Variations of ground vegetation and soil properties during the growth process of artificial sand-fixing Caragana intermedia plantations in desert steppe.

To study the variation characteristics of ground vegetation and soil properties during the growth process of Caragana intermedia plantations in desert steppe is of scientific significance in revealing the ecological effect of the plantations on the restoration of desertified grassland ecosystem. In this paper, an investigation was conducted on the ground vegetation and soil properties in 6-, 15-, 24-, and 36-yr artificial sand-fixing C. intermedia plantations in desert steppe of Ningxia, Northwest China, with the variation characteristics of the ground vegetation and soil properties during the growth process of the C. intermedia plantations analyzed. With the growth and development of the plantations, the shrub crown width, height, sprout number, and basal diameter all increased significantly, the contents of soil coarse sand and fine sand had significant decrease while those of very fine sand and clay silt were in adverse, the soil organic carbon, total N, and total P contents increased linearly, and the soil pH decreased significantly. During the growth process of the plantations, the species number and individual number of ground vegetation increased significantly, and the vegetation coverage and height presented the order of 24- > 15- > 6- > 36-yr plantation. The soil texture, bulk density, nutrient contents, and pH value were the main factors affecting the species and individual number as well as the coverage of ground vegetation in C. intermedia plantations. It was suggested that in desert steppe, the growth process of artificial sand-fixing C. intermedia plantation benefited the improvement of soil conditions and the recovery of ground vegetation, and promoted the restoration of degraded grassland ecosystem in desert steppe.