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Arid Land Geography ›› 2019, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (3): 606-614.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2019.03.17

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Changes of carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry in the restoration process of degraded vegetation in Horqin Sandy Land

LYU Peng1,2,3, ZUO Xiao'an1,2, SUN Shanshan1,3, ZHANG Jing1,2,3, ZHAO Shenglong2,3,CHENG Qingping2,3, HU Ya2,3   

  1. (1 Naiman Desertification Research Station,Northwest Institute of EcoEnvironment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou 730000,Gansu,China; 2 Urat Desertgrassland Research Station,Northwest Institute of EcoEnvironment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou 730000,Gansu,China; 3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China)
  • Received:2018-11-15 Revised:2019-01-25 Online:2019-05-25 Published:2019-05-21

Abstract: In this paper,the carbon and nitrogen stoichiometric amounts of plantsoil system were investigated along with the restoration sequence of degraded vegetation in Horqin Sandy Land,Inner Mongolia,China.This would be helpful to definite the changes of carbonnitrogen stoichiometric amounts of plantsoil system in the restoration of degraded vegetation and quantify the relationship between carbonnitrogen stoichiometric amounts and species richness,which provided the theoretical foundation for the sustainable management and utilization of sandy grassland.A total of 24 plots with the size of 20 m×20 m were set up at four habitats ( mobile dune,semifixed dune,fixed dune and grassland ),each habitat had 6 replicated plots.The distance between each plot was in the range from 0.5 to 8 km.Three quadrats with the size of 1 m×1 m were selected for plant and soil sampling in each plot in midAugust of 2011,2013 and 2015.Then the C and N contents of plantsoil system were analysed by Costech Elemental Combustion System 4010,Italy.The resluts shown as follows: (1) With the restoration of degraded vegetation,the C and N contents and C/N ratios of aboveground plant,litter and root had a fluctuated change trend,while the C and N content and C/N ratio of soil (010 cm) was increased significantly (P <0.05).The N content of aboveground plant in mobile dune was the highest,thus the C/N ratio was much lower than other habitats.On the other hand,the N contents of litter and root in semifixed dune were relatively lower than other habitats,which led to the higher C/N ratios of litter and root in semifixed dune. (2) From 2011 to 2015,the average C content of above ground plant changed a little,while the N content was significantly increased (P <0.01).The C and N content and C/N ratio of litter fluctuated smoothly,while there was no significant difference of that for root between years.On the other hand,the C content and C/N ratio of soil changed undulately,but the N content was increased significantly ([WTBX]P[WTBZ]<0.01). (3) The C/N ratio of aboveground plant,litter,soil had positive linear relationship with species richness in the restoration process of degraded vegetation (P <0.01).In conclusion,the succession of dominant vegetation in the restoration process of degraded vegetation led to the changes of C and N stoichiometric amounts of plantsoil system,the N use efficiency was also increased with the restoration of degraded vegetation.Moreover,the increase of fencing time promotes the accumulation of soil N in sandy land.

Key words: C and N contents, C/N ratios, restoration of degraded vegetation, restoration ages, Horqin Sandy Land