Abstract:

The objective of this research was to study the relationship between plant community characteristics and dust flux at different near-surface heights under different stocking rates， in a Stipa breviflora desert steppe research area. The research utilized plots established as part of a long-term differential grazing and wind erosion monitoring experiment. Ungrazed （CK）， and light， moderate and heavy grazing intensities were included in the experiment. Aeolian soil were collected using “BSNE” samplers （as described by Fryrear in a 1986 publication and subsequently in the international literature）， and the plant community characteristics （plant community height， vegetation cover and litter weight） were researched in the 2018-2019 non-growing season. The results were as follows， 1） Wind erosion was significantly exacerbated by increased stocking rate， especially the dust flux at 10 cm height and the total dust flux for 0-50 cm height. For the total dust flux for 0-50 cm height， the dust flux of CK was the lowest， the dust flux of lightly， moderately and heavily grazed treatments were， respectively， 1.29， 1.81 and 2.20 times that of the CK treatment. 2） The plant community characteristics had a significant impact on the dust flux， plant community height， vegetation cover and litter weight were all negatively correlated with the dust flux. In particular， the plant community height had the greatest influence on dust flux across the range of height strata sampled. 3） The stocking rate significantly affected the characteristics of the vegetation， and with increased stocking rate， plant community height， vegetation cover and and litter weight were all reduced， which in turn increased the wind erosion of the desert steppe grassland in the non-growing season.

Key words: desert steppe, stocking rate, dust flux, plant community characteristics