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1.
We quantified soil nutrients and biological crust cover (bryophytes and lichens) under the canopies of three species of Mojave Desert shrubs and in interspaces between shrubs at three elevations to determine the effects of shrub species, soil crust, and elevation on islands of soil fertility. Means of pH, organic matter, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrogen mineralization, and gravimetric soil moisture are significantly greater in soils under Ambrosia dumosa (Gray) Payne, Larrea tridentata Cov., and Coleogyne ramosissima Torr. than soils from adjacent interspace microhabitats. Although soil moisture and soil organic matter increase by a factor of 1.5 from the low elevation to the high elevation site, the ratio of shrub to interspace concentrations, or the difference in mean soil variables between shrubs and interspaces, is effectively constant and independent of elevation. Total bryophyte and lichen cover is relatively low (24.5%), however, there are 11 species of bryophytes and two species of lichens distributed across three elevations with the highest species richness and cover at the low-elevation site. Bryophyte and lichen cover is correlated with silt but is not related, consistently, to soil nutrients. Overall, the balance of processes controlling spatial aggregation of soil nutrients under shrubs is remarkably insensitive to potential differences in organic inputs among elevations, shrub species, and soil crust surfaces.  相似文献   

2.
We chose five communities, representing a mild to severe gradient of grassland desertification in a semi-arid area of Ordos Plateau, northwestern China, to explore the spatial relationships among plant species, above-ground biomass (AGB), and plant nutrients (N and P). Community 1 (C1) was dominated by Stipa bungeana; Community 2 (C2) by a mix of S. bungeana and the shrub Artemisia ordosica; Community 3 (C3) by A. ordosica; Community 4 (C4) by a mix of Cynanchum komarovii and C. komorovii; and Community 5 (C5) by C. komorovii. Quantitative methods, including geostatistics, were used to compare community composition, structure, and indicators of ecosystem function (i.e. AGB, plant N and P) in five 16-m2 plots. The highest AGB, plant nitrogen (N) and plant phosphorus (P) were found in lightly degraded community C2. With increasing desertification effects from C3 to C5, the AGB, N, and P decreased significantly while plant density remained unchanged. The spatial variations of AGB were higher in shrub-dominated communities (C1 and C5) than in grass-dominated communities (C2–C4). Strong spatial relationships were detected within and among the communities, with stronger relationships between AGB and density than between AGB and species richness. Spatial patterns of plant N and P were different from those of AGB, reflecting different N and P contents of individual plants and different species that can redistribute soil resources in these communities. The AGB was positively correlated with soil nutrients (TOC, TN, TP, and IN), except for soil AP. We concluded that several specific aspects of ecosystem properties were directly associated with the conversion of the grass and shrub “functional types” in these degraded grasslands.  相似文献   

3.
Seven mesas (i.e. flat-topped, isolated mountains) and the Grootberg mountain in arid north-west Namibia were investigated with regard to floristic relationships in relation to environmental gradients. Relationships between mesas and their surrounding, species richness and number of mesa specialists were used as measures to explore the influence of elevation on these floristic parameters. Also soil properties were investigated along these elevation gradients. The overall questions were designed to investigate the importance, i.e. ‘special status’, of these mesas in terms of contributing to species diversity and to elucidating ecological processes in this arid landscape.With regard to special floristic status, the tops of mesas supported different plant communities than their surrounding plains, while slopes indicated various levels of intermingling with plain vegetation. Differences between mesas and plains became more pronounced with increasing elevation. There were, however, no clear vegetation belts related to elevation. Plant species richness and number of mesa specialists showed a trend of increasing numbers with elevation, but these trends were statistically poorly supported, largely due to high variability between samples.Do soil gradients and elevation, as two important environmental variables, affect this ‘special’ status? Pronounced soil gradients were evident for many soil properties. These in combination with altitudinal effects of increased moisture and lower temperatures were believed to directly influence plant species composition and richness. The soil gradients may also indicate nutrient flow from the mesas to the surrounding lowlands, a process of ecological importance, particularly should degradation due to over grazing become a problem in the lowland areas.  相似文献   

4.
Wind erodibility of major soils in the farming-pastoral ecotone of China   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  
Wind erosion and desertification are severe problems in China's farming-pastoral ecotone. In this study, wind erodibility of five major soils in both uncultivated and simulated cultivated conditions, were determined through wind tunnel tests at nine wind speeds ranging from 10 to 26 m s−1. The average wind erosion rate (g m−2 min−1) under the uncultivated condition (q0) for the five soils could be set in the order: chestnut soil (28.5)>brown soil (24.8)>sierozem (21.8)>chernozem (19.9)>fixed sandy soil (11.4). The highest natural wind erosion might take place in the semi-arid steppe zone where the Chestnut soils predominate. Cultivation can significantly accelerate wind erosion, the mean wind erosion rate under the cultivated condition (qc) for all five soils was 743.7 g m−2 min−1 in the following order: sandy soil (3313.2)>brown soil (227.2)>chernozem (221.8)>sierozem (85.1)>chestnut soil (81.2). For both the uncultivated and cultivated soil samples, the relationship between wind erosion rate (q) and wind speed (U) could be expressed in general as q=A eBU (A and B are constant coefficients). There was a critical wind speed for each soil type except for the sandy soil. Below the critical wind speed, cultivation reduced wind erosion rate possibly due to soil clodiness and roughness effects. Above the critical speed, cultivation greatly intensified wind erosion rates due to the break down of the original soil structure. The critical wind speed measured at 20 cm above the soil surface was 20 m s−1 for the brown soil, 14 m s−1 for chernozem and the chestnut soils, and 10 m s−1 for the sierozem. Among the five tested soils, the high wind erosion rate of the cultivated sandy soil showed its extreme sensitivity to cultivation, possibly because of the structureless nature of the loose sand. The “effect of cultivation on wind erosion” index, η (=qc/q0), increased exponentially with the increase of wind speed, indicating that under higher wind speed conditions, cultivation could result in more severe wind erosion.  相似文献   

5.
河北坝上沙漠化地区土壤特性研究─—以丰宁试验区为例   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  
本文分析了丰宁试验区土壤类型、分布特点、成土条件、土壤养分、可溶性盐分、机械组成、矿物元素含量、微量元素、水分状况，并对各类土壤的生产力进行了评价。结果表明：栗钙土是本区生产力最高的土类，风砂土是栗钙土退化的产物，也是栗钙土重新发育的不同阶段，这种退化主要是土壤中细颗粒物质及养分的损失，而土壤矿物元素、微量元素并无明显变化。本区风砂土相对其它典型沙地生产力较高，与地带性土壤栗钙土相比无钙积层，适宜多种深根性植物特别是乔灌木的生长，所以本区目前沙漠化土地治理相对容易。  相似文献   

6.
Rates and processes of rock weathering, soil formation, and mountain erosion during the Quaternary were evaluated in an inland Antarctic cold desert. The fieldwork involved investigations of weathering features and soil profiles for different stages after deglaciation. Laboratory analyses addressed chemistry of rock coatings and soils, as well as 10Be and 26Al exposure ages of the bedrock. Less resistant gneiss bedrock exposed over 1 Ma shows stone pavements underlain by in situ produced silty soils thinner than 40 cm and rich in sulfates, which reflect the active layer thickness, the absence of cryoturbation, and the predominance of salt weathering. During the same exposure period, more resistant granite bedrock has undergone long-lasting cavernous weathering that produces rootless mushroom-like boulders with a strongly Fe-oxidized coating. The red coating protects the upper surface from weathering while very slow microcracking progresses by the growth of sulfates. Geomorphological evidence and cosmogenic exposure ages combine to provide contrasting average erosion rates. No erosion during the Quaternary is suggested by a striated roche moutonnée exposed more than 2 Ma ago. Differential erosion between granite and gneiss suggests a significant lowering rate of desert pavements in excess of 10 m Ma− 1. The landscape has been (on the whole) stable, but the erosion rate varies spatially according to microclimate, geology, and surface composition.  相似文献   

7.
Trends of biomass production and land processes in the Sahel have been widely studied since the droughts of 1970s. Satellite data have been an important source of information because of limited in situ data. Previous studies relied on the assumed existence of a relationship between vegetation productivity and the NDVI, in particular the annually integrated NDVI (iNDVI). This study examines this assumption and its limitations, based on in situ time series measurements of biomass, species composition, NDVI and soil moisture at the Dahra test site in northern Senegal. It is shown that, there are large differences between the NDVI – vegetation productivity relationships, and these differences can be linked to species composition. There is moderate correlation between NDVI and above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) at the peak season (r2 = 0.39). In particular, the species Zornia glochidiata is characterized by high peak NDVI and low ANPP, compared to other common species such as Cenchrus biflorus and Aristida adscensionis. It is concluded that spatial and temporal variations in species dominance is likely to add noise to the relationship between NDVI and biomass. However, the seasonal cyclic fraction of the NDVI – “small seasonal integral” – reduces such noise.  相似文献   

8.
《Polar Science》2014,8(4):327-341
  相似文献   

9.
The evolution of landforms and soils from the Jaldi and Maiskhali anticlines and adjoining areas in a part of the coastal region of the north–south trending fold belt of Bangladesh during the Late Quaternary Period has been investigated. Based on the degree of soil development and luminescence dating, eight soil geomorphic units have been deciphered and grouped into four members (I–IV) of a morphostratigraphic sequence for the study area. Various soil geomorphic units included in different member/sub-members are: Member I—river floodplains and active tidal flats (< 500 years); Member II—distal Piedmont Plains and old tidal flats (0.5–2 ka); Member III—proximal Piedmont Plains (6–10 ka); and Member IV—Mainland Higher and Lower Hillocks and Island Hillocks (> 15 ka). Member IV is further subdivided into Sub-member IVa—Island Hillocks (15–18 ka); Sub-member IVb—Mainland Lower Hillocks (23–25 ka); and Sub-member IVc—Mainland Higher Hillocks (30–35 ka).The youngest and poorly developed soils of Member I show features related to hydromorphism. Moderately developed soils of Members II and III show a fersiallitisation stage of pedogenesis. Member IV includes ‘strongly developed soils’ with a ferrugination stage of pedogenesis. These soils also exhibit degradation and poor birefringence of argillans and ferriargillans, indicating a significant change in conditions of pedogenesis, probably related to a paleoclimatic change from a subhumid to semiarid phase (40 ka to about 16 ka) to a hot humid to subhumid phase (16 ka–present). Parent material composition and physiography also have affected the pedogenesis in the area.Based on ages and heights above the mean sea level for the five terraces recognized in the study area, the overall base-level rise rates calculated are about 3.6 mm/year (18 ka–present) for the Maiskhali Island and 2.86 mm/year (35 ka–present) for the mainland (Jaldi anticline). These base level changes represent combined effects of eustatic sea level and tectonic uplift due to folding.  相似文献   

10.
We studied the relationship between primary productivity and species richness of small mammals at both large and small spatial scales in the arid and semi-arid grasslands of north China. The productivity (x)–species richness (y) pattern at a large spatial scale can be described by a unimodal quadratic regression curve (y=7·41+0·1*x−0·0003*x2,p =0·008, r2=0·788). At a small spatial scale, however, neither linear nor quadratic regression fit the data for 1980 and 1994 (p>0·25). Primary productivity may not be an appropriate predictor of the species richness of small mammals at a small spatial scale. We conclude, therefore, that the primary productivity–species richness pattern of small mammals may be scale-dependent in the arid and semi-arid grasslands of north China. Landscape complexity should be considered in future studies of productivity–richness relationships.  相似文献   

11.
Previous studies of chemical weathering rates for soil developed on glacial moraines generally assumed little or no physical erosion of the soil surface. In this study, we investigate the influence of physical erosion on soil profile weathering rate calculations. The calculation of chemical weathering rates is based on the assumption that soil profiles represent the integrated amount of weathering since the time of moraine deposition. The weathering rate of a surface subjected to denudation is the sum of the weathering loss from the existing soil profile added to the weathering loss in the material removed by denudation, divided by the deposition age. In this study, the amount of weathered material removed since moraine deposition is calculated using the denudation rate estimated from cosmogenic nuclide data and the deposition age of the moraine. Weathering rates accounting for denudation since moraine deposition are compared to weathering rates based on the assumption of no physical erosion and on the assumption of steady-state denudation for the Type Pinedale moraine ( 21 ka) and the Bull Lake-age moraine ( 140 ka) in the Fremont Lake Area (Wind River Mountains, Wyoming, USA). The total weathering rates accounting for denudation are 8.15 ± 1.05 g(oxide) m− 2 y− 1 for the Type Pinedale moraine and 4.78 ± 0.89 g(oxide) m− 2 y− 1 for the Bull Lake-age moraine, which are  2 to 4 times higher, respectively, than weathering rates based on the assumption of no physical erosion. The weathering rates based on denudation since moraine deposition are comparable or smaller than weathering rates assuming steady-state denudation. We find the assumption of steady-state denudation is not valid in depositional landscapes with young deposition ages or slow denudation rates. The decrease in weathering rates over time between the Type Pinedale and Bull Lake-age soils that is observed in the case of no physical erosion is decreased when the influence of denudation on the total weathering rates is taken into account. Fresh unweathered material with high reactive mineral surface area is continuously provided to the surface layer by denudation diminishing the effect of decreasing weathering rate over time.  相似文献   

12.
Paleolimnology provides long-term data that are often essential for understanding the current state of the environment. Even though there is great potential, paleolimnology is rarely used together with process-related studies to solve issues regarding cycling of elements in the environment. Clearly, this is a drawback because the cycling of many elements, which cause great concern in the present-day environment, was altered long before the advent of monitoring programs. The pioneering work of C.C. Patterson and his colleagues emphasized the importance of a long-term perspective for understanding the current cycling of metals, with a focus on lead, and in particular for estimating background concentrations and human-related impacts in the environment. In Sweden the first traces of atmospheric lead pollution are found in lake sediments dated to about 3500 years ago. The long-term changes in the pollution lead record in lake sediments led us to consider how lead biogeochemistry has changed over time in response to this historical deposition—where has this lead gone, and how much does this lead contribute to the present-day biogeochemical cycling of lead? How was lead distributed in ‘pre-industrial’ soils or more properly in natural soils not impacted by atmospheric pollution? There are many studies that have examined the effects of increased metal concentrations on soil biota, but what are the appropriate background conditions for comparison? Using lake sediments as our foundation we have analyzed lead, including its stable isotopes, in other environmental compartments, including peat, soil, and a range of boreal forest plant species, to develop a better understanding of the fate of lead derived from long-term pollution. Three important conclusions from our studies in Sweden are: (1) atmospheric lead deposition rates during the 20th century were 100 to as much as 1000 times higher than natural deposition rates a few thousand years ago. Even with stricter emission standards during the past three decades and the resultant reductions in deposition, lead deposition rates today are still 10–100 times greater than natural rates. This increase in deposition rates modeled from sediment and peat records is of a similar scale to estimated changes in body burdens of lead in modern versus ancient humans. (2) In Europe about half of the cumulative burden of atmospherically deposited lead was deposited before industrialization. In southern Sweden the cumulative burden of pollution lead during the past 3500 years is 2–5 g Pb m?2 and in the ‘pristine’ northern parts of the country there is about 1 g Pb m?2. (3) Predicted recovery rates for soils are slow; in the cold climate of Scandinavia, we find that the soil surface (O horizon), where most soil biota reside, retains lead deposited over the past 150–500 years. Therefore, although lead deposition rates in Europe, as well as N. America, are only 10% of those a few decades ago, it will take several decades or longer for lead concentrations in soils to respond appreciably. The slow turnover rates for lead in the environment and gradual immobilization of lead in deeper soil mineral horizons also inhibits a loss of lead to surface waters in areas removed from point sources.  相似文献   

13.
Ecological patterns and processes in dune ecosystems have been a research focus in recent years, however information on how dune stabilization influences vegetation and soil at different spatial scales...  相似文献   

14.
Rates and impacts of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition are poorly understood in arid land ecosystems where soils are typically low in plant available N. To address this issue, we quantified long-term trends in N deposition and estimated its impact on plant community structure in the northern Chihuahuan desert of Central New Mexico, USA. Annual and seasonal rates of N deposition were strongly positively correlated with precipitation. When precipitation effects were removed statistically, N deposition increased at an annual rate of 0.049 kg ha−1 yr−1 between 1989 and 2004. Based on two independent fertilization studies at our desert grassland field site, continued atmospheric inputs are likely to increase grass cover, decrease legume abundance, and may favor blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) at the expense of the current dominant species, black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda). We conclude that, although arid lands have low rates of N deposition and are primarily water limited, observed trends in N deposition rates may lead to significant changes in plant community structure.  相似文献   

15.
The response of the field layer vegetation to co-varying resource availability (soil nutrients, light) and resource loss (herbivory pressure) was investigated along a landscape gradient highly influenced by elephants and smaller ungulates at the Chobe River front in Botswana. TWINSPAN classification was used to identify plant communities. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) were used to explore the vegetation-environment relationships. Four plant communities were described: Panicum maximum woodland, Tribulus terrestris woodland/shrubland, Chloris virgata shrubland and Cynodon dactylon floodplain. Plant height, species richness and diversity decreased with increasing resource availability and resource loss. The species composition was mainly explained by differences in soil resources, followed by variables related to light availability (woody cover) and herbivory, and by interactions between these variables. The vegetation structure and species richness, on the other hand, followed the general theories of vegetation responses to herbivory more closely than resource related theories. The results suggest a strong interaction between resource availability and herbivory in their influence on the composition, species richness and structure of the plant communities.  相似文献   

16.
The study was conducted to assess the status and trends of soil erosion and relate the perceptions of farmers on cattle productivity and botanical indicators to measured ecological conditions of rangelands in three altitude regions of southwest Ethiopia. A total of 342 farmers were interviewed. In addition, the ecological condition of rangelands was assessed. Severe soil erosion, ranked as the primary restriction to free-ranging livestock, occurred predominantly in the lower altitude region (LAR) (P < 0.05). More farmers in LAR witnessed an inadequacy of palatable plant biomass, grazable pasture as well as increased gully formation and expansion, which are strong indicators of soil erosion (P < 0.001). In addition to a decrease in grass cover and productivity of cattle, botanical composition, species richness and grazing capacity of herbaceous plants, less fodder trees and shrubs were observed (P < 0.05). There was a corresponding increase in the percentage of bare ground and soil erosion status along the degradation gradients (P < 0.05). The reported shift in botanical composition, and especially encroachment of invading plant species, can be attributed to soil erosion (P < 0.001). The results suggest that erosion is associated with reduced availability of feed resources and is related to altitude variation.  相似文献   

17.
生态系统氮磷比化学计量特征研究进展   总被引：11，自引：4，他引：7  
邬畏  何兴东  周启星 《中国沙漠》2010,30(2):296-302
通过对国内外关于氮磷比化学计量特征研究文献的大量阅读,总结了在陆地生态系统和水域生态系统中氮磷比化学计量特征的意义。在陆地生态系统中,土壤中的氮磷比与固氮共生体及非共生体的生物固氮量呈反比例关系;土壤中的氮磷比化学计量特征发生变化会影响植被动态;土壤中氮磷比化学计量特征的变化对物种多样性及生产力产生影响,尤其是磷限制濒危物种的生产力及丰富度;植物体中的氮磷比化学计量特征可以体现氮和磷两种营养元素的供应状况及相对有效性,对植被恢复和濒危物种管理工作起到重要作用。在水域生态系统中,水体中的氮磷比与水生生物的固氮量呈反比例关系,并且会影响水生植物的生长及水生生物群落的组成。  相似文献   

18.
The objective of this research was to study the relationships between environmental factors and vegetation in order to find the most effective factors in the separation of the vegetation types in Poshtkou rangelands of Yazd province. Sampling of soil and vegetation were performed with randomized-systematic method. Vegetation data including density and cover percentage were estimated quantitatively within each quadrat, and using the two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN), and vegetation was classified into different groups. The topographic conditions were recorded in quadrat locations. Soil samples were taken in 0–30 and 30–60 cm depths in each quadrat. The measured soil variables included texture, lime, saturation moisture, gypsum, acidity (pH), electrical conductivity, sodium absorption ratio, and soluble ions (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Cl−, CO32−, HCO3− and SO42−). Multivariate techniques including principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) were used to analyse the collected data. The results showed that the vegetation distribution pattern was mainly related to soil characteristics such as salinity, texture, soluble potassium, gypsum, and lime. Totally, considering the habitat conditions, ecological needs and tolerance range each plant species has a significant relation with soil properties.  相似文献   

19.
Savannas cover about 20% of the Earth's land area across a wide range of climatic conditions. As an important and distinct biome, savannas produce approximately 29% of global terrestrial net primary productivity. In these ecosystems the distribution of belowground resources remains poorly investigated and the relationship to the climatic conditions remains unclear. In the present study, vertical profiles of soil nutrients (chloride, nitrate, phosphate and sulfate) and nitrogen stable isotopes were analyzed at four sites along the Kalahari mega-transect, where a distinct rainfall gradient exists on a homogeneous soil substrate. The results show clear differences in nutrients and δ15N vertical distributions between wet and dry seasons. The results also show how the formation of “fertility islands” (i.e., the concentration of soil nutrients in the soils beneath tree canopies) is not necessarily coupled with belowground processes in that the distribution of soil nutrients at the surface does not match belowground patterns. The results also indicate that phosphorus may be a limiting nutrient in these savanna ecosystems with seasonal dynamics in its cycling.  相似文献   

20.
Salinization and alkalinization are increasing problems in the world. Some land has been degraded to bare saline-alkaline soil where vegetation restoration is difficult because high toxic ionic content and pH are harmful to the survival of introduced plants. We grew Leymus chinensis with and without arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus mosseae and G. geosporum) in either pots filled with soil from bare saline-alkaline land, or transplanted seedlings into field plots, to determine the influence of AM fungi on the reestablishment of this dominant grass species in bare degraded land. Association with AM fungi increased the absorption of N, P, K+, Ca2+, but decreased Mg2+, Na+ and Cl− uptake under saline-alkaline stress. Therefore, higher K/Na, Ca/Na, P/Na, and P/Cl ratios were found in the inoculated plants. Plants inoculated with AM fungi accumulated significantly higher biomass, root/shoot ratio and tiller number than non-inoculated plants. AM fungi also significantly increased the survival of seedlings when they were transplanted into a bare saline-alkaline land in the field. The improvement of survival, growth and asexual reproduction of inoculated plants indicated that the plant-AM fungi mutualism could improve the reestablishment of vegetation in bare saline-alkaline soil, drive the vegetation restoration to a community dominated by original species.  相似文献   

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