Shrub facilitation of desert land restoration in the Horqin Sand Land of Inner Mongolia

Zhao, Hao; Zhou, Rui‐Lian; Su, Yushan; Zhang, Hua; Zhao, Long; Drake, Sam

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2007.04.010

Cited by 216 publications

(147 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Plants are important facilitators in environments with high abiotic stress because they enhance germination, seedling recruitment and growth of seedlings and juveniles in various types of communities FOX, 2009). This is indeed true, as several studies indicate that species richness, density and height of individuals in the community of herbaceous plants beneath the shrub canopy are greater than in open areas (PUGNAIRE;HAASE;PUIGDEFABREGAS, 1996;PUGNAIRE;LÁZARO, 2000;FACELLI;TEMBY, 2002;ZHAO et al, 2007). The structure of the shrub canopy can also contribute to the recruitment of woody plants (TRACOL; GUTIÉRREZ; SQUEO, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…As a result, the soil below the shrub canopy is richer in nutrients (e.g. N, P and total P) (MORO et al, 1997b;FULLER, 1999;ZHAO et al, 2007). These changes in microclimate and soil fertility contribute to the establishment of herbaceous vegetation below the canopy in the beginning stages of regeneration (MORO et al, 1997a;TRACOL;GUTIÉRREZ;SQUEO, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interactions Between the Herbaceous and Shrubby-Arboreal Components in a Semiarid Region in the Northeast of Brazil: Competition or Facilitation?

Silva

Santos

et al. 2015

Rev. Caatinga

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-Under conditions of high stress, interactions between species can be positive. Islands of perennial vegetation can improve the conditions of the understory and facilitate the establishment of herbaceous plants. The hypothesis of this study is that islands of perennial vegetation in an area of caatinga harbor, a greater richness, diversity and density of herbaceous plants, and that individuals reach a greater height and diameter than in open spaces. The study was conducted in Petrolândia, Pernambuco, Brazil. Twenty-seven plots were installed in the center of the islands, 38 at the edge of the islands (in a total of 38 islands) and 35 in the open spaces. A total of 51 species were recorded in the center and 55 on the edge of the islands and 48 in the open spaces. The mean richness of the open spaces was lower than on the islands. The diversity was greater in the center of the island and became less on the edge of the island and in the open spaces. The mean density was lower in the open spaces than on the islands. The mean density at the edge of the islands was greater than in the center of the islands. There was no difference in mean diameter of herbaceous plants. The mean height of the individuals was higher in the center of the islands. The herbaceous community growing on the islands exhibited higher richness, diversity, density and height than in open spaces. Thus, islands of perennial vegetation facilitate the establishment of herbaceous species.Keywords: Caatinga. Microhabitat. Microclimate. Diversity. Structure. INTERAÇÕES ENTRE OS COMPONENTES HERBACEO E ARBUSTIVO-ARBÓREO EM UMA REGIÃO SEMIÁRIDA NO NORDESTE DO BRASIL: COMPETIÇÃO OU FACILITAÇÃO?RESUMO -Em condições de elevado estresse as interações entre espécies podem ser positivas. Ilhas de vegetação perene podem melhorar as condições do sub-bosque e facilitar o estabelecimento de plantas herbáceas. A hipótese deste estudo é que as ilhas de vegetação perene de uma área de caatinga abrigam uma maior riqueza, diversidade, densidade e indivíduos com maior altura e diâmetro do que os espaços abertos. O estudo foi realizado em uma área de caatinga em Petrolândia, Pernambuco, Brasil. Para o levantamento florístico e estrutural (densidade e altura e diâmetro dos indivíduos) das herbáceas, foram instaladas 27 parcelas no centro das ilhas de vegetação lenhosa, 38 na borda das ilhas (em um total de 38 ilhas) e 35 nos espaços abertos. Foram registradas 51 espécies no centro e 55 na borda das ilhas e 48 nas áreas abertas. A riqueza média das áreas abertas foi menor do que a riqueza média das ilhas. A diversidade foi maior no centro das ilhas e diminuiu na borda da ilha e nas áreas abertas. A densidade média foi menor nas áreas abertas do que nas ilhas. A densidade média na borda das ilhas foi maior do que no centro das ilhas. Não houve diferença no diâmetro médio das plantas herbá-ceas. A altura média dos indivíduos foi maior no centro das ilhas. Neste estudo, a riqueza de espécies, diversidade, densidade e altura da comunidade herbácea instalada nas ilhas fo...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions Between the Herbaceous and Shrubby-Arboreal Components in a Semiarid Region in the Northeast of Brazil: Competition or Facilitation?

Silva

Santos

et al. 2015

Rev. Caatinga

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“…On the one hand, vegetation could improve soil texture and hydrologic properties by root growth activity and adding litter; on the other hand, canopy cover intercepts rainfall and litter decrease runoff energy (Xu et al, 2006a). In Horqin Sand Land, Mongolia, Zhao et al (2007) found lower soil bulk density and higher soil water content beneath shrubs than adjacent bare surfaces, and also indicated different species had effects on soil properties to different degrees. Similar to their results, we also found plant-covered surfaces had lower soil bulk density, and higher soil porosity, soil water content and infiltration capacity than bare surfaces (Table 3 and Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of three plant species with different morphologies on water runoff and soil loss in a dry-warm river valley, SW China

et al. 2008

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…For example, periodic grazing (restricted grazing in certain seasons) and/or rotational grazing (restricted grazing in certain areas) could be considered as beneficial measures for sustainable rangeland use Papanastasis, 2009). Besides, integrative management such as fertilization, sand-fixing measures, reseeding andr sown pastures should be considered during grassland restoration practice in order to increase efficiency and minimize negative effects (Shirato et al, 2005;Zhao et al, 2007;Wu et al, 2009;Li et al, 2013).…”

Section: Implications For Sustainable Grassland Management Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of grazing exclusion on carbon sequestration and plant diversity in grasslands of China—A meta-analysis

Xiong

Shi

Zhang

et al. 2016

Ecological Engineering

163

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a b s t r a c tWidespread land degradation has strengthened the urgent need to restore overgrazing grasslands. China has implemented the program 'Returning Grazing Land to Grassland' (RGLG) through grazing exclusion by fence since 2003. Despite a lot of field experiments, there is still controversy on the effects of grazing exclusion on rangeland restoration, highlighting the need for synthetic analysis. We conducted a metaanalysis of 447 entries from 78 papers to analyze the spatiotemporal effects of grazing exclusion on plant diversity, productivity and soil carbon sequestration in the major RGLG-implemented provinces of China. Our results showed that, compared with the grazed sites, grazing exclusion significantly increased carbon stored in aboveground biomass, litter mass, belowground biomass and soils by 84.7%, 111.6%, 25.5% and 14.4%, respectively. Plant coverage, soil available nitrogen, soil available phosphorus and soil microbial biomass carbon increased by 52.0%, 21.7% 22.8% and 26.3%, respectively. However, grazing exclusion had little effects on recovering plant diversity in China's grasslands. Of the factors examined, climatic factors strongly modified the effects of grazing exclusion on ecosystem carbon stocks, for example, precipitation significantly amplified the positive effects. Grazing exclusion played a positive role in soil carbon sequestration in most grassland types except in temperate desert-steppe. But annual soil carbon sequestration rates decayed rapidly over time in both alpine meadow and temperate steppe. Short-term (≤5 years) grazing exclusion remarkably increased species richness, but not significantly in the long run. The threshold from neutral to negative effects of grazing exclusion on species evenness occurs after approximately ten years. Our findings provide evidence that grazing exclusion is an effective way to restore vegetation and sequestrate carbon in degraded grasslands, but not beneficial to plant diversity maintenance. The benefits of grazing exclusion are more effective in humid area than arid area. We suggest that grazing exclusion should be ceased after about six to ten years. Additionally, grazing exclusion should integrate with other appropriate management practices instead of operating on a stand-alone basis.

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Shrub facilitation of desert land restoration in the Horqin Sand Land of Inner Mongolia

Cited by 216 publications

References 17 publications

Interactions Between the Herbaceous and Shrubby-Arboreal Components in a Semiarid Region in the Northeast of Brazil: Competition or Facilitation?

Interactions Between the Herbaceous and Shrubby-Arboreal Components in a Semiarid Region in the Northeast of Brazil: Competition or Facilitation?

Influence of three plant species with different morphologies on water runoff and soil loss in a dry-warm river valley, SW China

Effects of grazing exclusion on carbon sequestration and plant diversity in grasslands of China—A meta-analysis

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