Biodiv Sci ›› 2024, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (6): 24044.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2024044

• Original Papers: Ecosystem Diversity • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Responses of desert steppe plant diversity and microbial diversity to precipitation change

Jiali Lian, Jing Chen, Xueqin Yang, Ying Zhao, Xu Luo, Cui Han, Yaxin Zhao, Jianping Li*()   

  1. College of Forestry and Prataculture, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021
  • Received:2024-01-31 Accepted:2024-05-15 Online:2024-06-20 Published:2024-05-30
  • Contact: * E-mail: lijianpingsas@163.com

Abstract:

Aim: Precipitation and biodiversity are the key factors to maintain the balance and stability of desert steppe ecosystem in arid areas. It is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the plant diversity, microbial diversity and their relationship in desert steppe under the background of precipitation change.
Methods: In this paper, the desert steppe in Yanchi, Ningxia was taken as the research object. Five precipitation gradients were simulated by canopy and drip irrigation techniques, which were 33%, 66%, 100% (CK), 133% and 166% of normal rainfall (recorded as R33, R66, RCK, R133, R166). The effects of precipitation changes on plant diversity and microbial diversity in desert steppe were comprehensively analyzed.
Results: The results showed that: (1) Reduced precipitation (R66) significantly reduced the diversity and evenness of plant communities, and increased precipitation (R133) significantly increased the richness of plant communities (P < 0.05). (2) The Shannon-Wiener index, Simpson index, Ace index of bacterial community and Ace index of fungal community increased significantly with the increase of precipitation, and the change of precipitation had a significant effect on the Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson index of fungal community (P < 0.05). (3) The water addition treatment had a significant effect on the beta diversity of soil microbial community. (4) There was a significant positive correlation between bacteria and soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and carbon-to-phosphorus ratio (P < 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between fungi and soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, carbon-to-phosphorus ratio and nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratio (P < 0.01). (5) Plant community diversity was significantly positively correlated with bacterial Shannon-Wiener index and significantly negatively correlated with bacterial Simpson index, Ace index and fungal Ace indexs (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Precipitation changes significantly affect plant diversity and microbial diversity in desert steppe, and there is a close relationship between plant and microbial diversity, which not only provides a reference for simulating and predicting the response and feedback of desert steppe ecosystem to climate change, but also provides a scientific basis for ecological protection and restoration in the region.

Key words: desert grasslands, precipitation change, plant diversity, microbial diversity

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