Ecological and productive succession process of a cultivated alfalfa grassland community on Loess Plateau

doi:10.11686/cyxb20140601

Abstract

Abstract:

The ecological and productive succession process of cultivated alfalfa grassland communities which were established 31 years ago on the Loess Plateau was studied. The sown alfalfa grassland evolved with time to display more and more characteristics of natural grassland. As the community structure developed, ecological indexes changed significantly and the change process could be divided into three stages. The first stage was alfalfa dominance from 2 to 6 years.The second stage was from 6 to 31 years, during which alfalfa grassland gradually transitioned to Stipa bungeana natural grassland. The third stage was S. bungeana secondary natural grassland after 31 years. The alfalfa grassland exhibited marked retrogressive succession from 6 years after establishment. At this point the alfalfa important value, community diverstiy index, evenness index and dominance index gradually decreased. The community structure tended to complexity, the ecological stability increased and the community characteristics gradually evolved towards those of natural vegetation. The herbage production initially showed an increasing trend, reached a maximum after 6 years, and then gradually declined. The annual biomass production correlated well with alfalfa contribution, while the highest direct path coefficient in a path coefficient analysis linked annual biomass production and the diversity index. As sown alfalfa grassland aged, the correlation between the annual biomass and the diversity index increased and then decreased and 6 years from sowing represented a turning point for productivity and ecological succession. By removing weeds, fertilization, effective use of water and exploring appropriate cultivation practices, the succession to natural grassland and “ecological stability” could be delayed and the productive phase prolonged.

CLC Number:

S812

WANG Shu-zhuan,HAO Ming-de,PU Qiong,WU Zhen-hai. Ecological and productive succession process of a cultivated alfalfa grassland community on Loess Plateau[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2014, 23(6): 1-10.

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