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Journal of Desert Research ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (2): 143-154.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00121

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Effects of enclosure on vegetation and soil in Xilingol desertified grassland

Yuqing Mi1,2(), Hongbin Xu1, Lei Zhang1(), Zhiguo Yang1, Yuekun Tang3, Haiguang Huang1   

  1. 1.Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Sandy Land (Desert) Ecosystem and Ecological Engineering,Inner Mongolia Academy of Forestry Sciences,Hohhot 010010,China
    2.College of Ecology and Environment,Inner Mongolia University,Hohhot 010021,China
    3.Tongliao Forest Park Management Center,Tongliao 028000,Inner Mongolia,China
  • Received:2025-03-19 Revised:2025-05-19 Online:2026-03-20 Published:2026-04-13
  • Contact: Lei Zhang

Abstract:

To analyze the mechanism of long-term grazing exclusion (10 years) on the ecological restoration of sandy grassland, this study was conducted in the Xilin Gol desertified grassland. Using the quadrat method for continuous observation and combining Redundancy Analysis (RDA) and Mantel test, we systematically investigated the relationships between vegetation structure/function and soil nutrients. The results indicated that: (1) After 10 years of grazing exclusion, the aboveground biomass increased by 46.5%, while community height, coverage, and density were significantly enhanced. The community stabilized with perennial grasses as the dominant functional group, but this was accompanied by significant decreases in species' Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Simpson dominance index, and Pielou evenness index by 14.10%, 9.40%, and 9.57%, respectively, compared to the control site. (2) Grazing exclusion for 10 years significantly enhanced the soil fertility of the desertified grassland. The contents of total carbon, organic matter, total nitrogen, and hydrolytic nitrogen in the grazing exclusion treatment were significantly increased across soil layers, with total contents increased by 26.31%, 22.78%, 16.08%, and 10.17%, respectively. (3) RDA and Mantel tests revealed that sand content and total nitrogen were key soil factors influencing plant community and functional group biomass. Soil pH and phosphorus content in the 0-5 cm layer showed significant negative correlations with vegetation community characteristics, while total carbon, total nitrogen, and organic matter in the 5-20 cm layer were significantly positively correlated with functional group biomass.

Key words: enclosure, redundancy analysis, plant functional groups, soil factors

CLC Number: