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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2021, Vol. 57 ›› Issue (12): 1-12.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.20211201

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Response of Spatial Heterogeneity and Threshold Value for Soil Water and Aboveground Biomass of Desert Grassland-Shrubland Anthropogenic Transition in Desert Steppe of Ningxia, China

Yanan Zhao1,Yafeng Zhao1,Hongmei Wang1,2,*,Yanping Ma1,Zhili Li1   

  1. 1. School of Agriculture, Ningxia University Yinchuan 750021
    2. Key Laboratory for Restoration and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystem in Northwest China of Ministry of Education Yinchuan 750021
  • Received:2020-05-11 Online:2021-12-25 Published:2022-01-26
  • Contact: Hongmei Wang

Abstract:

Objective: In order to provide theoretical foundation for desert steppe vegetation conservation, the spatial characteristics of soil water content and above-ground vegetation biomass and the appropriate soil moisture threshold in desert steppe-shrubland transition in eastern Ningxia were analyzed. Method: Spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture in 0-200 cm soil layer and the related above-ground biomass were investigated in 43 shrubland sites and 43 grassland sites of desert steppe in eastern Ningxia via GIS and geostatistics methods. Result: It was shown that soil moisture was higher in grassland (6.23%) than that in shrubland (5.47%), with the variation ranging from 1.37% to 25.36% in the former and 1.5% to 19.58% in the latter, especially in the 80-200 cm soil layer. The coefficient of variation (CV) of soil moisture moderately ranged from 28.94% to 62.30% in both vegetation types between which soil moisture in shrubland was generally higher than that in grassland. And the related above-ground biomass was higher in shrubland (0.56 kg·m-2) than that in grassland (0.06 kg·m-2), and the coefficients of variation were moderate for both. Geostatistical results showed that the structural variation ratio [C/(C0+C)] of soil moisture in 0-120 cm soil layer was higher in grassland (0.75) than that in shrubland (0.64). The structural variation ratio of soil moisture between 0-120 cm soil layer gradually decreased along with the increase of soil depth. The range (A0) in shrubland (45.84 km) was higher than that in grassland (18.56 km) (P < 0.05), and the soil moisture in 120-200 cm soil layer followed a pure nugget effect model. The structural variation ratio of above-ground biomass was higher in shrubland (0.76) than that of grassland (0.37), and the range (A0) in grassland (43.91 km) was significantly higher than that of shrubland (12.77 km) (P < 0.05). We obtained the suitable soil moisture threshold 8.11%-14.19% in the transition from desert grassland to shrubland according to the response characteristics of above-ground biomass and soil moisture. Conclusion: During the transition from desert grassland to shrubland, accelerated deep soil water consumption accompanied with the increased above-ground biomass and related spatial heterogeneity and the decreased spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture in landscape scale. And the pure nugget effect model was found for deeper soil layer moisture in grassland and shrubland due to increased rainfall in the survey and previous years.

Key words: desert steppe, introduced shrub, soil moisture, biomass, spatial heterogeneity

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