<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Environmental degradation of pasture areas in the Qilian Mountains (Gansu province, NW China) has increased in recent years. Soil erosion and loss of biodiversity caused by overgrazing is widespread. Changes in plant cover, however, have not been analysed so far. The aim of this paper is to identify plant communities and to detect grazing-induced changes in vegetation patterns. Quantitative and qualitative relevé data were collected for community classification and to analyse gradual changes in vegetation patterns along altitudinal and grazing gradients. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) was used to analyse variation in relationships between vegetation, environmental factors and differential grazing pressure. The results of the DCA showed apparent variation in plant communities along the grazing gradient. Two factors - altitude and exposure - had the strongest impact on plant community distribution. Comparing monitoring data for the most recent nine years, a trend of pasture deterioration, plant community successions and shift in dominant species becomes obvious. In order to increase grassland quality, sustainable pasture management strategies should be implemented.</p></abstract>

Environmental degradation of pasture areas in the Qilian Mountains (Gansu province, NW China) has increased in recent years. Soil erosion and loss of biodiversity caused by overgrazing is widespread. Changes in plant cover, however, have not been analysed so far. The aim of this paper is to identify plant communities and to detect grazing-induced changes in vegetation patterns. Quantitative and qualitative relevé data were collected for community classification and to analyse gradual changes in vegetation patterns along altitudinal and grazing gradients. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) was used to analyse variation in relationships between vegetation, environmental factors and differential grazing pressure. The results of the DCA showed apparent variation in plant communities along the grazing gradient. Two factors - altitude and exposure - had the strongest impact on plant community distribution. Comparing monitoring data for the most recent nine years, a trend of pasture deterioration, plant community successions and shift in dominant species becomes obvious. In order to increase grassland quality, sustainable pasture management strategies should be implemented.

Mountain pastures of Qilian Shan: plant communities, grazing impact and degradation status (Gansu province, NW China)

University of Hamburg, Institute of Geography, CEN Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Hamburg, Germany

Academy of Water Resource Conservation Forest of Qilian Mountains (AWRCFQM), Zhangye, Gansu Province, China

Hacquetia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Environmental degradation of pasture areas in the Qilian Mountains (Gansu province, NW China) has increased in recent years. Soil erosion and loss of...

Mountain pastures of Qilian Shan: plant communities, grazing impact and degradation status (Gansu province, NW China)

Published Online: Aug 12, 2016

Page range: 21 - 35

Received: Nov 28, 2015

Accepted: Apr 21, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/hacq-2016-0014

Keywords
alpine vegetation, altitudinal gradient, Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA), Indicator Species Analysis (ISA), overgrazing, pasture degradation, species diversity

© by Alina Baranova

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Mountain pastures of Qilian Shan: plant communities, grazing impact and degradation status (Gansu province, NW China)

Published Online: Aug 12, 2016

Page range: 21 - 35

Received: Nov 28, 2015

Accepted: Apr 21, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/hacq-2016-0014

Keywordsalpine vegetation, altitudinal gradient, Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA), Indicator Species Analysis (ISA), overgrazing, pasture degradation, species diversity

© by Alina Baranova

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
alpine vegetation, altitudinal gradient, Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA), Indicator Species Analysis (ISA), overgrazing, pasture degradation, species diversity