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Journal of Desert Research ›› 2020, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (4): 223-233.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2020.00053

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Vegetation characteristics of the Tengger Desert

Delu Li2(), Quanlin Ma2(), Jinchun Zhang2, Fang Chen1(), Xinrong Li3, Hongbo Yuan2, Linyuan Wei1, Haotian Yang3, Zhong Zhang1   

  1. 1.State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Desertification and Aeolian Sand Disaster Combating /, Gansu Desert Control Research Institute, Lanzhou 730070, China
    2.Minqin National Studies Station for Desert Steppe Ecosystem, Gansu Desert Control Research Institute, Lanzhou 730070, China
    3.Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • Received:2020-01-03 Revised:2020-06-29 Online:2020-08-20 Published:2020-09-01
  • Contact: Quanlin Ma,Fang Chen

Abstract:

Vegetation played an important role in maintaining the ecosystem stability, promoting biodiversity conservation, windbreak and sand fixation in the Tengger desert. On the basis of field investigation and consulting data, vegetation types were divided, and quantitative characteristics of typical plant communities were analyzed. The results showed that: (1) There were abundant vegetation types in the Tengger desert, including 6 vegetation type groups, 17 vegetation (sub) types and 35 vegetation groups,which had typical vegetation characteristics of desertification grassland.The spatial distribution of vegetation was obviously different in the Tengger desert. The quicksand was widely distributed in the south, the vegetation type was single, while the Gobi and desert were crisscross distributed in the north, and the vegetation type and species composition were relatively rich. (2) There were 382 species of natural seed plants belonging to 201 genera, 60 families in the Tengger desert.Perennial herbs, annual herbs and shrubs accounted for 44.50%, 25.92% and 21.99% of the total species, and the number of arbors, parasitic herbs and aquatic herbs was small. (3) In typical shrub communities in the Tengger desert, annual herbs accounted for a large proportion, followed by perennial herbs, and shrubs accounted for a relatively small proportion. Shrubs were often the dominant species and belonged to stable layers in the community, while the number of annual herbs varied with rainfall and belonged to unstable layer.(4) The community diversity varies greatly from north to south. The species composition of the community in the south of the desert is relatively single, and the species richness, Simpson index, Shanon Wiener index and interspecific encounter rate are relatively low. The species composition of the community in the north of the desert is rich, the diversity index is high, and the ecological dominance is not obvious.

Key words: Tengger desert, vegetation type, community distribution, species composition, community structure

CLC Number: