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Arid Land Geography ›› 2022, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (5): 1579-1590.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2022.054

• Biology and Pedology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Coupling relationship between growth and soil moisture change of Haloxylon ammodendron plantation without irrigation

ZHU Jialong1,2,3,4(),ZHOU Zhibin1,2,3(),WANG Lisheng5,LYU Ping5,JIANG Yongxue6   

  1. 1. National Engineering Technology Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
    2. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
    3. Mosuowan Desert Research Station, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shihezi 832000, Xinjiang, China
    4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    5. Forestry and Grassland Work General Station of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Urumqi 830013, Xinjiang, China
    6. Xinjiang Ruiyixin Ecological Garden Technology Co., Ltd., Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2022-02-15 Revised:2022-03-15 Online:2022-09-25 Published:2022-10-20
  • Contact: Zhibin ZHOU E-mail:zhujialong19@mails.ucas.ac.cn;zhouzb@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Abstract:

To study the ecological characteristics of the no-irrigation artificial Haloxylon ammodendron forest under the site conditions of the takyr soil in the desert oasis transition zone of Gurbantunggut Desert in Xinjiang, China, and to investigate the optimal planting density of the stand, this study analyzed the initial planting of the H. ammodendron natural regeneration seedlings and soil moisture in different slope positions in the Mosuowan Desert Research Station for 38 years (1983—2021). The growth response of H. ammodendron to the density difference was studied, and the variation characteristics of soil moisture in each forest land were analyzed. The relationship between the H. ammodendron growth and soil moisture was discussed to provide the scientific basis for the construction and sustainability of artificial H. ammodendron forest. The results showed that: (1) When the afforestation density of H. ammodendron is 6 m×3.5 m (480 plants·hm-2), the survival rate of the mother tree is the highest. The ratio of mother tree preservation rate to H. ammodendron natural regeneration decreased gradually as afforestation density increased. The higher the density of the mother tree, the poorer the growth and biomass. The poorer the growth and biomass of the H. ammodendron regeneration seedlings, the greater the coverage and canopy density. (2) There was a significant negative correlation between the growth of H. ammodendron and the soil water content at a root depth of 140-280 cm (P<0.05); the soil water at the root depth of 140-240 cm was mainly used. Compared with the three woodlands, the higher the soil water content in this layer, the better the growth of the mother tree and the higher the biomass. (3) When the retention density of the mother tree was 360 plants·hm-2 (spacing between plants and rows: 4 m×7 m), the growth was better, overall biomass higher, understory vegetation more abundant, and soil moisture condition of the forest land was relatively good. To summarize, maintaining this density in the construction of artificial forests in this area is more conducive to the stability of irrigation-free artificial H. ammodendron forests for the continuous benefit of wind prevention and sand fixation.

Key words: takyr soil, artificial Haloxylon ammodendron forest, catchment afforestation, growth characteristics, soil moisture