Please wait a minute...
Journal of Arid Land  2014, Vol. 6 Issue (3): 343-351    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-013-0204-9
Research Articles     
Effects of vegetation cover on recruitment of Ulmus pumila L. in Horqin Sandy Land, northeastern China
DeMing JIANG1, Yi TANG1, Carlos A BUSSO2
1 Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China;
2 Agronomy Department, National University of the South and CERZOS (CONICET), Bahía Blanca 8000, Argentina
Download:   PDF(527KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      

Abstract  Understanding the effects of vegetation cover on seedling survival is helpful for promoting vegetation restoration in environmentally fragile zones. This study was conducted in the desertified, moving sand dunes of Horqin Sandy Land, Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. We hyphothesized that (1) seed density (i.e., number/m2) increases as vegetation cover increases, and (2) there will be more surviving seedlings in locations with higher vegetation covers. Total vegetation cover and initial densities of seeds, germinated seeds and surviving seedlings of Ulmus pumilia were evaluated under various vegetation covers in trying to clarify the effects of vegetation cover on the early stages of the plant life history. In agreement with the first hypothesis, initial seed densities were greater (P<0.05) under higher vegetation covers. The relationship between vegetation cover and initial seed density was represented by a quadratic regression, where a threshold occurred with a vegetation cover of 36% (P<0.05). The higher total vegetation covers, however, did not result in increased densities of germinated seeds (P>0.05), which on average represented 16.7% of initial seed densities. Even more, three months after the study initiation, total vegetation covers were similar (P>0.05) at all positions in the dunes, and they determined a similar number (P>0.05) of surviving seedlings at those positions (i.e. the second hypothesis had to be rejected). The mean number of seedlings that survived at all positions was only 4.5% of germinated seeds. The number of surviving elm seedlings (0 to 1.7 seedlings/m2) under various vegetations covers (12.2% to 20.8%) at all dune positions by late summer would most likely not contribute to vegetation restoration in the study area.

Key wordsSayram Lake      climate change      water body extraction      areal variation      inland alpine lake     
Received: 08 May 2013      Published: 10 June 2014
Fund:  

This work was supported by the State Key Development Program for Basic Research (2013CB429905), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41201052 and 41071187) and the National Department Public Benefit Research Foundation (201004023). Author BUSSO thanks the Third World Academy
of Sciences for the Associateship (TWAS), and the Institute of Applied Ecology, Shenyang, China for covering all expenses which allowed him to collaborate in this work.

Corresponding Authors: Carlos A BUSSO     E-mail: cebusso@criba.edu.ar
Cite this article:

DeMing JIANG, Yi TANG, Carlos A BUSSO. Effects of vegetation cover on recruitment of Ulmus pumila L. in Horqin Sandy Land, northeastern China. Journal of Arid Land, 2014, 6(3): 343-351.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-013-0204-9     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2014/V6/I3/343

Aguiar M R, Sala O E. 1999. Patch structure, dynamics and implications for the functioning of arid ecosystems. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 14: 273–277.

Bekker R M, Bakker J P, Grandin U, et al. 1998. Seed size, shape and vertical distribution in the soil: indicators of seed longevity. Functional Ecology, 12: 834–842.

Bell T R, Freckleton P, Lewis O T. 2006. Plants pathogens drive density-dependent seedling mortality in a tropical tree. Ecology Letters, 9: 569–574.

Bellairs S M, Bell D T. 1990. Temperature effects on the seed-germination of 10 kwongan species from Eneabba, Western-Australia. Australian Journal of Botany, 38: 451–458.

Busso C A, Bonvissuto G L, Torres Y A. 2012. Germination and seedling establishment of grasses and shrubs in arid Patagonia, Argentina. Land Degradation and Development, 23: 116–129

Cao C Y, Jiang S Y, Ying Z, et al. 2011. Spatial variability of soil nutrients and microbiological properties after the establishment of leguminous shrub Caragana microphylla Lam. Plantation on sand dune in the Horqin sandy land of Northeast China. Ecological Engineering, 37: 1467–1475.

De Jong T, Klinkhamer P G L. 1988. Seedling establishment of the biennials Cirsium vulgare and Cynoglossum officinale in a sand-dune area: the importance of water for differential survival and growth. Journal of Ecology, 76: 393–402.

Dupuy J M, Chazdon R L. 2006. Effects of vegetation cover on seedling and sapling dynamics in secondary tropical west forests in Costa Rica. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 22: 65–76.

Fitter A H, Hay R K. 1983. Environmental Physiology of Plants. New York: Academic Press.

Flemmer A C, Busso C A, Fernández O A, et al. 2003. Effects of defoliation under varying soil water regimes on aboveground biomass of perennial grasses. Arid Soil Research and Management, 17: 139–152.

Florentine S K, Fox J E D. 2003. Competition between Eucalyptus victrix seedlings and grass species. Ecological Research, 18: 25–39.

Franks S J. 2003. Facilitation in multiple life-history phases: evidence for nucleated succession in coastal dunes. Plant Ecology, 168: 1–11.

Grant-Hoffman M N, Mulder C P, Bellingham P J. 2010. Invasive rats alter woody seedling composition on seabird-dominated islands in New Zealand. Oecologia, 163: 449–460.

Hawkins B J, Henry G, Kiiskila S B R. 1998. Biomass and nutrient allocation in douglas-fir and amabilis fir seedlings: influence of growth rate and nutrition. Tree Physiology, 18: 803–810.

Houle G. 1998. Seed dispersal and seedling recruitment of Betula alleghaniensis: spatial inconsistency in time. Ecology, 79: 807–818.

Hubbard R L. 1957. The effect of plant competition on the growth and survival of bitterbrush seedlings. Journal of Range Management, 10: 135–137.

Ingle N R. 2003. Seed dispersal by wind, birds, and bats between Philippine montane rainforest and successional vegetation. Oecologia, 134: 251–261. Kellman M, Kading M. 1992. Facilitation of tree seedling establishment in a sand dune succession. Journal of Vegetation Science, 3: 679–688.

Larcher W. 2003. Physiological Plant Ecology. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

Li Y G, Jiang G M, Gao L M, et al. 2003. Impacts of human disturbance on elms-motte-veldt in Hunshandak sandland. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica, 27: 829–834.

Li Y G, Li L H, Jiang GM, et al. 2004. Traits of chlorophyll fluorescence in 99 plant species from the sparse-elm grassland in Hunshandak Sandland. Photosynthetica, 42: 243–249.

Liu H Y, Cui H T. 2009. Patterns of plant biodiversity in the woodlandsteppe ecotone in southeastern Inner Mongolia. Contemporary Problems of Ecology, 2: 322–329.

Liu M Z, Jiang G M, Yu S L, et al. 2009. The role of soil seed banks in natural restoration of the degraded Hunshandak Sandlands, Northern China. Restoration Ecology, 17: 127–136.

Liu Y X, Yang X L, Yao Y Y, et al. 1985. Flora in Deserts. Beijing: Science Press, 546.

Luisa M M, Gabriela V, Salvador S C. 2001. Spatial and temporal variability during primary succession on tropical coastal sand dunes. Journal of Vegetation Science, 12: 361–372.

Ma J L, Liu Z M 2008. Spatiotemporal pattern of seed bank in the annual psammophyte Agriophyllum squarrosum Moq. (Chenopodiaceae) on the active sand dunes of northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Plant and Soil, 311: 97–107.

Maun M A. 1981. Seed germination and seedling establishment of Calamovilfa longifolia on lake Huron sand dunes. Canadian Journal of Botany, 59: 460–469.

Maun M A. 1994. Adaptations enhancing survival and establishment of seedlings on coast dune systems. Vegetation, 111: 59-70.

McAlpine K G, Jesson L K. 2008. Linking seed dispersal, germination and seedling recruitment in the invasive species Berberis darwinii (Darwin’s barberry). Plant Ecology, 197:119–129.

Pyke D A. 1990. Comparative demography of cooccuring introduced and native tussock grasses-persistence and potential expansion. Oecologia, 82: 537–543.

Queenborough S A, Burslem D, Garwood N C, et al. 2007. Neighborhood and community interactions determine the spatial pattern of tropical tree seedling survival. Ecology, 88: 2248–2258.

Salihi D O, Norton B E. 1987. Survival of perennial grass seedlings under intensive grazing in semiarid rangelands. Journal of Applied Ecology, 24: 145–151.

Shi L, Zhang Z J, Zhang C Y, et al. 2004. Effects of sand burial on survival, growth, gas exchange and biomass allocation of Ulmus pumila seedlings in the Hunshandak Sandland, China. Annals of Botany London, 94: 553–560.

Soriano A, Sala O E. 1986. Emergence and survival of Bromus setifolius seedlings in different microsites of a Patagonian arid steppe. Israeli Journal of Botany, 35: 91–100.

Tognetti R, Minotta G, Pinzauti S, et al. 1998. Acclimation to changing light conditions of long-term shade-grown beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings of different geographic origins. Trees, 12: 326–333.

Welander N T, Ottosson B. 2000. The influence of low light, drought and fertilization on transpiration and growth in young seedlings of Quercus robur L. Forest Ecology and Management, 127: 139–151..

Went F W. 1949. Ecology of desert plants. II. The effect of rain and temperature on germination and growth. Journal of Ecology, 30: 1–13.

Yu S L, Bell D, Bar Kutiel P. 2009. Impact of microhabitats on the heterogeneity of seedling emergence in a Mediterranean coastal sand dunes community. Ecoscience, 16: 369–378.

Zheng K Y, Xie Z, Gao Y, et al. 2004. Germination responses of Caragana korshinskii Kom. to light, temperature and water stress. Ecological Research, 19: 553–558.

Zhou Q L, Jiang D M, Liu Z M, et al. 2012. The return and loss of litter phosphorus in different types of sand dunes in Horqin Sandy Land, northeastern China. Journal of Arid Land, 4: 431–440.
[1] BAI Jie, LI Junli, BAO Anmin, CHANG Cun. Spatial-temporal variations of ecological vulnerability in the Tarim River Basin, Northwest China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(8): 814-834.
[2] WU Jun, DENG Guoning, ZHOU Dongmei, ZHU Xiaoyan, MA Jing, CEN Guozhang, JIN Yinli, ZHANG Jun. Effects of climate change and land-use changes on spatiotemporal distributions of blue water and green water in Ningxia, Northwest China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(7): 674-687.
[3] WANG Yuejian, GU Xinchen, YANG Guang, YAO Junqiang, LIAO Na. Impacts of climate change and human activities on water resources in the Ebinur Lake Basin, Northwest China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(6): 581-598.
[4] SA Chula, MENG Fanhao, LUO Min, LI Chenhao, WANG Mulan, ADIYA Saruulzaya, BAO Yuhai. Spatiotemporal variation in snow cover and its effects on grassland phenology on the Mongolian Plateau[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(4): 332-349.
[5] Ayad M F AL-QURAISHI, Heman A GAZNAYEE, Mattia CRESPI. Drought trend analysis in a semi-arid area of Iraq based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Water Index and Standardized Precipitation Index[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(4): 413-430.
[6] Adilov BEKZOD, Shomurodov HABIBULLO, FAN Lianlian, LI Kaihui, MA Xuexi, LI Yaoming. Transformation of vegetative cover on the Ustyurt Plateau of Central Asia as a consequence of the Aral Sea shrinkage[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(1): 71-87.
[7] HUANG Xiaotao, LUO Geping, CHEN Chunbo, PENG Jian, ZHANG Chujie, ZHOU Huakun, YAO Buqing, MA Zhen, XI Xiaoyan. How precipitation and grazing influence the ecological functions of drought-prone grasslands on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, China?[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(1): 88-97.
[8] Farzaneh KHAJOEI NASAB, Ahmadreza MEHRABIAN, Hossein MOSTAFAVI. Mapping the current and future distributions of Onosma species endemic to Iran[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(6): 1031-1045.
[9] Mahsa MIRDASHTVAN, Mohsen MOHSENI SARAVI. Influence of non-stationarity and auto-correlation of climatic records on spatio-temporal trend and seasonality analysis in a region with prevailing arid and semi-arid climate, Iran[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(6): 964-983.
[10] XU Bo, HUGJILTU Minggagud, BAOYIN Taogetao, ZHONG Yankai, BAO Qinghai, ZHOU Yanlin, LIU Zhiying. Rapid loss of leguminous species in the semi-arid grasslands of northern China under climate change and mowing from 1982 to 2011[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(5): 752-765.
[11] FENG Jian, ZHAO Lingdi, ZHANG Yibo, SUN Lingxiao, YU Xiang, YU Yang. Can climate change influence agricultural GTFP in arid and semi-arid regions of Northwest China?[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(5): 837-853.
[12] ZHOU Zuhao, HAN Ning, LIU Jiajia, YAN Ziqi, XU Chongyu, CAI Jingya, SHANG Yizi, ZHU Jiasong. Glacier variations and their response to climate change in an arid inland river basin of Northwest China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(3): 357-373.
[13] LI Xuemei, Slobodan P SIMONOVIC, LI Lanhai, ZHANG Xueting, QIN Qirui. Performance and uncertainty analysis of a short-term climate reconstruction based on multi-source data in the Tianshan Mountains region, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(3): 374-396.
[14] BAI Haihua, YIN Yanting, Jane ADDISON, HOU Yulu, WANG Linhe, HOU Xiangyang. Market opportunities do not explain the ability of herders to meet livelihood objectives over winter on the Mongolian Plateau[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(3): 522-537.
[15] QIAO Xianguo, GUO Ke, LI Guoqing, ZHAO Liqing, LI Frank Yonghong, GAO Chenguang. Assessing the collapse risk of Stipa bungeana grassland in China based on its distribution changes[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(2): 303-317.