Search

Water use efficiency (WUE) is a key indicator for predicting the impacts of climate change on ecosystem carbon and water cycles. Most studies have explored the changes in the response environment of WUE at a particular scale. Few studies have examined how WUE responds to environments at multiple scales, thus limiting our in-depth understanding of the cross-scale carbon and water cycles. In this study, we measured photosynthesis and transpiration in situ periodically and continuously from June to October 2022 in a community dominated by Artemisia ordosica in Mu Us Sandy Land, and analyzed the seasonal variations in WUE at leaf, canopy, and ecosystem scales. The results showed there were significant seasonal variations in leaf water use efficiency (WUE L ), canopy water use efficiency (WUE T ), and ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE E ). WUE L was large in June and small in both August and September, ranging from 0.73-2.98 μmol·mmol -1 . Both WUE T and WUE E were lowest in June and highest in July and August, ranging from 0.10-7.00 and 0.06-6.25 μmol·mmol -1 . WUE L was significantly negatively correlated with stomatal conductance. WUE T was significantly positively correlated with canopy conduc-tance and soil water content, and negatively correlated with vapor pressure deficit (VPD). There was a significant positive correlation between WUE E and soil water content (SWC 10 ) in 10 cm soil depth. The structural equation model showed that SWC 10 and air temperature affected net photosynthetic rate and transpiration rate by modifying stomatal conductance, and thus affecting WUE L . VPD and SWC 10 affected WUE T by altering transpiration. SWC 10 , air temperature, and VPD affected WUE E by regulating ecosystem gross primary productivity. The modelling of carbon and water cycles should thoroughly consider the path and intensity of the effect of environmental factors on WUE at multiple scales.

Shrubs play an important role in maintaining biodiversity, stability and ecological service in grassland. Exploring the effects of enclosure on dominant shrub population can provide scientific guidance for grassland restoration and tending management. In this study, we investigated main growth characteristics and spatial distribution pattern of Artemisia ordosica population in four enclosed grasslands with duration of 0, 5, 15, and 25 years. The results showed that population density increased first and then decreased with time extension, and peaked after enclosed for 15 years, which was 3.7 times that of unenclosed plot. The crown and projected area showed opposite responses trend to that of density, which decreased by 31.7% and 52.3% after enclosed 15 years, respectively. The height decreased by 25.3% after 5 years of enclosure, and then increased gradually. Semi-variance function analysis showed that population distribution in all grasslands conformed to Gaussian model. The spatial variation decreased gradually in the early stage of enclosure, and then increased after enclosed for 15 years. Structure ratio in each plot was higher than 0.75, but nugget was relatively small, indicating that spatial autocorrelation of population was mainly affected by structural factors rather than random factors. Spatial distribution of A. ordosica population was patchy and striped. Enclosure reduced spatial variation of population at small scale. However, spatial heterogeneity and scale dependence of population enhanced after enclosed 25 years as plaque dissociating. Our findings suggest that enclosure duration is the key factor affecting plant growth and spatial distribution of dominant population in desert steppe. Long-term fencing enhances the spatial heterogeneity of dominant population. Appropriate human intervention should be carried out after 15 years of enclosure.

We explored the stoichiometric characteristic of Artemisia sacrorum communities and its correlation with soil characters by considering the aspect and slope position, and variation of soil nutrient in Yangqingchuan catchment of Wuqi. Our results showed that total carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus contents and C:N ratio in A. sacrorum (both shoot and root) in the top of hillock>sunny slope>semi-shady slope>shady slope. The C:P ratio in shoot and the N:P ratio in root decreased consistently. The N:P ratio in shoot and the C:P ratio in root decreased first and then increased. While the total nitrogen and total phosphorus in shoot, and the organic carbon in root increased first and then decreased with the decreases of slope position, the C:N ratio and N:P ratio in shoot decreased first and then increased. The stoichiometric characteristic of A. sacrorum communities was positively correlated with the soil stoichiometric characteristics. However, the C:N ratio, C:P ratio and N:P ratio of A. sacrorum and the total phosphorus of root were negatively correlated to corresponding soil indices. The correlation between shoot nutrition and soil was greater than that between soil and root nutrition. In conclusion, middle position of shady slope was optimal for the growth of A. sacrorum. The stoichiometric characteristics of plants were significantly correlated with soil nutrient condition. Aspect and slope position had a significant effect on the stoichiometric cha-racteristics of A. sacrorum community and soil. Proper A. sacrorum community could help restore soil nutrition.

To understand the intra- and inter-annual population dynamics of Artemisia scoparia in the desert steppe, we set up three treatments, i.e., increasing the precipitation by 30%, reducing the precipitation by 30%, and the control (CK) in each soil habitat of aeolian sandy soil, sierozem soil, and bedrock weathered sedimentary soil. We drew up the dynamic life table to produce population survival and death curves and analyzed the population dynamics of A. scoparia in different habitats. Results showed that the survival curve of A. scoparia was approached to Deevey-1type. The survival rate was high in the early growth stage and tended to be relatively stable. The mortality rate maintained at a low level, but rose fast at the end of the growth stage. The individual survival number of A. scoparia in all habitats fluctuated at the early stage and declined at the later stage. The mortality rates of A. scoparia in habitats of both aeolian sandy soil and sierozem soil fluctuated greatly. There was no significant difference in the effects of increased and decreased precipitation treatments on the mortality rate of A. scoparia. Soil types had significant effects on all parameters, including the plant height, crown width, density, cover, and biomass of A. scoparia. Precipitation treatments had significant impacts on plant height, crown width and coverage of A. scoparia, and had no significant effect on plant density and biomass. The interactions between soil type and precipitation treatments had only a significant impact on plant height and crown width. The plasticity index of biomass in the habitat of bedrock weathered sedimentary soil was significantly higher than that in habitats of aeolian sandy soil and sierozem soil, while the plasticity index of plant coverage in the habitats of both sierozem soil and bedrock weathered sedimentary soil were significantly higher than that in the habitat of aeolian sandy soil. The density plasticity index of increased precipitation treatment was significantly higher than those of CK and the decreased precipitation treatments. The plasticity index of plant height and crown width were higher than other parameters, indicating that A. scoparia could respond to habitat changes by giving priority to these two parameters under different habitat pressures.

Water is a major limiting factor for plant growth in arid and semi-arid regions. To find out the main sources of water for two artificial sand-fixation plants (Caragana korshinskii and Artemisia ordosica), we analyzed the characteristics of hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes in water molecules of rainfall, soil water and xylem water. To analyze water sources of these two plants, we used a direct comparison method and a multi-variate mixed linear model. The results showed that an equation of local meteoric water line in Shapotou was δD=7.83δ 18 O+5.64 (R 2 =0.91). The value for rainfall δ 18 O varied during plant-growing season, which was higher in the beginning and end of growing season, and lower in the peak of growing season. The value for soil water δ 18 O in the upper layers changed dramatically. The change range became smaller in the deeper soil layer. C. korshinskii had a greater efficiency (56.1%) in utilizing soil water in 40-80 cm soil layer. A. ordosica had a utilizing efficiency of 56.4% in 20-60 cm soil layer. A week after rain event, C. korshinskii and A. ordosica showed a higher efficiency in upper soil water. C. korshinskii showed an increase of 12.5% in utilizing soil water in 0-40 cm soil layer and A. ordosicas showed an increase of 10% in utilizing soil water in 0-20 cm layer. These results suggested that C. korshinskii and A. ordosica changed their water use strategy after large rainfall events, which might enable them to more easily adapt to arid environment.

Rainfall partitioning by desert shrub canopy modifies the redistribution of incident rainfall under the canopy, and may affect the distribution pattern of soil moisture around the plant. This study examined the distribution of rainfall and the response of soil moisture beneath the canopy of two dominant desert shrubs, Caragana korshinskii and Artemisia ordosica, in the revegetation area at the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert. The results showed that throughfall and stemflow ave-ragely occupied 74.4%, 11.3% and 61.8%, 5.5% of the gross precipitation for C. korshinskii and A. ordosica, respectively. The mean coefficients of variation (CV) of throughfall were 0.25 and 0.30, respectively. C. korshinski were more efficient than A. ordosica on stemflow generation. The depth of soil wetting front around the stem area was greater than other areas under shrub canopy for C. korshinski, and it was only significantly greater under bigger rain events for A. ordosica. The shrub canopy could cause the unevenness of soil wetting front under the canopy in consequence of rainfall redistribution induced by xerophytic shrub.

The paper focused on Artemisia sacrorum in the stable natural plant community in three vegetation zones (forest, forest steppe and steppe) in the Yanhe River catchment. The following plant functional traits were measured at each sample site, i.e., specific leaf area (SLA), leaf tissue density (LTD), leaf nitrogen concentration (LNC), leaf phosphorus concentration (LPC), leaf nitrogen phosphorus ratio (LNP), specific root length (SRL), root tissue density (RTD), root nitrogen concentration (RNC), root phosphorus concentration (RPC) and root nitrogen phosphorus ratio (RNP). These 10 plant functional traits were chosen because they were easily measurable and adequately reflected plant survival strategies. We analyzed intraspecific differences in A. sacrorum functional traits in the different habitat zones, and the influence of climate and terrain factors on A. sacrorum functional traits. We also studied the relationships among A. sacrorum plant functional traits. The results showed that some A. sacrorum functional traits were significantly different among sample sites, such as LPC, LNP, SRL, RTD and RNP, while the other 5 functional traits had no significant differences. The functional traits were not significantly different between sites with different slopes and aspects. SLA was very significantly negatively correlated with LTD, SRL was significantly negatively correlated with RTD and RNP, RTD was significantly positively correlated with RNC and RNP, and there were no significant relationships among LTD, LNC and LNP and the other functional traits. This showed that A. sacrorum adapted to the environment by coordinating adjustment among leaf and root functional traits. Different climate factors had different effects on plant traits, with the effects of mean annual precipitation > mean annual temperature > annual average evaporation capacity.

This paper studied the community characteristics of two sand-fixing plants (Artemisia ordosica and Caragana korshinskii) under different configuration modes (1 m x 1 m and 2 m x 2 m) in the Shapotou region of Northwest China as well as the water relation, gas exchange, and their adjustment mechanisms of the plants under natural and artificial precipitation conditions. With the variation of soil water content, the physiological water consumption and growth characteristics of A. ordosica differed from those of C. korshinskii. A. ordosica presented obvious fluctuation in the stomatal conductance, water potential, transpiration rate, photosynthetic rate, and rapid growth, and had higher water consumption than C. korshinskii. However, the variations of the above-mentioned indices of C. korshinskii were relatively slow and more constant. The C. korshinskii had a lower photosynthetic rate but a very high accumulated biomass over years than A. ordosica. The response procedures and adjustment mechanisms of the two plants under water stress differed, with a water-conserving mechanism for A. ordosica and a water-saving mechanism for C. korshinskii. In extremely drought years, the C. korshinskii had stronger capabilities of water-saving and stress tolerance than A. ordosica. It was suggested that the selection of sand-fixing plants should have a view to the benefits in water saving and sand fixation, and also, to the stability of sand-fixing forest.

By using modified Levins niche width index and Pianka niche overlap index, this paper analyzed the ecological competition between constructive and dominant species in a typical steppe. The stem- and leaf extracts from the constructive species (Artemisia sacrorum) were utilized to study their allelopathic potential on the seed germination and plant growth of the dominant species (Stipa bungeana, Thymus mongolicus, S. grandis, and Leymus secalinus), and the ecological position of A. sacrorum in the steppe succession. In the steppe, S. bungeana had the widest niche width (0.99), followed by T. mongolicus (0.94), A. sacrorum (0.82), S. grandis (0.76), and L. secalinus (0.73). The niche overlap value between A. sacrorum and S. bungeana, S. bungeana and T. mongolicus, T. mongolicus and S. grandis, and A. sacrorum and T. mongolicus was 0.90, 0.95, 0.94, and 0.86, respectively. The allelopathic effects of A. sacrorum extracts varied with their concentration. For the seed germination, root growth, and shoot growth of the dominant species, A. sacrorum extracts showed a trend of promoting at low concentrations and inhibiting at high concentrations. The extracts of A. sacrorum had a stronger promotion effect on the root growth of S. bungeana than on that of T. mongolicus, but a stronger inhibition effect on the shoot growth of T. mongolicus than on that of S. bungeana. Methanol extracts had stronger allelopathic effects than aqueous extracts. The high niche overlap between A. sacrorum and S. bungeana, and T. mongolicus and S. grandis indicated that the steppe community would continue succession to S. bungeana, while A. sacrorum population was only an important transitional stage during the succession. The allelopathic effect of A. sacrorum played a driving role in the succession process.

Five sites along the precipitation gradient (336-249 mm x a(-1)) from east to west in Ordos Plateau were selected to study the spatial distribution pattern of Artemisia ordosica population and its responses to the precipitation gradient by the methods of variance mean ratio, aggregative index, and point pattern analysis. The reduction of precipitation affected the spatial distribution pattern of A. ordosica population significantly. With decreasing precipitation gradient, the spatial pattern of A. ordosica population changed from uniform to random in small scale, and from random to clumpy in large scale, suggesting that in the ecological restoration of Ordos Plateau, a rational arrangement of A. ordosica should be made.

The study on the viability and germination characteristics of canopy-stored seeds remained in canopy until next May after maturation of 10 plants species in Horqin sandy land showed that more than 80% of the canopy-stored seeds of psammophytes such as Agriophyllum squarrosum, Artemisia wudanica and A. halodendron had viability, while less than 80% or even less than 30% of non-psammophytes seeds had viability. The canopy-stored seeds of psammophytes presented a rapid germination pattern. The canopy seed bank made the seed release of psammophytes postponed until the windy season ended and the rainy season started, when the seeds had high viability and could germinate rapidly. The canopy seed bank is one of ways for psammophytes to adapt drift sand and seasonal drought.

The study on the germination characteristics of newly collected and one year-buried seeds of 65 plant species on Horqin semi-arid steppe showed that after one year's burial, the seeds of 38 plant species still remained their vitality. For the species whose freshly collected seeds had a germination rate higher than 80%, the seed germination rate after burial was decreased, while it was in adverse for those whose freshly collected seeds had a germination rate less than 80%. The effects of burial on seed germination varied with the ecological types of the species (i.e., weed, steppe species, meadow species, and psammophytes). After one year's burial, the germination rate of perennials had no significant increase, but that of annuals increased significantly (P < 0.05). The species with a < 10% difference of germination rate between their freshly collected and one year-buried seeds could be classified into three categories, according to the seed germination pattern, i.e., germination was promoted by burial (e.g. Artemisia halodendron), restrained by burial (e.g. A. sieversiana); and unchanged after burial (e.g. Lappula myosotis).

The seed germination, seedling growth and water absorption characteristic of Caragana korshinskii, Hedysarum scoparium, and Artemisia sphearocephala were investigated under different osmotic potentials (PEG 6000, -0.3(-) -2.7 MPa). The results showed that under drought stress, C. korshinskii had the highest germination rate, while A. sphearocephala had the lowest one. Under -0.3(-) -0.6 MPa, the root length of 10-day-old A. sphearocephala seedling was significantly longer than that of H. scoparium and Caragana korshinskii(P < 0.05), and the length reached 7.9, 4.5 and 3.1 cm, respectively. There existed a significant positive correlation between seed germination rate and 72 h water absorption rate of the three shrub seeds(P < 0.01). The relationships among germination characteristics, root length, and survive percentage of seedlings were also discussed.

The photosynthetic and water physioecological characteristics of four dominant species, Caragana microphylla, Artemisia halodendron, Artemisia frigida and Populus spp(a hybrid), in Kerqin sandy land were compared. The photosynthesis rates of C. microphylla, A. halodendron, and Populus spp. reached highest at 6:00, rapidly fall at 8:00, remained at low level from 8:00 to 16:00, then rose slowly after 16:00. The photosynthesis rate of A. frigida was comparatively low at 6:00, so the range of declining speed was small. Diurnal photosynthesis rate of Artemisia frigida decreased at 6:00-8:00, C. microphylla at 8:00-10:00, Populus spp and. A. halodendron at 6:00-10:00, and was controlled by stomatal limitation; in rest time, it was controlled by non-stomatal limitation. The four species also adapted different ways to resist drought stress. C. microphylla and A. frigida resisted drought stress through their low transpiration, low water potential and high ratio of bound water to free water(BW/FW); Populus spp. resisted drought stress through its rapid fall of stomatal conductivity to reduce its transpiration in spite of its high water potential and high BW/FW, while A. halodendron resisted drought stress weakly because of its high transpiration, high water consumption and low water use efficiency.