Effect of desertification on productivity in a desert steppe.
Desertification, one of the most severe types of land degradation in the world, is of great importance because it is occurring, to some degree, on approximately 40% of the global land area and is affecting more than 1 billion people. In this study, we used a space-for-time method to quantify the impact of five different desertification regimes (potential (PD), light (LD), moderate (MD), severe (SD), and very severe (VSD)) on a desert steppe ecosystem in northern China to examine the relationship between the productivity of the vegetation and soil properties and to determine the mechanism underlying the effects of desertification on productivity. Our results showed that the effects of desertification on TP (total phosphorus) and AP (available phosphorus) were not significant, and desertification decreased productivity in the desert steppe as a result of direct changes to soil physical properties, which can directly affect soil chemical properties. Therefore, intensive grassland management to improve soil quality may result in the long-term preservation of ecosystem functions and services.
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, P.R. China.
Zhuangsheng
Z
Tang
Key Laboratory of Restoration and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystems in North-western China of the Ministry of Education, United Center for Ecology Research and Bioresource Exploitation in Western China, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, P.R. China.
Hui
H
An
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, P.R. China.
Lei
L
Deng
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, P.R. China.
Yingying
Y
Wang
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, P.R. China.
Guangyu
G
Zhu
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, P.R. China.
Zhouping
Z
Shangguan
D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003889:Desert Climate; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D065948:Grassland; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis*; D063245:Plant Development; D010944:Plants; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*
D012987:Soil; D010758:Phosphorus