IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v15y2018i5p946-d145394.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spatial Pattern and Population Structure of Artemisia ordosica Shrub in a Desert Grassland under Enclosure, Northwest China

Author

Listed:
  • Jiankang Liu

    (School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Kebin Zhang

    (School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China)

Abstract

Enclosure is an effective practice for restoring and rehabilitating the degraded grassland ecosystem caused by overgrazing. Shrub species, which are dominant in most desert grasslands in arid and semiarid regions, have some beneficial ecological functions for grassland restoration. However, how the population structure and spatial pattern of the Artemisia ordosica shrub changes in a grassland ecosystem under enclosed practice is not well understood. This study, conducted in the Mu Us desert in northwest China, was designed to measure the A. ordosica population according to the chronosequence of enclosure (enclosure periods ranged from 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and 25 years), contrasting this with an adjacent continuously grazed grassland. The results showed that the enclosed grasslands had a higher number of individuals of different age classes (seedling, adult, aging, and dead group) and greater population coverage, but shrubs had significant lower ( p < 0.05) crown diameter and height in comparison with those in continuously grazed grassland. Further, enclosed grasslands had a significantly higher ( p < 0.05) Shannon-Wiener index (H) and Evenness index (E), but a significantly lower ( p < 0.05) Richness index (R) than continuously grazed grassland. The crown of A. ordosica showed a significant linear positive correlation with height in all plots across succession, indicating that it was feasible to analyze the age structure by crown. The crown-class distribution structure of the A. ordosica population approximated a Gaussian distribution model in all survey plots. Within the population, seedling and adult groups exhibited aggregated spatial distribution at small scales, while aging and dead A. ordosica groups showed random distribution at almost all scales in different plots. The seedling A. ordosica group showed a positive correlation with adults at small scales in all plots except in 10 years of enclosure. However, it showed independent correlation with aging and dead groups at almost all scales. In long-term enclosed plots, the mortality rate of the A. ordosica population increased, therefore assistance management practices, such as fertilization, mowing, interval grazing, and seasonal grazing, must be employed to maintain population stability after long-term enclosure. This study can improve understanding and clarify the effects of enclosures in the desert grasslands of northwest China.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiankang Liu & Kebin Zhang, 2018. "Spatial Pattern and Population Structure of Artemisia ordosica Shrub in a Desert Grassland under Enclosure, Northwest China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-18, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:5:p:946-:d:145394
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/5/946/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/5/946/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xiao Wang & Bo Zhang & Kebin Zhang & Jinxing Zhou & Bilal Ahmad, 2015. "The Spatial Pattern and Interactions of Woody Plants on the Temperate Savanna of Inner Mongolia, China: The Effects of Alternating Seasonal Grazing-Mowing Regimes," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Yange Wang & Xiaohui Yang & Zhongjie Shi, 2013. "The Formation of the Patterns of Desert Shrub Communities on the Western Ordos Plateau, China: The Roles of Seed Dispersal and Sand Burial," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(7), pages 1-9, July.
    3. Quanchao Zeng & Yang Liu & Li Xiao & Yimei Huang, 2017. "How Fencing Affects the Soil Quality and Plant Biomass in the Grassland of the Loess Plateau," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-12, September.
    4. Bo Wu & Hongxiao Yang, 2013. "Spatial Patterns and Natural Recruitment of Native Shrubs in a Semi-arid Sandy Land," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(3), pages 1-10, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhiyong Zhang & Bo Zhang & Xiao Zhang & Xiaohui Yang & Zhongjie Shi & Yanshu Liu, 2019. "Grazing Altered the Pattern of Woody Plants and Shrub Encroachment in a Temperate Savanna Ecosystem," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Lina Jiang & Xiao Wang & Long Li & Zhongjie Shi & Xiaohui Yang, 2017. "Spatial Association of Shrubs and Their Interrelation to Burrowing Site Preference of Subterranean Rodents on Dune Slope in the Otindag Sandy Land, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-15, September.
    3. Naveed Alam & Eve Bohnett & Muhammad Zafar & Hassan Sher & Bilal Ahmad & Mohamed Fawzy Ramadan & Mushtaq Ahmad & Zahid Ullah & Ahmad Ali & Shujaul Mulk Khan & Kashmala Syed, 2023. "Impact of Anthropogenic Threats on Species Diversity: A Case Study of the Sub-Himalayan Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests of Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Kang Ma & Yuxiu Zhang & Mengying Ruan & Jing Guo & Tuanyao Chai, 2019. "Land Subsidence in a Coal Mining Area Reduced Soil Fertility and Led to Soil Degradation in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-14, October.
    5. Jan J Quets & Stijn Temmerman & Magdy I El-Bana & Saud L Al-Rowaily & Abdulaziz M Assaeed & Ivan Nijs, 2014. "Use of Spatial Analysis to Test Hypotheses on Plant Recruitment in a Hyper-Arid Ecosystem," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(3), pages 1-11, March.
    6. Li, N. & Yan, C.Z. & Xie, J.L., 2015. "Remote sensing monitoring recent rapid increase of coal mining activity of an important energy base in northern China, a case study of Mu Us Sandy Land," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 129-135.
    7. Xiao Wang & Bo Zhang & Kebin Zhang & Jinxing Zhou & Bilal Ahmad, 2015. "The Spatial Pattern and Interactions of Woody Plants on the Temperate Savanna of Inner Mongolia, China: The Effects of Alternating Seasonal Grazing-Mowing Regimes," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    8. Gang Li & Zhi Zhang & Linlu Shi & Yan Zhou & Meng Yang & Jiaxi Cao & Shuhong Wu & Guangchun Lei, 2018. "Effects of Different Grazing Intensities on Soil C, N, and P in an Alpine Meadow on the Qinghai—Tibetan Plateau, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:5:p:946-:d:145394. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.