Evaluation of grassland degradation status and vegetation characteristics changes in Hulunbuir

doi:10.17520/biods.2024118

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims: Grassland degradation impacts the composition, structure, and ecological functions of plant communities, threatening ecosystem stability. Accurately assessing grassland degradation is essential for developing effective conservation measures and management strategies.

Methods: This study utilized remote sensing data based on vegetation coverage to evaluate the current status of grassland degradation in Hulunbuir. We categorized the degradation into different levels, and analyzed field survey data to examine species composition, distribution patterns, and changes in vegetation biomass across these degradation levels.

Results: As grassland degradation intensifies, we observed significant changes in community structure and dominant species. The species distribution shifted notably, with a decline in herbaceous species and a significant reduction in aboveground biomass and litter biomass. However, belowground biomass only decreased significantly at the extreme degradation stage. We also found that the Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Simpson diversity index initially increased before declining, suggesting that moderate grazing may enhance species diversity, whereas overgrazing significantly reduces it. Our study showed that while aboveground biomass and litter biomass decreased significantly with grassland degradation, belowground biomass, species composition, and distribution patterns only exhibited significant differences at the stage of extreme degradation. This indicates that remote sensing methods based on vegetation coverage can accurately assess the condition of severely degraded grasslands, but they may be less accurate for light to moderate degradation stages. Early stages of grassland degradation might involve species changes that are undetectable through vegetation coverage alone.

Conclusion: Grassland degradation assessments should fully incorporate changes in species composition within communities, combined with more extensive field survey data, to improve the accuracy in identifying grassland degradation. Our findings provide valuable insights into monitoring and evaluation methods of grassland degradation and its impacts on plant communities, providing scientific evidence for restoring degraded grasslands.

Key words: Hulunbuir grassland, grassland degradation assessment, vegetation coverage, plant characteristics, species diversity, biomass

Wu Yuxuan, Wang Ping, Hu Xiaosheng, Ding Yi, Peng Tiantian, Zhi Qiuying, Bademu Qiqige, Li Wenjie, Guan Xiao, Li Junsheng. Evaluation of grassland degradation status and vegetation characteristics changes in Hulunbuir[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2025, 33(2): 24118.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2024118

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2025/V33/I2/24118

Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1 Degradation status of Hulunbuir grassland in 2023. ND, Non-degraded grassland; LD, Lightly degraded grassland; MD, Moderately degraded grassland; SD, Severely degraded grassland; ED, Extremely degraded grassland. Numbers in the figure represent the plot code.

Table 1 Degradation grade table of sample plots. ND, Non-degraded grassland; LD, Lightly degraded grassland; MD, Moderately degraded grassland; SD, Severely degraded grassland; ED, Extremely degraded grassland.

退化等级 Degradation grade	样地编号 Plot code
ND	6, 13, 34, 36, 40, 51, 52, 53, 59, 62, 64, 65, 74, 81, 82
LD	12, 14, 24, 26, 27, 29, 37, 42, 45, 58, 79, 83
MD	1, 3, 19, 23, 25, 30, 31, 47, 56, 57, 60
SD	10, 11, 21, 28, 41, 43, 44, 46, 50, 54, 61, 63, 67, 80
ED	8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 22, 32, 33, 35, 38, 39, 49

Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of plot setup

Fig. 3 Radar map of plant importance values at different stages of degradation gassland. ND, Non-degraded grassland; LD, Lightly degraded grassland; MD, Moderately degraded grassland; SD, Severely degraded grassland; ED, Extremely degraded grassland.

Fig. 4 Comparison of plant diversity indices at different stages of degradation grassland (mean ± SD). ND, Non-degraded grassland; LD, Lightly degraded grassland; MD, Moderately degraded grassland; SD, Severely degraded grassland; ED, Extremely degraded grassland. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).

Fig. 5 Comparison of aboveground biomass, bellowground biomass and litter at different stages of degradation grassland (mean ± SD). ND, Non-degraded grassland; LD, Lightly degraded grassland; MD, Moderately degraded grassland; SD, Severely degraded grassland; ED, Extremely degraded grassland. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).

Fig. 6 Plots of plant functional group biomass proportions at different stages of degradation grassland. ND, Non-degraded grassland; LD, Lightly degraded grassland; MD, Moderately degraded grassland; SD, Severely degraded grassland; ED, Extremely degraded grassland.

Fig. 7 Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis of vegetation distribution at different degradation grassland. ND, Non-degraded grassland; LD, Lightly degraded grassland; MD, Moderately degraded grassland; SD, Severely degraded grassland; ED, Extremely degraded grassland.

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