Facilitative effects of shrubs in shifting sand on soil macro-faunal community in Horqin Sand Land of Inner Mongolia, Northern China

Effects of Cultivation and Grazing Exclusion on the Soil Macro-faunal Community of Semiarid Sandy Grasslands in Northern China

“…Consequently, grazing exclusion can provide a wider range of plants as food and habitats, as well as higher soil moisture, organic carbon content and total nitrogen content, together with decreased disturbances that could endanger the soil fauna (Liu et al, 2009(Liu et al, , 2011. The development of a more diverse vegetation cover and more diverse food sources in addition to the development of better microhabitats can markedly increase density, group richness, and Shannon's index in the soils of the ungrazed sites (Scheu, 1992).…”

“…The higher soil moisture under cultivation might be the result of irrigation, whereas the higher soil moisture at the ungrazed sites might be the result of shallow root systems and of decreased evaporation from the soil surface as a result of the higher vegetation cover. The lower soil bulk density and pH at the ungrazed sites than at the grazed sites might be the result of higher vegetation cover and the elimination of trampling by livestock, combined with the effects of the extensive shallow root systems of vegetation (Su et al, 2004;Liu et al, 2011). Grazing exclusion increased the vegetation height, canopy cover, and dry weights of the plants as the vegetation recovered, thereby not only conserving soil moisture and decreasing soil pH and bulk density but also increasing the accumulation of SOC and nutrients (Zhao et al, 2005;Pei et al, 2008).…”

“…Figure 2 also demonstrates that different groups within the macro-faunal community responded differently to the soil variables (Table 3). The macro-faunal groups whose arrows pointed in approximately the same direction in the ordination as the arrows for the environmental factors were strongly correlated with those factors (Kennedy et al, 2004;Liu et al, 2011). For example, the Thomisidae, Reduviidae, Staphilinidae, and Curculionidae were negatively correlated with soil bulk density, and all of these except the Curculionidae were negatively correlated with soil temperature.…”

Variation of soil nematode community composition with increasing sand-fixation year of Caragana microphylla: Bioindication for desertification restoration

“…The increase in the content of soil organic carbon was due to the increasing litter inputs and the decreasing soil erosion rate after the establishment of C. microphylla (Cao et al, 2008). The plantation of C. microphylla on sandy land facilitated the formation of fertile islands in soil beneath the shrub canopy (Zhao et al, 2007;Liu et al, 2011). The increasing EC values were probably related to the enhancement in soil nutrient or fertility condition (Su and Zhao, 2003;Pen-Mouratov et al, 2010;Cao et al, 2011).…”

“…The increasing EC values were probably related to the enhancement in soil nutrient or fertility condition (Su and Zhao, 2003;Pen-Mouratov et al, 2010;Cao et al, 2011). The establishment of vegetation had an important role in improving soil properties (Zhao et al, 2007;Liu et al, 2011), but the effect of C. microphylla on soil environment was time-dependent. Soil properties in 18-Y were obviously distinguished from those in 0-Y, which reflected that the effect of C. microphylla on soil properties was only measurable or significant after 18-year sand-fixation.…”