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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2018, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (2): 15-25.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2017159

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Floristic quantitative classification and successional characteristics of typical grassland under different ecological restoration methods in the Loess Hilly Region of Ningxia

JIA Xi-yang2, MA Hong-bin1, 2, *, ZHOU Yao2, ZHANG Rui2, SU Ting-ting2, ZHANG Shuang-qiao2, ZHANG Jun2   

  1. 1.Breeding Base for State Key Laboratory of Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration in Northwest China, Yinchuan 750021, China;
    2. Agricultural College, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
  • Received:2017-03-30 Revised:2017-06-14 Online:2018-02-20 Published:2018-02-20

Abstract: Restoration measures strongly influence vegetation communities. To design effective restoration measures for the Loess Hilly Region, it is important to classify the flora and study the succession of degraded grassland plant communities on the typical steppe in Ningxia. In this study, we explored the relationship between the plant succession process and soil factors under three ecological restoration measures (enclosure, contour trench, and fish-scale pits) implemented for 0 (1), 3, 6, 10 and 15 years by using Two Indicators Species Analysis (TWINSPAN) combined with a detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). The main results were as follows: (1) According to the TWINSPAN-DCA, the vegetation in the study plot was divided into eight communities. (2) With increasing exclosure time, the vegetation succession sequence was as follows: Stipa bungeana+Thymus mongolicus communities→S. bungeana+Stipa grandis communities→T. mongolicus+S. bungeana communities→S. bungeana+S. grandis communities→S. bungeana+Artemisia sacrorum communities. The succession process from 1 to 15 years in the contour trench grassland was as follows: Astragalus adsurgens+Pennisetum flaccidum communities→Poa annua+Leymus secalinus communities→S. bungeana+T. mongolicus communities→T. mongolicus+L. secalinus communities→S. bungeana+S. grandis communities. The succession process from 1 to 15 years in the fish-scale pits grassland was as follows: A. adsurgens+P. flaccidum communities→P. annua+S. bungeana communities→S. bungeana+T. mongolicus communities→T. mongolicus+S. bungeana communities. In the contour trench grassland and the fish-scale pits grassland, the trend in the dominant vegetation type over time was rhizome type-sparse type-dense cluster type, but there were also non-linear or spiral changes. The coverage of the plant community and aboveground biomass increased over time under all three restoration measures, and the growth rate was fastest in enclosed grassland and slowest in the fish-scale pits grassland. (3) The results of a detrended canonical correspondence analysis indicated that soil bulk density, organic matter, fungi, total phosphorus, and protease activity are the main soil factors affecting the vegetation communities in this area.