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1.
Arthropods living in the canopies of two woody shrub species (a sub-shrub (Gutierrezia sarothrae) and a large shrub (Prosopis glandulosa)) and perennial grasses plus associated herbaceous species, were sampled on 18, 0.5 hectare plots in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland for five consecutive years. Mesquite shrubs were removed from nine plots, six plots were grazed by yearling cattle in August and six plots were grazed in February for the last 3 years of the 5 year study. Arthropod species richness ranged between 154 and 353 on grasses, from 120 to 266 on G. sarothrae, and from 69 to 116 on P. glandulosa. There was a significant relationship between the number of families of insects on grass and G. sarothrae and growing season rainfall but species richness was not a function of growing season rainfall on any of the plants. Several of the arthropod families that were the most species rich in this grassland were found on all of the plants sampled, i.e. Salticid spiders, Bruchid and Curculionid beetles, Cicadellid and Psyllid homopterans, and ants (Formicidae). There were more species rich families that were shared by grasses and the sub-shrub G. sarothrae than with mesquite. The absence of a relationship between growing season rainfall and species richness was attributed to variation in life history characteristics of arthropods and to the non-linear responses of annual and perennial desert grassland plants to rainfall.There were no significant differences in insect family or species richness on any of the plant types as a result of removal of mesquite (P. glandulosa) from selected plots. Intense, short duration (24 h) grazing by livestock during in late summer resulted in reduced species richness in the grass-herb vegetation layer but had no effect on insect species richness on snakeweed or mesquite shrubs. Livestock grazing in winter had no effect on insect species richness on any of the vegetation sampled. 相似文献
2.
Atriplex canescens is a relatively common dioecious shrub in western North America. It is considered a valuable forage resource for both wild and domestic herbivores. Sex ratios and shrub dimensions were recorded in stands of tetraploid A. canescens that had been either protected from cattle grazing or summer- or winter-grazed by cattle for at least 20 years. Stem diameter and crown shape were used as surrogates for shrub age which could not be estimated by counting growth rings. Shrub sex ratios in exclosures were significantly more female biased than the empirically derived ratio for tetraploid A. canescens (55 female:35 male: 10 monecious). Conversely, shrub sex ratios in grazed pastures were not significantly different from the empirical ratio. Proportion of female shrubs in exclosures was significantly higher than in grazed pastures. Proportion of male shrubs, on the other hand, was similar in exclosures and grazed pastures. Winter-grazed shrub stands were apparently younger than both summer-grazed and protected shrubs. Protected shrubs appeared to be the oldest. Grazed female shrubs were apparently younger than grazed males, however, shrub ages of protected male and female shrubs were apparently not different. Cattle-grazing may have affected female shrubs more negatively at this site, causing gender-based differential mortality, and/or sex-shifting. Such processes could account for the differences in sex ratios, and for the apparent gender-related differences in shrub age that were observed. 相似文献
3.
Grazing in arid Mediterranean ecosystems brings about changes in species diversity, but the best way to measure such changes is unclear. In this study we compared various methods in order to identify indicators that might be useful for the management and conservation of grazed arid Mediterranean ecosystems.Changes in community structure and composition were compared along a previously studied grazing gradient in Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park. Plant diversity was measured by calculating diversity (Shannon information index), evenness (Pielou index) and richness (species number). Rarefaction curves were used to measure plant species richness and the results were compared with traditional richness values. Community structure was measured as the percentage of bare ground and the coverage of overall perennial grasses, Stipa tenacissima L., perennial shrubs and annual plants. Our results showed that the proportion of bare ground, the cover of perennial shrubs and the relative abundance of S. tenacissima are good indicators of grazing effects on vegetation. Overall plant community structure was more sensitive to the grazing gradient than were the diversity indices. Finally, the adequacy of standardized methods for comparing species richness (i.e. rarefaction curves) along a grazing gradient are discussed. 相似文献
4.
Soil temperatures at 0, 5, 10 and 20 cm depths were monitored continuously at different microhabitats (beneath shrub canopy
(BSC); bare intershrub spaces (BIS)) induced by xerophytic shrub (Caragana korshinskii Kom.) canopy, respectively. We mainly
aimed to assess the effects of shrub canopy and precipitation on the spatial-temporal variability of soil temperature. Results indicate
that both precipitation and vegetation canopy significantly affect soil temperature. In clear days, soil temperatures within the
BSC area were significantly lower than in the BIS at the same soil depth due to shading effects of shrub canopy. Diurnal variations
of soil temperature show a unimodal sinusoidal curve. The amplitude of soil temperature tended to decrease and a hysteresis of diurnal
maximum soil temperature existed at deeper soil layers. Vertical fluctuations of soil temperature displayed four typical
curves. In the nighttime (approximately from sunset to sunrise), surface temperature within the BSC area was higher than in the
BIS. In rainy days, however, soil temperatures were affected mainly by precipitation and the shrub canopy had a negligible effect
on soil temperature, and little difference in soil temperature at the same soil depth was found between the BSC area and in the BIS.
Diurnal variations in soil temperature decreased exclusively as rainfall continued and the vertical fluctuations of soil temperature
show an increased tendency with increasing soil depth. 相似文献
5.
荒漠灌丛微生境土壤温度的时空变异特征——灌丛与降水的影响 总被引：2，自引：1，他引：1
对干旱区优势固沙灌木柠条群落不同微生境（灌丛外和灌丛下）的土壤温度（0 cm、5 cm、10 cm和20 cm剖面深度）进行了连续测定,对比分析了晴天、降水日与灌丛对其微生境土壤温度时空变异的影响。结果表明:降水和植被灌丛对土壤温度均具有显著影响。在无雨日,受灌丛遮阴影响,灌丛外土壤温度明显高于灌丛下相同深度的土壤温度;在降水日,土壤温度主要受降水影响,降水使土壤温度明显降低,灌丛的影响作用减弱,灌丛下和灌丛外同一剖面深度的土壤温度差异较小。无雨日土壤温度日变化呈单峰型正弦曲线,随剖面深度增加,土壤温度振幅逐渐减小,峰值出现时间滞后,土壤温度垂直分布变化呈现4种典型变化曲线。夜间（日落至日出）柠条灌丛下地表温度（0 cm土壤温度）比灌丛外地表温度略高。降水日土壤温度日变化随降水过程的持续呈逐渐递减趋势,土壤温度垂直分布变化表现为随深度增加而递增的趋势。 相似文献
6.
以宁夏荒漠草原柠条（Caragana）灌丛林地为研究对象,于2011年春、夏、秋季,利用陷阱诱捕法,调查了灌丛微生境节肢动物群落分布特征。结果表明：（1）调查共获得节肢动物9目31科32个类群,分属于4种功能群（植食性、捕食性、腐食性和杂食性）。其中,优势类群为蚁科（Formicidae）和拟步甲科（Tenebrionidae）,个体数占总个体数的71.97%;常见类群有7科8个类群,个体数占总个体数的19.72%;其余22个类群为稀有类群,个体数仅占总个体数的8.30%。（2）随着季节变化,灌丛内外节肢动物类群组成和个体数分布均发生改变。春季灌丛内外均包括优势类群、常见类群和稀有类群;夏季灌丛内外均包括优势类群,而灌丛下仅有常见类群,无稀有类群,灌丛外既没有常见类群也没有稀有类群;秋季灌丛内外均有优势类群和常见类群,但灌丛内外均无稀有类群。（3）夏季灌丛内外共有类群数最少,相似性指数最低,秋季次之,而春季灌丛内外共有类群数最多,相似性指数也最高。（4）春季和秋季,灌丛内外微生境中节肢动物个体数、丰富度和Shannon指数均无显著差异（P>0.05）。夏季,节肢动物个体数灌丛内外无显著差异性（P>0.05）,但丰富度和Shannon指数均表现为灌丛内显著高于灌丛外（P<0.05）。（5）春季灌丛内外捕食性、植食性和杂食性节肢动物的个体数和丰富度均无显著差异性（P>0.05）;但是,腐食性动物个体数和丰富度均表现为灌丛内显著高于灌丛外（P<0.05）。夏季,仅有捕食性动物丰富度呈现出灌丛内显著高于灌丛外（P<0.05）,而其他指标灌丛内外均无显著差异性（P>0.05）。秋季,每种功能群动物的个体数和丰富度灌丛内外均无显著差异性（P>0.05）。沙地灌丛内外生境中节肢动物的空间分布,既与灌丛本身生理生态学特性相关,也与季节性降雨和温度等气象条件的改变密切相关。 相似文献
7.
Shrub fertile islands are a common feature in arid ecosystems. To examine the effect of plant species on the spatial patterns of soil chemical and physical properties surrounding individual shrubs, two deciduous shrub species with different morphologies (Tamarix spp. and Haloxylon ammodendron Bge.) were studied at an oasis–desert ecotone in South Junggar Basin. Soil samples were collected under the shrub crown (canopy), at the vertically projected limit of shrub crown margin (periphery), and in the space between shrub crowns (interspace) at two depths, 0–10 and 10–20 cm, to analyze their physical and chemical properties. The results show that the fertile islands of Tamarix spp. are enriched with more soil nutrients (significantly higher, P<0.05; soil organic matter (SOM); total nitrogen (TN) and available nitrogen (AN); to a deeper depth (>20 cm) and in a larger area (beyond the canopied area) compared to that of H. ammodendron (significantly higher, P<0.05, soil nutrients detected only for AN; <20 cm in depth; smaller than the canopied area). Soil texture patterns surrounding the shrubs of the two species are even more different, with more coarse particles under the Tamarix spp. canopies compared to the interspace between shrubs but fewer under the H. ammodendron canopies compared to the interspaces. These variations are attributed to the difference in morphology of the two studied species: the Y-shaped crowns of H. ammodendron are less capable of capturing and maintaining litter under them than the hemispheroidal crowns of Tamarix spp., which leads to the less well developed fertile islands surrounding H. ammodendron shrubs. 相似文献
8.
选择科尔沙地和毛乌素沙地豆科与非豆科灌丛为研究对象,以灌丛外裸沙地为对照,通过手拣法调查了不同灌丛微生境中土壤动物群落组成与多样性,依据相对相互作用强度指数(RII)分析比较了不同水热地带沙地灌丛"虫岛"差异性及影响机制。结果表明:(1)在科尔沁沙地和毛乌素沙地分别获得36和28个类群,平均个体数分别为76只·m-2和125只·m-2。优势类群分别包括拟步甲科及其幼虫和步甲科,蚁科,常见类群分别为12和20个类群,稀有类群分别为22个和6个类群。(2)土壤动物个体数、丰富度和Shannon指数的灌丛"虫岛"RII值,均表现为毛乌素沙地显著高于科尔沁沙地(p<0.05),并且2种类型灌丛均呈现出正向作用(即聚集作用,RII>0)。(3)在2个沙地所有样地中,只有园蛛科、鳃金龟科幼虫和拟步甲科幼虫3个类群完全表征出灌丛"虫岛"现象。园蛛科和拟步甲科幼虫的灌丛"虫岛"RII值不同地带沙地间无显著差异性(p>0.05),而鳃金龟科幼虫RII值则均存在显著差异性(p<0.05)。豆科与非豆科灌丛在不同地带沙地中对"虫岛"表现出相反的作用结果。(4)群落水平上,毛乌素沙地灌丛"虫岛"作用强度高于科尔沁沙地,与水热等沙地气候条件密切相关,而与灌丛功能特性无关。种群水平上,不同土壤动物类群具有不同的灌丛"虫岛"现象,灌丛功能特性、沙地水热条件或者二者交互作用是其原因。 相似文献
9.
We examined the monthly shrub use and the thermal utility of the desert shrub, Artemisia monosperma, by the globally endangered Egyptian tortoise, Testudo kleinmanni, in Sinai, Egypt. A. monosperma is a common desert shrub that is often used by the Egyptian tortoise as a refuge. Egyptian tortoises had the highest mean carapace temperature and lowest carapace temperature range during summer months, which coincided with the aestivation period and the Egyptian tortoise's use of larger shrubs. Our results suggest that the thermal characteristics of larger shrubs are important to the microhabitat use of the Egyptian tortoise and likely long-term survival. Larger shrubs were effective as thermal refuges that ameliorated and stabilized micro-climatic variation. Smaller shrubs were not an adequate thermal refuge in the summer because the mean temperature, and its fluctuation range beneath them was too high to offer adequate refuge during aestivation. The tortoises used the smaller shrubs in the fall, winter, and spring seasons for basking, thermoregulation, and concealment and used shrubs with a cover diameter greater than one meter during the aestivation season. The future conservation of the Egyptian tortoise should focus on protecting and restoring existing habitat by maintaining large perennial shrubs for refuge and aestivation sites. 相似文献
10.
对腾格里沙漠东南缘沙坡头地区1989年建植人工植被区优势固沙灌木柠条（Caragana korshinskii）和半灌木油蒿（Artemisia ordosica）树干茎流及穿透雨的pH值,以及灌丛基部、灌丛下和灌丛外裸地0～10 cm和10～20 cm剖面深度土壤pH值分别进行测定,并与大气降雨pH值进行比较,以探讨荒漠灌丛降雨再分配对土壤pH值空间变异的影响。结果表明:大气降雨pH值最高,穿透雨pH值次之,树干茎流pH值最低,三者之间具有显著差异（p<0.05）。灌丛外裸地土壤pH值最高,灌丛下次之,树干基部最低。总体而言,0～10 cm剖面深度土壤pH值小于其下方10～20 cm剖面深度土壤pH值。柠条灌丛产生的树干茎流对土壤的酸化作用强于油蒿灌丛。树干茎流和穿透雨的酸化作用是导致土壤pH值从灌丛间裸地到灌丛基部方向上降低的一个重要原因。 相似文献
11.
为了估算西鄂尔多斯天然荒漠灌丛生态系统碳密度并揭示碳储量在不同层片（灌丛植株、草本层、枯落物层及土壤层）、器官间的分配规律,以该区5种优势荒漠灌丛（沙冬青Ammopiptanthus mogolicus、霸王Zygophyllum xanthoxylum、四合木Tetraena mongolica、半日花Helianthemum songaricum和红砂Reaumuria songarica）群落为对象,测定了5种灌丛生态系统碳密度。结果表明：西鄂尔多斯5种荒漠灌丛生态系统碳密度40.28~55.51 t·hm-2,其中土壤层碳密度占绝对优势（97.15%~98.51%）,为39.40~54.48 t·hm-2,且在0~50 cm随着土层深度的增加而增加;植被层生物量密度垂直分布格局表现为灌丛层 > 草本层 > 枯落物层,灌丛层碳密度空间上表现为距离黄河越近碳密度越大（沙冬青和半日花灌丛生物量碳分别占各自植被层生物量密度的92.16%和62.42%）,而草本层碳密度表现出与之相反的规律;草本层根系生物量碳也是灌丛生态系统碳重要组成部分,碳密度8.41~38.29 g·m-2,占植被层碳密度的5.36%~45.18%;除红砂灌丛外,灌丛草本层地下部分碳密度显著高于地上部分（P<0.05）;灌丛个体碳储量分布表现为枝条 > 根系 > 叶片,粗枝和粗根是单株灌丛碳储量的主要贡献者,且在灌丛种间差异显著（P<0.05）,根系生物量碳占植被层碳储量的20.00%~33.53%,叶片生物量碳占总植被层碳储量的2.02%~24.54%。 相似文献
12.
The influence of elevation, shrub species, and biological soil crust on fertile islands in the Mojave Desert, USA 总被引：4，自引：1，他引：4
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
13.
We studied the distribution in time and in space of desert arthropods as a food resource in order to gain insight into the relationship between foraging activity, foraging microhabitat use, and temporal changes in these parameters, and resource availability. We focused on two primarily insectivorous congeneric species of spiny mice, the common spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) and the golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus), that overlap in their ecology, but differ in their diel activity patterns. Arthropod availability was higher during the night, suggesting that in terms of resource availability, night should be the preferred activity time for spiny mice. Different taxa were active during day and night, suggesting that temporal partitioning could indeed be a mechanism of coexistence between the two species. Seasonal variation in arthropod availability is reflected in spiny mouse diets, with more arthropods taken during summer, allowing temporal partitioning to be a viable mechanism of coexistence. In winter when arthropod availability drops, the two species exhibit trade-offs in foraging microhabitat use. Seasonal and spatial variability in arthropod availability between habitats conforms to habitat choice. Thus resource availability appears to be a significant factor structuring this rocky desert rodent community. 相似文献
14.
Several studies in arid ecosystems have demonstrated that seedling establishment and survival were greater underneath the canopies of shrubs than in the open spaces between shrubs. These results led to the formulation of the hypothesis that seedling recruitment and survival were dependent on the shelter provided by shrub species (nurse-plant hypothesis). Seedling emergence and survival beneath and between the canopies of selected perennial shrub species were investigated at five localities in the Strandveld Succulent Karoo, each dominated by a different shrub species. Seedling emergence and survival were also examined at three localities dominated by annual species. In general, species richness and seedling densities were significantly higher in open areas than underneath shrubs, while seedling survival percentages did not differ significantly between microsites. Therefore, no evidence could be found to support the hypothesis that seedling recruitment and survival were facilitated by the presence of shrub species. Although most species will be able to establish in the absence of shrubs, the presence of woody species may have other advantages when restoring vegetation in mined areas. 相似文献
15.
以西鄂尔多斯地区5种荒漠优势灌丛（沙冬青（Ammopiptanthus mogolicus）、四合木（Tetraena mongolica）、霸王（Zygophyllum xanthoxylum）、红砂（Reaumuria songarica）、半日花（Helianthemum songaricum））为研究对象,采用平均标准灌丛全部收获法测定灌丛各营养器官（枝条、叶片、根系）生物量,并分别以丛高（H）和冠幅（C）的复合因子（CH）及基径（D）和丛高（H）的复合因子（D2H）为自变量建立单株灌丛生物量预测模型。通过决定系数（R2）、估计值的标准误差（SEE）和F检验显著水平筛选出各灌丛种最佳生物量预测模型。结果表明：（1）5种荒漠灌丛单株总生物量干鲜比差异性显著（P<0.05）,各营养器官间差异性也达到显著水平（P<0.05）;灌丛根冠比种间差异显著（P<0.05）,红砂（1.05）> 霸王（1.01）> 半日花（0.92）> 沙冬青（0.90）> 四合木（0.49）;（2）根系和枝条是荒漠灌丛生物量的主要贡献者,其生物量占灌丛总生物量比例之和均在80%以上,根系生物量分配随根系径级的增加而增加;（3）5种荒漠优势灌丛单株灌丛生物量预测模型R2值均在0.85以上,且在0.05水平上显著,生物量模型预测精度较高。 相似文献
16.
In a Picea mariana forest near Fort Norman, NWT, Canada, a corridor was cleared in the spring of 1985 to simulate a seismic line or pipeline disturbance. Salix arbusculoides, the dominant erect shrub, was monitored for three growing seasons after canopy harvesting. Leaf area was not consistent between the three years in either the cleared right-of-way or the undisturbed forest control area. Relative to control shrubs, leaves were significantly larger in right-of-way shrubs in 1985, virtually identical in size in 1986, and smaller in the right-of-way shrubs in 1987. In 1986, stem production was so great for right-of-way shrubs that the mean leaf/stem biomass ratio for this sample was smaller than both the other two years for right-of-way samples and the control sample for that year. Right-of-way shrubs were consistently shorter in height than control shrubs; by the third growing season, however, this difference was negligible. Right-of-way shrub canopy volume was significantly less than control shrubs only in the first growing season of recovery (right-of-way shrub volume averaged 85% of control shrub volume). By the second growing season after harvesting, right-of-way shrubs had attained canopy volumes that were no longer significantly less than control shrubs. Although the average canopy volume of right-of-way shrubs approached that of control shrubs as time passed, the right-of-way shrubs maintained a lower, broader morphology, as reflected in the height to mean canopy diameter ratio which was typically lower for right-of-way shrubs. [Key words: plant morphology, vegetation disturbance, subarctic, Canada.] 相似文献
17.
In Namaqualand, heavy grazing of low-lying areas has resulted in the reduction of palatable perennial shrubs and the dominance of the unpalatable shrub, Galenia africana. This study investigates the process of rehabilitation and how it can be used to gain an understanding of the ecological factors that may be sustaining altered vegetation states. We intervened to change the biophysical environment through the construction of microcatchments and brushpacks to act as traps for water, seed and organic material combined with the introduction of seeds and seedlings were implemented. Two years after implementation brushpacked microhabitats improved natural recruitment of herbaceous species compared to bare areas at two out of three sites. Microhabitats did not influence natural recruitment of perennial seedlings. Emergence of palatable perennial seed was not influenced by microhabitat manipulation. Seedlings transplanted under adult G. africana shrubs showed higher survival rates at two out of three sites compared to seedlings in unmodified areas. 相似文献
18.
Nitraria sphaerocarpa Maxim., a typical desert plant which often appears in nebkha form, is widely distributed along the periphery of oasis in arid regions of Northwest China, and plays an important role in desertification control around oases. In this paper, the characteristics and distribution patterns of N. sphaerocarpa nebkhas were investigated in a Gobi environment outside an oasis. Results shows that about 200 N. sphaerocarpa nebkhas per hectare was recorded and total sand sediments was 25 m3/ha. Nebkhas vary in size, and the mean height (H) and horizontal composition (L) were 15 cm and 80 cm, respectively. There exists a significant linear relationship between H and L, suggesting that the investigated nebkhas are mostly in the growth stage. The numbers, height and sand deposit of nebkhas decreased with increasing distance away from the oasis. Grain-size analysis indicates that the mean grain size of sediments at the crests of nebkhas increased with increasing nebkha height. Organic C and total N concentrations were related to the mean grain size. It was concluded that N. sphaerocarpa shrubs are efficient horizontal sand traps for wind-driven sediments. A better understanding of the development of nebkha can provide information for the design of biological sand control measures around oases in arid regions. 相似文献
19.
In this study the spatial patterns and dynamics of vegetation patches along a grazing gradient in the steppe ofLarrea divaricataandStipaspp. in NE Patagonia (Argentina) are described. A general effect of grazing is the reduction of total plant cover resulting from the decrease in cover of perennial grasses (Stipa speciosa, Poa ligularis, Stipa tenuis) and some tall shrubs (Chuquiraga hystrix, Bougainvillea spinosa, Lycium chilense). Dwarf shrubs (Nassauvia fueguianaandJunellia seriphioides) increase their cover under medium and/or high grazing pressures. Plant species are spatially grouped into patches which alternate with areas of bare soil. Eleven types of vegetation patch differing in the dominant plant functional type or species, floristic richness and size were identified with different relative frequency along the grazing gradient. Based on these results, it is postulated that grazing forces the replacement of large patches dominated by tall shrubs with high species richness, byLarrea divaricatapatches or small dwarf shrub patches with low species richness and the extinction of grass patches. This results from: (1) disruption of local balances of species deletions and additions; (2) fragmentation of large patches; and (3) formation of new vegetation patches. These changes lead to differing plant spatial organization and heterogeneity along the grazing gradient which may be described by characteristic arrays of vegetation patches. 相似文献
20.
Rainfall partitioning by desert shrubs in arid regions 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
We measured the rainfall partitioning among throughfall, stemflow, and interception by desert shrubs in an arid region of China, and analyzed the influence of rainfall and canopy characteristics on this partitioning and its ecohydrological effects. The percent-ages of total rainfall accounted for by throughfall, stemflow, and interception ranged from 78.85±2.78 percent to 86.29±5.07 per-cent, from 5.50±3.73 percent to 8.47±4.19 percent, and from 7.54±2.36 percent to 15.95±4.70 percent, respectively, for the four shrubs in our study (Haloxylon ammodendron, Elaeagnus angustifolia, Tamarix ramosissima, and Nitraria sphaerocarpa). Rain-fall was significantly linearly correlated with throughfall, stemflow, and interception (P < 0.0001). The throughfall, stemflow, and interception percentages were logarithmically related to total rainfall (P < 0.01), but were quadratically related to the maximum 1-hour rainfall intensity (P < 0.01). The throughfall and stemflow percentages increased significantly with increasing values of the rainfall characteristics, whereas the interception percentage generally decreased (except for average wind speed, air temperature, and canopy evaporation). Regression analysis suggested that the stemflow percentage increased significantly with increasing crown length, number of branches, and branch angle (R2 = 0.92, P < 0.001). The interception percentage increased significantly with increasing LAI (leaf area index) and crown length, but decreased with increasing branch angle (R2 = 0.96, P < 0.001). The mean funnelling percentages for the four shrubs ranged from 30.27±4.86 percent to 164.37±6.41 percent of the bulk precipitation. Much of the precipitation was funnelled toward the basal area of the stem, confirming that shrub stemflow conserved in deep soil layers may be an available moisture source to support plant survival and growth under arid conditions. 相似文献