organization and determination of herbaceous floristic composition. Further, the sample locations exhibiting greater soil moisture, water-holding capacity, soil porosity and lesser soil bulk density harboured greater herbaceous diversity. A negative relationship between indices of species diversity and soil bulk density revealed that the dry and compact soils due to greater biotic pressure contributed to the loss of species diversity. Reduction in livestock numbers, grazing pressure and soil bulk density could be helpful in the promotion of soil quality and species diversity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of soil physical characteristics and biotic interferences on the herbaceous community composition and species diversity on the campus of Banaras Hindu University, India

Sagar

Verma

2010

Environmentalist

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“…The alpine meadows account for 89.5% of the total land area of the study area (Wang et al . ). The study area was previously grazed by yak and Tibetan sheep but was fenced in to exclude grazing by livestock and human disturbances in 2005 because it was made part of a natural protection zone.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Effects of plateau pika disturbance levels on the plant diversity and biomass of an alpine meadow

Pang

Zheng

2018

Grassland Science

Self Cite

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The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is known to influence the plant diversity and biomass of the alpine meadow, and it is regarded as a pest. The species has been subject to extensive controls without a clear target density in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. We investigated the effects of different plateau pika disturbance levels on plant composition, species diversity and biomass. The density of active burrow entrances was used as an index of disturbance levels I, II, III and IV (corresponding to 8, 19, 27 and 39 active burrow entrances per 625 m 2 ). We found that the plant community composition differed with different disturbance levels. The plant replacements were mainly related to associate plants rather than dominant plants. With the increase in the plateau pika disturbance levels, the plant cover decreased, and the plant height first increased and then decreased. The plant evenness index was higher in the levels II and III disturbance conditions, while the plant diversity index and plant richness index were highest in the level IV disturbance condition. The disturbance levels had no effect on the total plant biomass; however, the intermediate disturbance levels (II and III) increased the palatable plant biomass. The total plant biomass was mainly dependent on the unpalatable plant biomass. The total plant biomass showed a positive correlation with the richness index and a negative correlation with the evenness index. The palatable plant biomass showed a positive correlation with the evenness index and a negative correlation with the richness index. These results imply that the intermediate disturbance levels are beneficial to livestock production as they increase the alpine meadow quality, and the higher disturbance level is better for plant diversity conservation in the alpine meadows of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

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“…For the SW landform, SOM was found to be influenced by NDVI as well (R 2 =0.84; Table 1). This is because a large amount of dead plants might be accumulated in the areas with this landform (Jia et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2007) and higher soil moisture can prompt chemical processes to convert those dead plants into organic matter (Quideau et al, 2001;Yang et al, 2008). In summary, SOM and NDVI were found to be positively associated for each of the nine landforms, but the associations were distinctly different from one landform to another (Fig.…”

Section: Associations Between Som and Landformmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of landform as a confounding variable on SOM-NDVI association in semiarid Ordos Plateau

Luo¹,

Liu²,

Wang³

et al. 2012

Journal of Arid Land

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Soil organic matter (SOM) plays an important role in maintaining vegetation cover and thus mitigating land erosion of fragile terrestrial ecosystems such as in the Northern Ordos Plateau of China (NOPC). However, little information is available on whether and how SOM varies spatially as an intrinsic characteristic of landform in NOPC. The objective of this study was to examine the spatial associations of SOM with landform and vegetation cover. The study was conducted in a 23,000-km 2 area within NOPC because this area has landforms of mobile dunes (MD), flat dunes (FD), grassy sandy land (GSL), flat sandy bedrocks (FSB), and swamps and salt lakes (SW), which are typical landforms in semiarid ecosystems. SOM was determined using a standard laboratory analysis method for 5 cm topsoil samples collected at 72 locations across the study area. In addition, the 250 m Multitemporal Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imageries taken in the period from August 2006 to August 2010 were used to extract Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) which in turn was used as the surrogate of vegetation cover. Classic and geostatistical methods were used to compare SOM concentration across different landforms. The results indicated that an area with a greater value for NDVI (i.e. better vegetation cover) tended to have a higher SOM concentration regardless of the landform types. However, the association between SOM and NDVI varied from one landform to another. The SW and GSL had a highest SOM concentration, while MD had a lowest concentration. For the study area as a whole and the FD, GSL, and MD, SOM was found to be the sole function of NDVI, whereas, for the FSB, SOM was influenced by several intrinsic variables, namely ground surface altitude, slope, and aspect, as well as NDVI. SOM for the SW landform was found to be a function of NDVI. Furthermore, SOM and NDVI exhibited a consistent spatial pattern of increasing from north to south and from west to east. The highest SOM concentration of 3.5% occurred along an east-westward belt, which is adjacent to water pathways, in the mid part of the study area.

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Response of vegetation and soils to desertification of alpine meadow in the upper basin of the Yellow River, China

Cited by 19 publications

References 23 publications

Effects of soil physical characteristics and biotic interferences on the herbaceous community composition and species diversity on the campus of Banaras Hindu University, India

Effects of soil physical characteristics and biotic interferences on the herbaceous community composition and species diversity on the campus of Banaras Hindu University, India

Effects of plateau pika disturbance levels on the plant diversity and biomass of an alpine meadow

Influences of landform as a confounding variable on SOM-NDVI association in semiarid Ordos Plateau

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