[Population spatial patterns of grassland plant communities in different slope aspects in the loess hilly area, China.].

We investigated the species composition and diversity of four grassland communities with different slope aspects in the loess hilly area of China. The power law was used to analyze spatial heterogeneity of the community and spatial pattern of the population. The results showed that Artemisia sacrorum was the dominant species and occurred in each site. Other species had different status and contributed differently to the spatial pattern of communities. Moreover, the spatial patterns of communities responded differently to various slope aspects, with the degree of aggregation ranked as sunny > half-sunny > half-shady > shady. The spatial heterogeneity index of community was positively correlated with the Simpson diversity index, but was negatively correlated with Margalef richness, Shannon diversity and Pielou evenness. The relative spatial heterogeneity index of the dominant species (A. sacrorum), sub-dominant species (Lespedeza dahurica and Stipa bungeana), and a few associated species (Artemisia scoparia, Melica scabrosa) were larger than that of the community, which resulted in cluster distribution. However, the relative spatial heterogeneity index of most associated species (Phragmites communis, Sonchus arvensis, and Bothriochloa flaccidum) showed the similar trends with the distribution of the community. In contrast, the relative spatial heterogeneity index of Cephalanoplos segetum, Gueldenstaedtia multiflora and Artemisia giraldii was lower than that of the community. These differences reduced the aggregation degree of the community. In summary, the aggregation degree of community was determined by dominant species, sub-dominant species and occasional species. Specifically, the dominant species, sub-dominant species and some associated species could promote the aggregation of the community, but occasional species would reduce the cluster distribution.