The progress and prospects of nebkhas in arid areas

Du, Jun; Yan, Ping; Dong, Yuan

doi:10.1007/s11442-010-0806-5

Cited by 27 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Nebkhas are composed of wind-borne sediment within or around the canopies of plants and are an adaptive feature of the growth of plants in arid and semiarid regions [1], [2], [3]. These phytogenic mounds are the habitat of many clonal plants that perform advantageous clonal reproduction [4], [5] through layering modules.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Aspect on Clonal Reproduction and Biomass Allocation of Layering Modules of Nitraria tangutorum in Nebkha Dunes

et al. 2013

PLoS ONE

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The formation of many nebkha dunes relies on the layering of clonal plants. The microenvironmental conditions of such phytogenic nebkha are heterogeneous depending on the aspect and slope. Exploring the effects of aspect on clonal reproduction and biomass allocation can be useful in understanding the ecological adaptation of species. We hypothesized that on the windward side layering propagation would be promoted, that biomass allocation to leaves and stems of ramets would increase, and that the effects of aspect would be greater in the layering with larger biomass. To test these hypotheses, we surveyed the depth of germination points of axillary buds, the rate of ramet sprouting, the density of adventitious root formation points, and the biomass of modules sprouting from layering located on the NE, SE, SW and NW, aspects of Nitraria tangutorum nebkhas. The windward side was located on the NW and SW aspects. The results indicated that conditions of the NW aspect were more conducive to clonal reproduction and had the highest rate of ramet sprouting and the highest density of adventitious formation points. For the modules sprouting from layering on the SW aspect, biomass allocation to leaves and stems was greatest with biomass allocation to adventitious roots being lowest. This result supported our hypothesis. Contrary to our hypothesis, the effects of aspect were greater in layering of smaller biomass. These results support the hypothesis that aspect does affect layering propagation capacity and biomass allocation in this species. Additionally, clonal reproduction and biomass allocation of modules sprouting from layering with smaller biomass was more affected by aspect. These results suggest that the clonal growth of N. tangutorum responses to the microenvironmental heterogeneity that results from aspect of the nebkha.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Aspect on Clonal Reproduction and Biomass Allocation of Layering Modules of Nitraria tangutorum in Nebkha Dunes

et al. 2013

PLoS ONE

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“…Whether the latter also applies to nebkha dunes, is unknown. Differences in vegetation density between plant species are known to modify sand deposition (Arens, 1996;Hesp, 1983;Keijsers et al, 2014;Zarnetske et al, 2012), storm erosion (Charbonneau et al, 2017;Seabloom et al, 2013), and dune morphology (Du et al, 2010;Hacker et al, 2012;Hesp, 1988). Sheltering by other nebkha dunes can decrease the sand supply but can also reduce erosion by waves (Arens, 1996;Lima et al, 2015;Luo et al, 2014;Montreuil et al, 2013).…”

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Exploring the contributions of vegetation and dune size to early dune development using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imaging

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Dune development along highly dynamic land-sea boundaries is the result of interaction between vegetation and dune size with sedimentation and erosion processes. Disentangling the contribution of vegetation characteristics from that of dune size would improve predictions of nebkha dune development under a changing climate, but has proven difficult due to the scarcity of spatially continuous monitoring data.This study explored the contributions of vegetation and dune size to dune development for locations differing in shelter from the sea. We monitored a natural nebkha dune field of 8 ha, along the coast of the island Texel, the Netherlands, for 1 year using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with camera. After constructing a digital surface model and orthomosaic we derived for each dune (1) vegetation characteristics (species composition, vegetation density, and maximum vegetation height), (2) dune size (dune volume, area, and maximum height), (3) degree of shelter (proximity to other nebkha dunes and the sheltering by the foredune). Changes in dune volume over summer and winter were related to vegetation, dune size and degree of shelter.We found that a positive change in dune volume (dune growth) was linearly related to initial dune volume over summer but not over winter. Big dunes accumulated more sand than small dunes due to their larger surface area. Exposed dunes increased more in volume (0.81 % per dune per week) than sheltered dunes (0.2 % per dune per week) over summer, while the opposite occurred over winter. Vegetation characteristics did not significantly affect dune growth in summer, but did significantly affect dune growth in winter. Over winter, dunes dominated by Ammophila arenaria, a grass species with high vegetation density throughout the year, increased more in volume than dunes dominated by Elytrigia juncea, a grass species with lower vegetation density (0.43 vs. 0.42 (m 3 m −3 ) week −1 ). The effect of species was irrespective of dune size or distance to the sea.Our results show that dune growth in summer is mainly determined by dune size, whereas in winter dune growth was determined by vegetation type. In our study area the growth of exposed dunes was likely restricted by storm erosion, whereas growth of sheltered dunes was restricted by sand supply. Our results can be used to improve models predicting coastal dune development.

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“…Plant species in this region mainly include shrubs, semi-shrubs, and small arbors. Among these, Haloxylon ammodendron, Reaumuria soongorica, Salsola passerine and Tamarix rarmosissima are fine plant species exhibiting fast growth and easy propagation for resistance to drought, salinity, and wind erosion or sand burial (Aliasgharzadeh et al, 2001;Ma et al, 2005;Song et al, 2005;Du et al, 2010). In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, different plant communities have various important impacts on the physical-chemical properties of rhizosphere soil, litter decomposition, and the carbon-nitrogen cycle of these ecosystems (Han et al, 2007;Yan et al, 2010).…”

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Saline soil enzyme activities of four plant communities in Sangong River basin of Xinjiang, China

et al. 2013

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Soil enzyme activity plays an important role in the conversion of soil organic carbon into inorganic carbon, which is significant for the global carbon cycle. In this study, we investigated the soil enzyme activities of two ligninolytic enzymes (peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase) and five non-ligninolytic enzymes (α-1,4-glucosidase (AG); β-1,4-glucosidase (BG); N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG); β-D-cellobiosidase (CBH); and β-xylosidase (BXYL)) in four plant communities of the Sangong River basin in Fukang, North Xinjiang, China. The four typical plant communities were dominated by Haloxylon ammodendron, Reaumuria soongonica, Salsola passerina, and Tamarix rarmosissima, respectively, with saline soils of varied alkalinity. The results showed that the soil peroxidase activity decreased seasonally. The activities of the five non-ligninolytic enzymes decreased with increasing soil depths, while those of the two ligninolytic enzymes did not show such a trend. In the four plant communities, BG had the highest activity among the five non-ligninolytic enzymes, and the activities of the two ligninolytic enzymes were higher than those of the four non-ligninolytic ones (AG, NAG, CBH, and BXYL). The community of H. ammodendron displayed the highest activity with respect to the two ligninolytic enzymes in most cases, but no significant differences were found among the four plant communities. The geometric mean of soil enzyme activities of the four plant communities was validated through an independently performed principal component analysis (PCA), which indicated that different plant communities had different soil enzyme activities. The correlation analysis showed that soil polyphenol oxidase activity was significantly positively correlated with the activities of the five non-ligninolytic enzymes. The soil pH value was positively correlated with the activities of all soil enzymes except peroxidase. Soil microbial carbon content also showed a significant positive correlation (P<0.01) with the activities of all soil enzymes except polyphenol oxidase. The results suggested that the H. ammodendron community has the highest ability to utilize soil organic carbon, and glucoside could be the most extensively utilized non-ligninolytic carbon source in the saline soil of arid areas in Xinjiang.

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The progress and prospects of nebkhas in arid areas

Cited by 27 publications

References 38 publications

Effects of Aspect on Clonal Reproduction and Biomass Allocation of Layering Modules of Nitraria tangutorum in Nebkha Dunes

Effects of Aspect on Clonal Reproduction and Biomass Allocation of Layering Modules of Nitraria tangutorum in Nebkha Dunes

Exploring the contributions of vegetation and dune size to early dune development using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imaging

Saline soil enzyme activities of four plant communities in Sangong River basin of Xinjiang, China

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