Effects of short-term grazing exclusion on standing biomass and plant community diversity in sagebrush desert

doi:10.11686/cyxb2020018

Abstract

Abstract:

This research explored the adaptation of plant communities in desert grassland to short-term grazing exclusion. Using a paired experimental design， we determined the effects of short-term grazing exclusion on aboveground biomass， litter， underground biomass， and diversity of plant communities in sagebrush desert grassland on northern slopes in different regions of the Tianshan Mountains. Compared with grazed plots， the ungrazed plots in sagebrush desert grassland in Xinyuan， Manas， Hutubi， and Qitai showed significant increases in aboveground living biomass （98.91%， 65.99%， 246.66%， and 91.91%， respectively）， but there was no significant change at the Bole site. After grazing exclusion， the aboveground living biomass of semi-shrubs increased significantly by 65.56% to 265.47%， and the size of the increase in the biomass of perennial herbs and annual herbs differed among different plots. Grazing exclusion promoted the accumulation of underground biomass in sagebrushdesert grassland at the Bole and Hutubi sites （increases of 65.16%-151.89%）， and this was mainly concentrated in the 0-5 cm soil layer. Grazing exclusion did not significantly affect litter accumulation in any of the plots. After grazing exclusion， the Shannon-Wiener index， Simpson’s index， and the Pielou index of the plant community in the Bole plots increased by 15.12%， 14.88%， and 11.54%， respectively； the Patrick index， Shannon-Wiener index， Simpson’s index， and the Pielou index of the plant community in the Xinyuan plots decreased significantly by 62.12%， 64.54%， 58.02%， and 34.81%， respectively； the Patrick index of the plant community in the Manas plots significantly decreased by 32.48% and the Pielou index increased significantly by 21.90%； and the Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson’s index in the Hutubi plots decreased by 73.21% and 68.69%， respectively. Grazing exclusion did not affect the diversity of the plant community in the Qitai plots. Our results show that short-term grazing exclusion promotes the accumulation of biomass in degraded Artemisia desert grasslands， but its impacts on plant community diversity vary from region to region.

Key words: grazing exclusion, sagebrush desert, biomass, plant diversity, plant functional group, the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains

Yu-xuan CUI, Zong-jiu SUN, Hui-xia LIU, Yi-qiang DONG. Effects of short-term grazing exclusion on standing biomass and plant community diversity in sagebrush desert[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2020, 29(12): 17-26.

Figures/Tables 7

References 36

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样地 Site	新源县 Xinyuan (XY)	博乐市 Bole (BL)	玛纳斯县 Manasi (MNS)	呼图壁县 Hutubi (HTB)	奇台县 Qitai (QT)
地理位置Geographical position	N 43°22′， E 82°36′	N 44°50′， E 81°39′	N 44°01′， E 86°09′	N 43°58′， E 86°32′	N 43°47′， E 89°25′
年均降水量 Mean annual precipitation (mm)	204	200	172	224	160
年均气温 Mean annual temperature (℃)	7.13	6.10	8.18	6.79	7.17
海拔Elevation (m)	887	1110	1033	978	1227
土壤基质Soil texture	土质Soil	砾石质Gravelly	土质Soil	土质Soil	土质Soil
封育年限Period of grazing exclusion (a)	7	5	4	4	7
群落高度Community height (cm)	19.71	37.21	40.26	37.57	24.09
群落盖度Community coverage (%)	33.88	30.20	51.56	41.60	40.60
群落密度Community density (g·m^-2)	422.60	103.00	183.16	191.20	193.00
优势种Dominant species	伊犁绢蒿 S. transiliense	博洛塔绢蒿+木地肤 S. borotalalense+K. prostrata	伊犁绢蒿+叉毛蓬 S. transiliense+P. sibirica	伊犁绢蒿+叉毛蓬 S. transiliense+P. sibirica	伊犁绢蒿+木地肤+短柱苔草 S. transiliense+K. prostrate+C. turkestanica

样地 Site	新源县 Xinyuan (XY)	博乐市 Bole (BL)	玛纳斯县 Manasi (MNS)	呼图壁县 Hutubi (HTB)	奇台县 Qitai (QT)
地理位置Geographical position	N 43°22′， E 82°36′	N 44°50′， E 81°39′	N 44°01′， E 86°09′	N 43°58′， E 86°32′	N 43°47′， E 89°25′
年均降水量 Mean annual precipitation (mm)	204	200	172	224	160
年均气温 Mean annual temperature (℃)	7.13	6.10	8.18	6.79	7.17
海拔Elevation (m)	887	1110	1033	978	1227
土壤基质Soil texture	土质Soil	砾石质Gravelly	土质Soil	土质Soil	土质Soil
封育年限Period of grazing exclusion (a)	7	5	4	4	7
群落高度Community height (cm)	19.71	37.21	40.26	37.57	24.09
群落盖度Community coverage (%)	33.88	30.20	51.56	41.60	40.60
群落密度Community density (g·m^-2)	422.60	103.00	183.16	191.20	193.00
优势种Dominant species	伊犁绢蒿 S. transiliense	博洛塔绢蒿+木地肤 S. borotalalense+K. prostrata	伊犁绢蒿+叉毛蓬 S. transiliense+P. sibirica	伊犁绢蒿+叉毛蓬 S. transiliense+P. sibirica	伊犁绢蒿+木地肤+短柱苔草 S. transiliense+K. prostrate+C. turkestanica

指标 Index	封育 Grazing exclusion	样地 Plot	封育×样地 Grazing exclusion×plot
地上活体生物量Aboveground biomass (AGB, g·m^-2)	99.31^**	48.24^**	22.55^**
半灌木生物量Semi shrub biomass (SSB, g·m^-2)	119.73^**	51.71^**	21.21^**
多年生草本生物量Perennials herbaceous biomass (PHB, g·m^-2)	4.85^*	5.45^**	4.19^**
一年生草本生物量Annual herbaceous biomass (AHB, g·m^-2)	6.20^*	4.56^**	4.93^**
凋落物生物量Litter biomass (LB, g·m^-2)	1.36	8.35^**	2.86^*
地下生物量Below-ground biomass (BGB, g·m^-2)	5.06^*	16.56^**	2.00
Patrick指数Patrick index (Pa)	92.19^**	35.45^**	20.38^**
Shannon-Wiener指数Shannon-Wiener index (H)	107.50^**	32.36^**	39.68^**
Simpson指数Simpson index (D)	10.22^**	8.39^**	21.32^**
Pielou指数Pielou index (Jsw)	89.57^**	16.59^**	33.36^**

指标 Index	封育 Grazing exclusion	样地 Plot	封育×样地 Grazing exclusion×plot
地上活体生物量Aboveground biomass (AGB, g·m^-2)	99.31^**	48.24^**	22.55^**
半灌木生物量Semi shrub biomass (SSB, g·m^-2)	119.73^**	51.71^**	21.21^**
多年生草本生物量Perennials herbaceous biomass (PHB, g·m^-2)	4.85^*	5.45^**	4.19^**
一年生草本生物量Annual herbaceous biomass (AHB, g·m^-2)	6.20^*	4.56^**	4.93^**
凋落物生物量Litter biomass (LB, g·m^-2)	1.36	8.35^**	2.86^*
地下生物量Below-ground biomass (BGB, g·m^-2)	5.06^*	16.56^**	2.00
Patrick指数Patrick index (Pa)	92.19^**	35.45^**	20.38^**
Shannon-Wiener指数Shannon-Wiener index (H)	107.50^**	32.36^**	39.68^**
Simpson指数Simpson index (D)	10.22^**	8.39^**	21.32^**
Pielou指数Pielou index (Jsw)	89.57^**	16.59^**	33.36^**

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