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Soil moisture and salt ionic composition effects on species distribution and diversity in semiarid inland saline habitats, northwestern China
Author(s) -
Zhang Dongmei,
Zhao Wenzhi,
Zhang Gefei
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
ecological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1440-1703
pISSN - 0912-3814
DOI - 10.1007/s11284-018-1570-8
Subject(s) - canonical correspondence analysis , soil salinity , species richness , environmental science , species diversity , arid , vegetation (pathology) , plant community , biomass (ecology) , agronomy , water content , soil ph , salinity , ecology , soil water , biology , soil science , medicine , geotechnical engineering , pathology , engineering
Salinization is one of the main types causing land desertification in arid and semi‐arid regions. Little is known about the impacts of salinization on the distribution and diversity of plant species, especially in semiarid inland saline habitats. We established a total of 40 sampling plots to determine plant community (floristic composition, species abundance, cover, frequency, and aboveground biomass) and soil characteristics (moisture, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and the contents of Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Cl − , SO 4 2− and HCO 3 − ). The TWINSPAN method was used to distinguish plant communities, by which three plant communities (I, II, III) were identified, namely Artemisia scoparia + Agropyron cristatum + Sophora alopecuroides (I), Kalidium gracile + Atriplex centralasiatica (II), and Salicornia europaea + Suaeda salsa (III). From I to III, the indices reflecting species diversity all decreased except for Pielou's index of evenness, while the aboveground biomass and cover increased; the characteristic indices of soil moisture, EC, the contents of Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Cl − , SO 4 2− and total dissolved salts (TDS) significantly increased, while the Ca 2+ /Na + , K + /Na + ratios and HCO 3 − content significantly decreased. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that the most important environmental factors influencing species distribution were: soil moisture, SO 4 2− , K + /Na + and pH. Stepwise multiple‐regression analysis indicated that species richness was correlated mainly with TDS and moisture. These results also suggested that vegetation can be used as a proxy indicating soil salt conditions, and their relationships can further provide important information for the improvement of salt‐affected soil's management and salt‐tolerant species utilization in environmental restoration.