Vegetation succession and soil nutrient changes in windward slopes of semi fixed sand dunes

doi:10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00207

Journal of Desert Research ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (2): 397-404.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00207

Vegetation succession and soil nutrient changes in windward slopes of semi fixed sand dunes

Chaochao Liu¹(), Ruixia Wang², Wenqiang He³, Lichao Liu³, Haotian Yang³, Qiaoling Wang¹, Ying Tian¹()

^1.Institute of Forestry and Grassland Ecology，Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences，Yinchuan 750002，China
^2.Ningxia Lingwu Baijitan National Nature Reserve Management Bureau，Lingwu 750400，Ningxia，China
^3.Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources，Chinese Academy of Sciences，Lanzhou 730000，China

Received:2025-04-10 Revised:2025-07-16 Online:2026-03-20 Published:2026-04-13
Contact: Ying Tian

Abstract

Abstract:

This study was conducted on the windward slopes of semi-fixed dunes in the Baijitan Nature Reserve on the east bank of the Yellow River. We selected sand-fixing vegetation artificially established for 5， 10， 15， 20， and 30 years， with a natural Caragana korshinskii shrubland as a control， to systematically investigate the dynamic changes in vegetation and soil nutrients and reveal the synergistic mechanism between vegetation succession and soil nutrients. In the early stages of establishment， shrub species such as C. korshinskii rapidly colonized， showing significant morphological growth. After 30 years of vegetation establishment， the sand-fixing restoration approached a state similar to natural succession， though herbaceous diversity remained lower than in the natural shrubland. Soil nutrient contents exhibited nonlinear changes with restoration duration： total phosphorus peaked at 20 years and then declined， total nitrogen accumulated with fluctuations over time， while total carbon decreased continuously. The risk of salinization increased significantly with restoration time. Vegetation coverage was correlated with soil nutrients to varying degrees， showing highly significant positive correlations with total nitrogen content， pH， and electrical conductivity， a significant positive correlation with total phosphorus content， and a highly significant negative correlation with total carbon content. An ecological threshold was observed approximately 20 years after establishment for the artificial vegetation. Beyond this point， strategies such as water control， grass seed broadcasting， and root regulation are necessary to balance nutrient accumulation and salinization risks. The natural succession system （natural C. korshinskii shrubland） demonstrated superior nutrient cycling efficiency and stress resistance， exemplified by higher nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency and better adaptation to salinization， compared to the artificially restored areas.

Key words: semi fixed sand dunes, windward slope, soil nutrients, vegetation succession

CLC Number:

Q948

Chaochao Liu, Ruixia Wang, Wenqiang He, Lichao Liu, Haotian Yang, Qiaoling Wang, Ying Tian. Vegetation succession and soil nutrient changes in windward slopes of semi fixed sand dunes[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2026, 46(2): 397-404.

Figures/Tables 9

References 34

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恢复年限 /a	植被总盖度/%	物种	平均高度/cm	平均冠幅/cm	平均基径/mm	密度/（株/100m²）	样地内草本物种
5	29	柠条	82.00	50.89	9.73	136	虫实
		花棒	98.22	57.83	11.56	20
		沙拐枣	113.84	131.47	10.52	12
10	32	柠条	186.50	150.08	22.10	68	虫实、沙米
		花棒	232.44	150.72	24.99	12
		沙拐枣	184.66	255.30	36.29	30
15	38	柠条	219.66	238.65	34.56	43	虫实、雾冰藜
		花棒	154.76	236.28	17.51	14
		沙拐枣	122.09	130.24	10.13	12
20	45	柠条	183.22	254.94	22.98	29	虫实、雾冰藜、沙生针茅、刺沙蓬、稗草
		花棒	176.07	195.32	23.53	17
		沙拐枣	142.89	202.51	17.88	25
30	41	柠条	184.03	303.78	27.77	20	虫实、刺蓬、短花针茅、沙鞭
		花棒	260.27	299.13	51.98	20
		沙拐枣	134.09	192.96	15.52	28
天然柠条灌木林	56	柠条	182.01	362.07	28.14	12	角蒿、雾冰藜、狗尾草、拐轴鸦葱、沙茴香、茵陈蒿、短花针茅、狗娃花
天然柠条灌木林	56	油蒿	68.53	111.06	15.77	16	角蒿、雾冰藜、狗尾草、拐轴鸦葱、沙茴香、茵陈蒿、短花针茅、狗娃花

恢复年限 /a	植被总盖度/%	物种	平均高度/cm	平均冠幅/cm	平均基径/mm	密度/（株/100m²）	样地内草本物种
5	29	柠条	82.00	50.89	9.73	136	虫实
		花棒	98.22	57.83	11.56	20
		沙拐枣	113.84	131.47	10.52	12
10	32	柠条	186.50	150.08	22.10	68	虫实、沙米
		花棒	232.44	150.72	24.99	12
		沙拐枣	184.66	255.30	36.29	30
15	38	柠条	219.66	238.65	34.56	43	虫实、雾冰藜
		花棒	154.76	236.28	17.51	14
		沙拐枣	122.09	130.24	10.13	12
20	45	柠条	183.22	254.94	22.98	29	虫实、雾冰藜、沙生针茅、刺沙蓬、稗草
		花棒	176.07	195.32	23.53	17
		沙拐枣	142.89	202.51	17.88	25
30	41	柠条	184.03	303.78	27.77	20	虫实、刺蓬、短花针茅、沙鞭
		花棒	260.27	299.13	51.98	20
		沙拐枣	134.09	192.96	15.52	28
天然柠条灌木林	56	柠条	182.01	362.07	28.14	12	角蒿、雾冰藜、狗尾草、拐轴鸦葱、沙茴香、茵陈蒿、短花针茅、狗娃花
天然柠条灌木林	56	油蒿	68.53	111.06	15.77	16	角蒿、雾冰藜、狗尾草、拐轴鸦葱、沙茴香、茵陈蒿、短花针茅、狗娃花

恢复年限/a	TP/（mg·kg^-1）	TN/（mg·kg^-1）	TC/%	pH	电导率EC
5	59.84±8.49^d	572.68±112.59^b	0.57±0.02^a	7.49±0.02^e	38.63±3.52^cd
10	88.30±18.75^cd	655.07±233.39^b	0.55±0.02^a	7.74±0.05^d	29.91±2.78^d
15	204.19±23.09^b	482.73±139.62^b	0.41±0.01^abc	7.96±0.03^c	36.10±5.66^cd
20	412.38±17.55^a	359.72±64.76^b	0.49±0.02^bc	7.59±0.02^e	46.78±1.25^bc
30	122.04±13.10^c	662.98±216.05^b	0.46±0.04^bc	8.57±0.04^a	54.45±2.96^b
天然柠条灌木林	85.61±12.23^cd	1 787.58±382.98^a	0.37±0.07^c	8.10±0.05^b	86.07±7.87^a

恢复年限/a	TP/（mg·kg^-1）	TN/（mg·kg^-1）	TC/%	pH	电导率EC
5	59.84±8.49^d	572.68±112.59^b	0.57±0.02^a	7.49±0.02^e	38.63±3.52^cd
10	88.30±18.75^cd	655.07±233.39^b	0.55±0.02^a	7.74±0.05^d	29.91±2.78^d
15	204.19±23.09^b	482.73±139.62^b	0.41±0.01^abc	7.96±0.03^c	36.10±5.66^cd
20	412.38±17.55^a	359.72±64.76^b	0.49±0.02^bc	7.59±0.02^e	46.78±1.25^bc
30	122.04±13.10^c	662.98±216.05^b	0.46±0.04^bc	8.57±0.04^a	54.45±2.96^b
天然柠条灌木林	85.61±12.23^cd	1 787.58±382.98^a	0.37±0.07^c	8.10±0.05^b	86.07±7.87^a

	TP	TN	TC	pH	EC
恢复年限	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001
土层	0.275	<0.001	<0.001	0.090	<0.001
恢复年限×土层	0.920	<0.001	<0.001	0.702	<0.001

Vegetation succession and soil nutrient changes in windward slopes of semi fixed sand dunes

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