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Background and aims: Increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition under global climate change is known to reduce plant species richness in terrestrial ecosystems, with potentially important implications for ecosystem function and processes. However, knowledge gaps remain in our understanding of how N deposition affects the different aspects of plant community diversity (e.g., species, functional, and phylogenetic diversity) and how these impacts propagate to affect ecosystem multifunctionality. Methods: Here, we investigated plant species, functional and phylogenetic diversity along a nitrogen gradient (0, 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 g N m−2 yr−1) in a desert steppe. In addition, ecosystem multifunctionality was determined by eight functions to assess the relationship between plant community diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. Results: We showed that N addition increased plant functional diversity, but not species and phylogenetic diversity. Along the nitrogen addition gradient, the ecosystem multifunctionality increased first and then decreased which peaked at an addition rate of 24 g·m−2·yr−1. Importantly, functional diversity was positively correlated with ecosystem multifunctionality. Furthermore, the structural equation model showed that N addition increased ecosystem multifunctionality both directly and by increasing functional diversity. Conclusion: The positive relationships between MF and functional diversity suggest that the change and distribution of plant functional traits are beneficial for complementary utilization of N, thus maintaining ecosystem multifunctionality. The superiority of functional diversity over species and phylogenetic diversity highlights an important role of functional diversity in regulating ecosystem functioning to N addition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Nitrogen (N) deposition is well known to affect plant community assembly, but the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. How different processes, including environmental and biotic filtering, drive plant community assembly can be quantified by trait range restrictions and patterns of trait convergence and divergence. However, few studies have combined species abundances data to simultaneously explore how these two processes function and further affect community assembly along N addition gradients by progressively examining multiple trait range restrictions and trait patterns. Methods: We conducted a four-year N addition experiment with eight N addition levels in a temperate desert steppe, Inner Mongolia. We investigated species composition and then collected aboveground biomass (AGB). In addition, six soil properties and functional traits were measured. Community-weighted trait means (CWM) and community-weighted trait variances (CWV) at eight N addition levels were calculated based on species abundances and their corresponding traits. We quantified environmental filtering as a restriction of trait range, and trait patterns depended on CWV. We calculated the effect size (ES) values of six trait ranges and CWVs by comparing the observed community with two simulated null communities generated by a two-step trait-based approach. Using the one-tailed Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests (W) and the Spearman's rank correlations (S) methods, we further explored changes in six trait ranges and trait patterns along experimental N addition gradients by the ES values. Results: We found that high N addition altered species composition, and the dominant S-strategy species (conservative species) in high-barren and low-disturbance environments were gradually replaced by R-strategy species (acquisitive species) in low-barren and high-disturbance environments. The polynomial regression showed that AGB was highest at 27 g.m−2 N addition level. The responses of six CWM values under N24 and N48 were significantly different from those under other N addition treatments, and they showed two opposite trends along N addition gradients. The CWM values of three traits (i.e., plant height (H), leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and leaf carbon content (LCC)) significantly decreased, while the CWM values of other three traits (i.e., leaf thickness (LT), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf nitrogen content (LNC)) significantly increased. The trait range of H, LDMC and LCC was wider than expected in N-poor communities, while narrower than expected in N-rich communities, and the opposite was true for LT and LNC. The trait range of SLA was overall narrower than expected at eight N addition levels. These results indicate that environmental filtering restricts the trait range of H, LDMC and LCC in N-rich communities, while restricts the trait range of LT and LNC in N-poor communities, and restricts the trait range of SLA under almost all N addition treatments. All six traits converged first, and then diverged along N addition gradients, indicating that high N addition induces functional trait differentiation in a temperate desert steppe. Conclusion: Our study clearly demonstrates that environmental and biotic filtering play important roles in assembling communities along N addition gradients in desert steppe. Changes in trait ranges induced by environmental filtering strongly depend on the types of functional traits along environmental gradients. In the processes of biotic filtering, trait hierarchy drives the outcomes of competitive interactions among coexisting species in N-poor communities and further determines community assembly, as evidenced by trait convergence and large differences in competitive ability among species. In contrast, trait divergence and small differences in competitive ability among coexisting species in N-rich communities reveal that trait dissimilarity drives community assembly, corresponding to large functional trait differentiation. In summary, shifts in patterns of trait convergence and divergence along N addition gradients largely support the stress-dominance hypothesis, but our results also reveal that community assembly mechanisms are more complex. When attempting to explore assembly mechanisms along environmental gradients, not only species multiple traits and occurrences but also their abundances and specific environments should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme droughts strongly impact grassland ecology, both functionally and structurally. However, a comprehensive understanding of the drought impacts on the ecosystem stability is critical for its sustainable development under changing climate. We experimentally report the impact of extreme drought on the temporal stability of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and belowground net primary productivity (BNPP) in a desert steppe of northern China. The relative importance evaluation of extreme drought, soil properties, species asynchrony, taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity was performed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to measure the temporal ANPP and BNPP stabilities. Our findings suggested that extreme drought decreased BNPP stability but did not affect ANPP stability. Extreme drought reduced taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity, ANPP, and soil water content but did not affect species asynchrony, functional diversity, or BNPP. Species richness, Shannon–Wiener index, and soil water content were positively correlated with BNPP stability. The SEM results showed a drought-mediated indirect weakening of BNPP stability via modification of species richness. Asynchrony of species unrelated to drought, however, directly affected ANPP stability. The mechanisms underlying the response determination of ANPP and BNPP stability to extreme drought in desert steppe varied notably. Depending on the species asynchrony, ANPP reduced by extreme drought could maintain higher stability. However, extreme drought lowered BNPP stability by altering species richness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Grasslands are expected to experience both long-term chronic reductions in precipitation as well as increased frequency of short-term intense droughts. However, few studies have assessed how these two types of drought differentially alter carbon-nutrient dynamics of grassland vegetation and soil on broad spatial and temporal scales. Methods: We conducted a two-year drought experiment in three types of grasslands along a natural aridity gradient in northern China. In each grassland, we removed ~ 50% of annual rainfall using two methods—chronic drought (66% reduction of each rainfall event for four months) and intense drought (100% removal of rainfall for two months). This allowed us to compare the effects of these drought characteristics on carbon and nutrient content of both vegetation and soil. Results: Drought largely led to decreased carbon and nutrient pools, with vegetation concentrations being less responsive than pools likely due to decreased plant biomass. These responses depended on drought type, with no clear directional pattern of intense droughts having a greater effect than chronic drought. Sensitivity of biogeochemical responses to drought treatments decreased with increased aridity, likely due to the high abundance of drought-tolerant species in more xeric grasslands. Overall, ecosystem biogeochemical responses to manipulative drought did not match trends observed along the natural aridity gradient. Conclusions: The sensitivity of carbon-nutrient dynamics of plant and soil strongly depends on drought type as well as local climate and species composition. Such differential drought responses highlight the challenge of predicting ecosystem responses to climate change over large spatial scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Global changes (precipitation changes and nutrient deposition) profoundly impact structure and function of steppe ecosystem. However, it is unclear the mechanism by which multiple limiting resources affect plant aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) in desert steppe. Methods: We conducted a field experiment manipulating both precipitation (3 levels: ambient and ± 50% precipitation) and nutrients addition (3 levels: ambient; nitrogen (N) addition; N/phosphorus (P)/potassium (K) addition) in a factorial design. We focused on the effects of these treatments on species diversity (species richness, Shannon index, abundance), ANPP, plant functional traits, and soil properties. We used structural equation model (SEM) to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of precipitation amount and nutrient addition on ANPP through affecting species diversity and functional traits. Results: Increasing precipitation increased species diversity and ANPP. NPK addition and increased 50% precipitation significantly increased ANPP over all other treatment combinations. Drought (-50%) reduced plant height and leaf dry matter content (LDMC), but increased leaf nitrogen content (LNC). Species richness, abundance, height and LDMC were positively correlated with ANPP, while specific leaf area (SLA) and LNC were negatively correlated with ANPP. SEM suggested that precipitation amount indirectly affected ANPP through its effect on abundance and SLA, while nutrient addition indirectly affected ANPP only through its effect on abundance. Conclusion: In desert steppe, the interaction of precipitation and nutrient addition had a significant positive effect on ANPP, which was mainly mediated by species diversity and functional traits. Our results highlight the importance of species diversity and functional traits in driving short-term responses of ANPP to environmental factors in desert steppe ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Drought significantly impacts ecosystem structure and function, especially the transformation rates of soil carbon and nitrogen. This study explores how drought affects ecosystem respiration (Re), methane (CH4) uptake and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in temperate desert steppes and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: An in-situ experiment was conducted in the Inner Mongolia desert steppe in northern China to study the effect of drought on Re, CH4 and N2O fluxes. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to establish the relationship between Re, CH4 uptake and N2O emissions and plant functional traits and environmental factors. Results: Ecosystem respiration and CH4 uptake were both significantly reduced by chronic drought (66 % precipitation reduction from 1 May to 31 August) but not by pulse drought (100 % precipitation reduction in June and July). In contrast, no significant impact on N2O emissions was observed under chronic or pulse drought. There were no significant direct effects of soil moisture on Re, CH4 uptake or N2O emissions. However, soil moisture had an important indirect effect on Re, CH4 uptake and N2O emissions, mainly through its influence on plant functional traits, plant above-ground biomass and soil nutrients. Plant biomass and soil temperature were the key indicators of Re, and plant leaf nitrogen content was the key plant trait associated with N2O emissions. In contrast, plant specific leaf area and biomass were the key traits associated with CH4 uptake. Conclusions: Overall, Re and CH4 uptake were reduced by chronic drought in this desert steppe, but there was no significant effect on N2O emissions. Ecosystem respiration, CH4 uptake and N2O emissions were associated with plant functional traits. This provides new insight for the understanding of soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in desert steppe systems under drought conditions and an important theoretical basis for the revision of model parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme climate events and nitrogen (N) deposition are increasingly affecting the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems. However, the response of plant biomass to variations to these global change drivers is still unclear in semi-arid regions, especially in degraded sandy grasslands. In this study, a manipulative field experiment run over two years (from 2017 to 2018) was conducted to examine the effect of rainfall alteration and nitrogen addition on biomass allocation of annuals and perennial plants in Horqin sandy grassland, Northern China. Our experiment simulated extreme rainfall and extreme drought (a 60% reduction or increment in the growing season rainfall with respect to a control background) and N addition (20 g/m2) during the growing seasons. We found that the sufficient rainfall during late July and August compensates for biomass losses caused by insufficient water in May and June. When rainfall distribution is relatively uniform during the growing season, extreme rainfall increased aboveground biomass (AGB) and belowground biomass (BGB) of annuals, while extreme drought reduced AGB and BGB of perennials. Rainfall alteration had no significant impacts on the root-shoot ratio (R/S) of sandy grassland plants, while N addition reduced R/S of grassland species when there was sufficient rainfall in the early growing season. The biomass of annuals was more sensitive to rainfall alteration and nitrogen addition than the biomass of perennials. Our findings emphasize the importance of monthly rainfall distribution patterns during the growing season, which not only directly affect the growth and development of grassland plants, but also affect the nitrogen availability of grassland plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Grasslands are expected to experience droughts of unprecedented magnitude and duration in this century. Plant traits can be useful for understanding community and ecosystem responses to climate extremes. Few studies, however, have investigated the response of community-scale traits to extreme drought on broad spatial/temporal scales, with even less research on the relative contribution of species turnover vs. intraspecific trait variation to such responses. Methods: We experimentally removed ~66% of growing season rainfall for three years across three semi-arid grasslands of northern China and tracked changes in community functional composition, defined as the community mean and variation of several leaf economic traits. Results: Community trait variations were more sensitive to drought than community trait means, which suggests this component of functional composition may be a better indicator of initial community drought responses than trait values themselves. The greatest change in trait variation was observed at the high aridity site and was driven largely by intraspecific trait variability. Apart from specific leaf area, trait variability increased with increasing aridity across sites, largely due to species turnover. Variations in soil moisture and fertility likely mediated the responses of community trait variations to water stress. Conclusions: These results highlight the importance of measuring community trait variability in response to drought and support the well-documented pattern of increased community drought sensitivity of more arid ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the effects of climate change, in particular, climate extremes on plant functional traits can provide a mechanistic basis for predicting how plant communities may be altered in the future. Here, we focused on a dominant species in Inner-Mongolia typical temperate steppe, Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvei, to examine the responses of plant functional traits to experimentally imposed extreme drought at three sites along an aridity gradient. When comparing the driest (high aridity) to the wettest sites (low aridity), plant height, leaf dry matter content and δ13C (water use efficiency) were increased at the intermediate and low aridity sites, whereas specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen content were reduced at the high-aridity site. When extreme drought (~ 66% reduction in the growing season precipitation) was experimentally imposed at all sites, plant height decreased and δ13C of L. chinensis increased at the intermediate and low aridity sites. The extreme drought of 66% precipitation reduction also increased leaf dry matter content in high- and low-aridity sites. Compared to the control (ambient precipitation), extreme drought increased the strength of the positive association between plant height and δ13C, as well as the negative associations of specific leaf area with plant height and leaf dry matter content. Thus, extreme drought altered key functional traits of the dominant grass of Inner Mongolia steppe, particularly at the low-aridity site where the drought decreased plant size and increased water use efficiency and affected relationships between these traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the dominance and the mass ratio hypotheses predict that plant internal nutrient cycling in ecosystems is determined by the dominant species within plant communities. We tested this hypothesis under conditions of extreme drought by assessing plant nutrient (N, P and K) uptake and resorption in response to experimentally imposed precipitation reductions in two semiarid grasslands of northern China. These two communities shared similar environmental conditions, but had different dominant species—one was dominated by a rhizomatous grass (Leymus chinensis) and the other by a bunchgrass (Stipa grandis). Results showed that responses of N to drought differed between the two communities with drought decreasing green leaf N concentration and resorption in the community dominated by the rhizomatous grass, but not in the bunchgrass-dominated community. In contrast, negative effects of drought on green leaf P and K concentrations and their resorption efficiencies were consistent across the two communities. Additionally, in each community, the effects of extreme drought on soil N, P and K supply did not change synchronously with that on green leaf N, P and K concentrations, and senesced leaf N, P and K concentrations showed no response to extreme drought. Consistent with the dominance/mass ratio hypothesis, our findings suggest that differences in dominant species and their growth form (i.e., rhizomatous vs bunch grass) play an important nutrient-specific role in mediating plant internal nutrient cycling across communities within a single region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the responses of vegetation characteristics and soil properties to grazing disturbance is useful for grassland ecosystem restoration and management in semiarid areas. Here, we examined the effects of long-term grazing on vegetation characteristics, soil properties, and their relationships across four grassland types (meadow, Stipa steppe, scattered tree grassland, and sandy grassland) in the Horqin grassland, northern China. Our results showed that grazing greatly decreased vegetation cover, aboveground plant biomass, and root biomass in all four grassland types. Plant cover and aboveground biomass of perennials were decreased by grazing in all four grasslands, whereas grazing increased the cover and biomass of shrubs in Stipa steppe and of annuals in scattered tree grassland. Grazing decreased soil carbon and nitrogen content in Stipa steppe and scattered tree grassland, whereas soil bulk density showed the opposite trend. Long-term grazing significantly decreased soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) in annual-dominated sandy grassland. Soil moisture in fenced and grazed grasslands decreased in the following order of meadow, Stipa steppe, scattered tree grassland, and sandy grassland. Correlation analyses showed that aboveground plant biomass was significantly positively associated with the soil carbon and nitrogen content in grazed and fenced grasslands. Species richness was significantly positively correlated with soil bulk density, moisture, EC, and pH in fenced grasslands, but no relationship was detected in grazed grasslands. These results suggest that the soil carbon and nitrogen content significantly maintains ecosystem function in both fenced and grazed grasslands. However, grazing may eliminate the association of species richness with soil properties in semiarid grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responses of plants exposed to drought and rewatering have been well documented; however, little is known concerning strategies of psammophyte to drought and rewatering under different soil nutrient regimes. For this study, Pennisetum centrasiaticum under two soil nutrient regimes was subjected to progressive drought and subsequent rewatering. Soil water status, gas exchange characteristics, chlorophyll a fluorescence characteristics as well as biomass traits were measured to investigate ecophysiological responses. Net photosynthesis rate ( P), stomatal conductance ( g), water use efficiency, maximum quantum efficiency of photosynthesis system II (PSII, F/ F), electron transport flux per cross section (ET/CS), and performance index on cross section basis (PI) were suppressed during drought periods for both nutrient regimes. Meanwhile, leaf intercellular CO concentration ( C), minimal fluorescence intensity ( F), and dissipated energy flux per cross section (DI/CS) increased. Reversible downregulation of PSII photochemistry and enhanced thermal dissipation of excess excitation energy (DI/CS) contributed to enhanced photo-protection in drought-stressed plants. Thus, the results indicate that P. centrasiaticum is capable of withstanding and surviving extreme drought events, and the recovery pattern of stressed P. centrasiaticum under both nutrient regimes was similar. However, fertilization increased the biomass and the variation in gas exchange and chlorophyll a fluorescence characteristics during drought periods. Additionally, fertilization accelerated the process of drought and aggravated stress under extreme drought events. Thus, the fertilization strategy used in P. centrasiaticum restoration should be carefully selected-fertilization may not always be beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genetic diversity of Artemisia halodendron (Asteraceae), a constructive and dominant species in the Horqin sandy land, was investigated to examine the genetic relationships with different hydrothermal regions in the Horqin sandy land. We sequenced chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) fragments psbA- trnH of 243 plants from ten populations across the Horqin sandy land. The analyses of cpDNA variation identified seven haplotypes. A high level of haplotype diversity ( H = 0.831) and low level of nucleotide diversity ( π = 0.0018) were detected. Haplotypes clustered into three tentative clades. Low genetic differentiation among regions was consistently indicated by hierarchical analyses of molecular variance (AMOVA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant diversity-productivity relationship is a debated issue in ecology. However, different relationships between plant diversity and productivity have been observed in response to changes of environmental factors. In this study, vegetation cover, species richness, above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP), soil organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N) were measured at three stages of dune stabilization (mobile dune, semi-fixed dune and fixed dune) in Horqin Sand Land, Northern China. Relationships between species richness and ANPP were also examined at different stages of dune stabilization. Results showed that vegetation cover, species richness, ANPP, soil organic C and total N increased with dune stabilization. Half U-shaped, positive and no relationship between species richness and ANPP were found in mobile dune, semi-fixed dune and fixed dune, respectively. Species richness was significantly positively correlated to soil organic C and total N in mobile dune and semi-fixed dune, and ANPP was positively correlated to soil organic C and total N in fixed dune. A positive relationship between species richness and ANPP was also found along the habitat gradient of dune stabilization. These results suggest that dune stabilization following restoration succession of degraded vegetation greatly influences relationships between species richness and ANPP in sand dune ecosystems. Soil organic C and total N determining changes of vegetation cover, species richness and ANPP drive the positive relationship between species richness and ANPP along the dune stabilization gradient. Thus, the degree of dune stabilization and vegetation composition, influenced by important soil properties, are important factors to determine relationships between plant diversity and productivity in sand dune ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand physiological acclimation of psammophyte to repeated soil drought and rewatering, two psammophytes ( Setaria viridis and Digitaria ciliaris) were subjected to three cycles of soil drought and rewatering. The response process of leaf relative water content (RWC), membrane permeability, lipid peroxidation, gas exchange characteristics, antioxidant enzymes, soluble protein, and free proline was examined. Leaf RWC, the net photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, and water use efficiency decreased, while membrane permeability, lipid peroxidation, intercellular CO concentration, soluble protein, and free proline increased during three soil drought periods for both psammophytes. These physiological characteristics were recovered to the control levels following rewatering for 4 days. However, activities of SOD, CAT, and POD were induced continuously under soil drought conditions, and remained higher than those in the control throughout the whole experiment period, which agrees with our hypothesis that drought hardening activates defensive systems of both psammophytes continuously. Decreasing level of leaf RWC and increasing levels of leaf membrane permeability and lipid peroxidation were suppressed with increasing the number of drought cycles, suggesting that drought hardening alleviates damages of both psammophytes and improves their drought tolerance and acclimation to soil drought conditions in the future. Additionally, the photosynthesis decreased more slowly in the subsequent drought cycles than in the first cycle, allowing both psammophytes to maximize assimilation in response to repeated soil drought conditions. Thus, both psammophytes acclimatize themselves to repeated soil drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We monitored the allometric effects for greenhouse-grown Agriophyllum squarrosum plants in response to variations in population density and the availability of soil nutrients and water. Biomass allocations were size-dependent. The plasticity of roots, stems, leaves, and reproductive effort was “true” in response to changes in nutrient content. At a low level of soil minerals, plants allocated more resources to the development of roots and reproductive organs than to leaves, but data for stem allocations were consistent for tradeoffs between the effects of nutrients and plant size. The plasticities of leaf allocation and reproductive effort were “true” whereas those of root and stem allocations were “apparent” in response to fluctuations in soil water, being a function of plant size. Decreasing soil water content was associated with higher leaf allocation and lower reproductive effort. Except for this “apparent” plasticity of leaf allocation, none was detected with population density on biomass allocation. Architectural traits were determinants of the latter. For roots, the determining trait was the ratio of plant height to total biomass; for stems and reproduction, plant height; and for leaves, the ratio of branch numbers to plant height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey was conducted in an 11-year recovery mobile dune (RMD11) and a 20-year recovery mobile dune (RMD20), in Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China, to determine plant distribution at the mobile dune scale and its relevance to soil properties and topographic features. The results showed that (1) vegetation cover and species number increased from dune top to bottom in the restoration process of mobile dune; (2) the average value of soil organic C, total N, pH, relative height of sampling site, very fine sand content and soil water contents (40−60 and 60−80 cm) of RMD11 were less than that of RMD20, respectively, and there were significant differences ( P < 0.05) between the two dunes; (3) soil resources were redistributed by shrub restoration and relative height of sampling site on dune. The distribution of sand pioneer plant, Agriophyllum squarrosum, was positively related to the relative height of sampling site and soil water content, while that of other herbaceous plants was positively related to soil nutrients in the restoration process of mobile dune. These results suggest that at mobile dune scale, plant distributions are determined by a combination of soil properties and topographic feature. Much effort should be made to preserve the interdune lowland and to improve the level of soil nutrients on mobile dune. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was undertaken at Horqin Sand Land, Inner Mongolia, Northern China. Field samples of biological soil crusts (BSCs) and underlying topsoil (0–5 cm under BSC) were taken in areas of different dune stabilization stages, and their physicochemical properties were analyzed, including particle size distribution, bulk density, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and CaCO3 content. The results revealed that semi-mobile dunes, semi-fixed dunes and fixed dunes had developed a physical crust, algae crust and moss crust, respectively. The thickness, hardness, water content, fine fraction and nutrient contents of BSCs were gradually increasing along the dune stabilization gradient. Meanwhile, BSC establishment and development enhanced the bulk density, silt and clay content, and nutrients of the topsoil under it, in an increasing tend from semi-mobile dune to fixed dune. Organic matter concentrations and other nutrients in the 0–5 cm topsoil layer under BSCs were significantly higher compared to unconsolidated soil (control). Moreover, there were strong significant positive correlations between topsoil and BSCs’ organic matter, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, CaCO3, and <0.05 mm particle content, suggesting that BSCs have an influence on some of the properties of the underlying topsoil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]