Abstract
Large-scale afforestation programs have had some beneficial effects on reducing severity of dust storms and controlling desertification in arid and semi-arid regions. However, the influences of selective afforestation on soil arthropod community are largely unknown in desertified ecosystems. Soil macrofaunal communities, soil physico-chemical properties, and herb vegetation were investigated in afforested shrublands and woodlands (both approximately 30 years old post-afforestation), which were compared to shifting sand lands in Horqin, northern China. In the shrublands, environmental parameters (soil and vegetation properties) indicated a significant improvement of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and herbaceous density and cover, in comparison to the woodlands and shifting sand lands. The improved shrubland habitat maintained significantly higher soil macrofaunal abundance and group richness together with higher diversity compared with the woodlands and shifting sand lands. There were no significant differences in soil macrofaunal diversity between the woodlands and shifting sand lands. The results suggest that shrubs can facilitate macrofaunal assemblies and improve soil and vegetation properties when planted in shifting sand lands. Shrub afforestation is beneficial for the restoration of shifting sand lands, and is recommended for management of artificial plantations in these sandy ecosystems.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-8 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Ecological Research |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their critical review and comments on drafts of this manuscript. This study was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41101050), projects of the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2009CB 421303) and National Science and Technology Support Program (2011BAC07B03). We would like to thank Christine Verhille at the University of British Columbia for her assistance with English language and grammatical editing of the manuscript. We also thank Doc. Yuqiang Li (School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA) for the English corrections.
Funding
Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their critical review and comments on drafts of this manuscript. This study was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41101050), projects of the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2009CB 421303) and National Science and Technology Support Program (2011BAC07B03). We would like to thank Christine Verhille at the University of British Columbia for her assistance with English language and grammatical editing of the manuscript. We also thank Doc. Yuqiang Li (School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA) for the English corrections.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Natural Science Foundation of China | 41101050 |
| National Key Research and Development Program of China | 2009CB 421303 |
| National Science and Technology Planning Project | 2011BAC07B03 |
Keywords
- Community structure
- Horqin sand land
- Selective afforestation
- Soil arthropod
