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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (12): 50-61.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2025106

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Biodiversity and phylogenetic diversity of grasslands in the Habahe forest area of Xinjiang and analysis of the influencing factors

Ye-xin LYU1,2(), Mao YE1,2(), Jiao-rong QIAN1,2, Wei-long CHEN1,2, Jing CHE1,2, Miao-miao LI1,2, Guo-yan ZENG1,2   

  1. 1.College of Geography and Tourism,Xinjiang Normal University,Urumqi 830054,China
    2.Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Lake Environment and Resources in Arid Region,Urumqi 830054,China
  • Received:2025-03-26 Revised:2025-04-29 Online:2025-12-20 Published:2025-10-20
  • Contact: Mao YE

Abstract:

In this work, we examined the mechanisms driving grassland community assembly in the Habahe forest region. In total, 117 quadrats were established, and the herbaceous plant community was analyzed on the basis of biodiversity indicators such as species composition and phylogenetic structure. Pearson’s correlation and generalized linear model (GLM) analyses were utilized to explore relationships among biodiversity metrics and to evaluate the impacts of environmental factors on community structure. The main results were as follows: 1) The plant community comprised 42 herbaceous species belonging to 17 families and 37 genera, with Poaceae, Asteraceae, Rosaceae, and Ranunculaceae being the dominant families. Setaria viridisPoa annuaAlchemilla japonica, and Stipa capillata were the primary dominant species; 2) The values of the net relatedness index (NRI) and net nearest taxa index (NTI) were above zero in 61.5% of the plots examined, with the independent-samples t-test (T) indicating significant phylogenetic clustering patterns (P<0.05); 3) Phylogenetic diversity index (PD) showed significant positive correlations (P<0.001) with the Margalef diversity index (Ma), Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H′), Simpson’s dominance index (D), and species richness (SR). In contrast, both the NRI and NTI were negatively correlated (P<0.05) with H′ and D; 4) The results of the GLM analysis revealed that mean annual precipitation positively influenced species diversity indices and NTI (P<0.05). Species diversity indices exhibited robust positive associations with longitude and elevation (P<0.001), but significant negative correlations with latitude (P<0.05). Mean annual temperature was significantly and negatively correlated with MaP<0.05) and H′P<0.001). Notably, environmental factors did not show significant effects on PD or NRI (P>0.05). These results suggest that moisture availability and geographic gradients play crucial roles in shaping the patterns of grassland community diversity in this particular region.

Key words: species diversity, phylogenetic diversity, phylogenetic structure, community assembly, environmental factors