Vegetation communities and soil properties along the restoration process of the Jinqianghe mine site in the Qilian Mountains, China
The study explores the impact of mine grassland restoration on plant communities and soil properties in alpine grasslands, a subject of significant interest due to the observed relationship between grassland changes, plant communities, and soil properties. While prior research has mainly focused on...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1358309/full |
| _version_ | 1797198700771016704 |
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| author | Xiaomei Yang Qi Feng Meng Zhu Jutao Zhang Linshan Yang Chengqi Zhang Zhiyang Wang Yonglin Feng |
| author_facet | Xiaomei Yang Qi Feng Meng Zhu Jutao Zhang Linshan Yang Chengqi Zhang Zhiyang Wang Yonglin Feng |
| author_sort | Xiaomei Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The study explores the impact of mine grassland restoration on plant communities and soil properties in alpine grasslands, a subject of significant interest due to the observed relationship between grassland changes, plant communities, and soil properties. While prior research has mainly focused on the consequences of grassland degradation on plant diversity and soil characteristics, the specific effects of varying restoration degrees in alpine mining grasslands at the regional scale remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we established 15 sampling plots (0.5m×0.5m) across five different restoration degrees within alpine mining grasslands in the Qilian Mountains, China. Our objective was to assess the variations in plant diversity and soil properties along these restoration gradients. We conducted comprehensive analyses, encompassing soil properties [soil water content (SWC), available nitrogen (AN), total phosphorus (TP), nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP), soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrate nitrogen, soil pH, and electrical conductivity (EC)], plant characteristics (height, density, frequency, coverage, and aboveground biomass), and plant diversity indices (Simpson, Shannon-Wiener, Margalef, Dominance, and Evenness indexes). Our findings included the identification and collection of 18 plant species from 11 families and 16 genera across the five restoration degrees: Very Low Restoration Degree (VLRD), Low Restoration Degree (LRD), Moderate Restoration Degree (MRD), High Restoration Degree (HRD), and Natural Grassland (NGL). Notably, species like Carex duriuscula, Cyperus rotundus, and Polygonum viviparum showed signs of recovery. Principal component analysis and Pearson correlation analysis revealed that soil pH, SWC, SOC, NO3-N, and AN were the primary environmental factors influencing plant communities. Specifically, soil pH and EC decreased as restoration levels increased, while SWC, AN, TP, NH4-N, TN, AP, SOC, and NO3-N exhibited a gradual increase with greater restoration efforts. Furthermore, the HRD plant community demonstrated similarities to the NGL, indicating the most effective natural recovery. In conclusion, our study provides valuable insights into the responses of plant community characteristics, plant diversity, and soil properties across varying restoration degrees to environmental factors. It also elucidates the characteristics of plant communities along recovery gradients in alpine grasslands. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:04:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-32bab2e946004113b3682063c69d8cb9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:04:02Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-32bab2e946004113b3682063c69d8cb92024-04-22T05:05:22ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2024-04-011510.3389/fpls.2024.13583091358309Vegetation communities and soil properties along the restoration process of the Jinqianghe mine site in the Qilian Mountains, ChinaXiaomei Yang0Qi Feng1Meng Zhu2Jutao Zhang3Linshan Yang4Chengqi Zhang5Zhiyang Wang6Yonglin Feng7Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, ChinaTechnology Innovation Center for Mine Geological Environment Restoration in the Alpine and Arid Regions, Ministry of Natural Resources, Lanzhou, ChinaTechnology Innovation Center for Mine Geological Environment Restoration in the Alpine and Arid Regions, Ministry of Natural Resources, Lanzhou, ChinaThe study explores the impact of mine grassland restoration on plant communities and soil properties in alpine grasslands, a subject of significant interest due to the observed relationship between grassland changes, plant communities, and soil properties. While prior research has mainly focused on the consequences of grassland degradation on plant diversity and soil characteristics, the specific effects of varying restoration degrees in alpine mining grasslands at the regional scale remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we established 15 sampling plots (0.5m×0.5m) across five different restoration degrees within alpine mining grasslands in the Qilian Mountains, China. Our objective was to assess the variations in plant diversity and soil properties along these restoration gradients. We conducted comprehensive analyses, encompassing soil properties [soil water content (SWC), available nitrogen (AN), total phosphorus (TP), nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP), soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrate nitrogen, soil pH, and electrical conductivity (EC)], plant characteristics (height, density, frequency, coverage, and aboveground biomass), and plant diversity indices (Simpson, Shannon-Wiener, Margalef, Dominance, and Evenness indexes). Our findings included the identification and collection of 18 plant species from 11 families and 16 genera across the five restoration degrees: Very Low Restoration Degree (VLRD), Low Restoration Degree (LRD), Moderate Restoration Degree (MRD), High Restoration Degree (HRD), and Natural Grassland (NGL). Notably, species like Carex duriuscula, Cyperus rotundus, and Polygonum viviparum showed signs of recovery. Principal component analysis and Pearson correlation analysis revealed that soil pH, SWC, SOC, NO3-N, and AN were the primary environmental factors influencing plant communities. Specifically, soil pH and EC decreased as restoration levels increased, while SWC, AN, TP, NH4-N, TN, AP, SOC, and NO3-N exhibited a gradual increase with greater restoration efforts. Furthermore, the HRD plant community demonstrated similarities to the NGL, indicating the most effective natural recovery. In conclusion, our study provides valuable insights into the responses of plant community characteristics, plant diversity, and soil properties across varying restoration degrees to environmental factors. It also elucidates the characteristics of plant communities along recovery gradients in alpine grasslands.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1358309/fullalpine mining area grasslandgrassland ecosystemrestorationplant diversitycommunityQilian Mountains |
| spellingShingle | Xiaomei Yang Qi Feng Meng Zhu Jutao Zhang Linshan Yang Chengqi Zhang Zhiyang Wang Yonglin Feng Vegetation communities and soil properties along the restoration process of the Jinqianghe mine site in the Qilian Mountains, China Frontiers in Plant Science alpine mining area grassland grassland ecosystem restoration plant diversity community Qilian Mountains |
| title | Vegetation communities and soil properties along the restoration process of the Jinqianghe mine site in the Qilian Mountains, China |
| title_full | Vegetation communities and soil properties along the restoration process of the Jinqianghe mine site in the Qilian Mountains, China |
| title_fullStr | Vegetation communities and soil properties along the restoration process of the Jinqianghe mine site in the Qilian Mountains, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vegetation communities and soil properties along the restoration process of the Jinqianghe mine site in the Qilian Mountains, China |
| title_short | Vegetation communities and soil properties along the restoration process of the Jinqianghe mine site in the Qilian Mountains, China |
| title_sort | vegetation communities and soil properties along the restoration process of the jinqianghe mine site in the qilian mountains china |
| topic | alpine mining area grassland grassland ecosystem restoration plant diversity community Qilian Mountains |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1358309/full |
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