Plant community characteristics and their relationships with climate in the Hexi Corridor region of northwestern China

Abstract

Species, coverage, density, appearance, important values and above ground biomass of desert plant communities in the Hexi Corridor region in northwestern China were investigated. Data on the meteorological factors at the investigation sites were collected. Their relationships were statistically analyzed. The results show that the composition of plant species and total density in the Hexi Corridor region are positively correlated with elevation and longitude, but negatively with latitude. The relation decreases from the southeast to the northwest in this region. In the desert regions with an accumulated temperature of >10°C greater than 3200°C, the shrubs, including semi-shrubs, occupy dominant positions in the communities. Their importance values reach 100. When the accumulated temperature is about 3000°C, the communities are often in some type of transition, either with herbage being the dominant species, with some semishrubs or shrubs as companion species, or the dominant species being semi-shrubs with some perennial herbage as companion species. In desert communities with an annual precipitation of over 110 mm, the main life forms of plants are semi-shrubs or perennial herbs. When precipitation is less than 110 mm, the main life forms of the vegetation are dwarf shrub or annual herbs. In the extreme arid regions with annual precipitation of around 50 mm in the northwestern part of the Hexi Corridor, barely some annual herbage come to life during the rainy season. Desert ecosystems consist of sparse vegetation with small biomass. They change with climate factors and are especially sensitive to precipitation, which is particularly important for their conservation.