Li Zihao, Qiao Jirong, Li Zhuofan, Gao Xiaowei, Hong Guangyu, Yang Haifeng, Hu Ercha, Liu Chenming, Wang Xiaojiang, Liu Guanzhi, Gao Runhong
Institute of Forest Ecology, Inner Mongolia Academy of Forestry Sciences, Hohhot, China.
College of Forestry, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2024 Aug 7;15:1409493. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1409493. eCollection 2024.
Understanding how human activities affect biodiversity is needed to inform systemic policies and targets for achieving sustainable development goals. Shallow tillage to remove is commonly conducted in the Mu Us Desert. However, the impacts of shallow tillage on plant community species diversity, phylogenetic structure, and community assembly processes remain poorly understood.
This study explores the effects of shallow tillage on species diversity including three a-diversity and two b-diversity indicators, as well as phylogenetic structure [phylogenetic diversity (PD), net relatedness index (NRI), and nearest taxon index (NTI)]. Additionally, this research analyzes the effects of shallow tillage on the community assembly process.
The results showed that the a-diversity index, b-diversity index, and PD of the shallow tillage (ST) communities were significantly higher than those of the non-shallow tillage (NT) communities, and the phylogenetic structures of both the ST and NT communities tended to be differentiated, with competitive exclusion being the main mechanism of plant assembly. However, shallow tillage increased the relative importance of the stochastic processes dominated by dispersal limitation, mitigating plant competition in the communities. This conclusion was supported by the Raup-Crick difference index-based analysis.
Therefore, for the ecological restoration of the Mu Us Desert, species with adaptability and low niche overlap should be selected to increase the utilization efficiency of the environmental resources. The results of this study provide a foundation for policy development for ecosystem management and restoration in the Mu Us Desert.
为制定实现可持续发展目标的系统性政策和目标，需要了解人类活动如何影响生物多样性。在毛乌素沙漠，人们通常进行浅耕以去除（此处原文缺失内容）。然而，浅耕对植物群落物种多样性、系统发育结构和群落组装过程的影响仍知之甚少。
本研究探讨浅耕对物种多样性的影响，包括三个α多样性和两个β多样性指标，以及系统发育结构[系统发育多样性（PD）、净亲缘关系指数（NRI）和最近分类群指数（NTI）]。此外，本研究分析了浅耕对群落组装过程的影响。
结果表明，浅耕（ST）群落的α多样性指数、β多样性指数和PD显著高于非浅耕（NT）群落，ST和NT群落的系统发育结构均趋于分化，竞争排斥是植物组装的主要机制。然而，浅耕增加了以扩散限制为主导的随机过程的相对重要性，减轻了群落中的植物竞争。基于劳普-克里克差异指数的分析支持了这一结论。
因此，对于毛乌素沙漠的生态恢复，应选择适应性强且生态位重叠低的物种，以提高环境资源的利用效率。本研究结果为毛乌素沙漠生态系统管理和恢复的政策制定提供了依据。
