As one of the important pathways of material and energy flow between plant and soil system, litterfall plays a key role in the process of vegetation and soil restoration in ecologically fragile region. To explore the inter- and intra-annual dynamics of litter production and related regulatory factors at different habitats in sandy land ecosystem, we investigated the litter production during nine continuous growing seasons, while the air temperature and precipitation were measured over mobile dune, fixed dune, and grassland in Horqin Sandy Land. The results showed that annual litter production at different habitants were in the order of mobile dune (9.01 g·m-2) ＜ fixed dune (67.46 g·m-2) ＜ grassland (119.55 g·m-2). The inter-annual dynamics of litterfall fluctuated significantly, with a double-peak curve in fixed dune and "W" curve in grassland. The intra-annual variation of litterfall exhibited a "U" curve at all the three habitats, with peaks appearing in April and September, respectively. Precipitation and temperature had significant effects on the intra-annul dynamics of litterfall production in fixed sand dune and grassland, but had no significant effect on the inter-annual dynamics of litter production at three habitats. Temperature was the major factor affecting the dynamics of the litter fall during the growing season in Horqin Sandy Land.
凋落物是植被土壤系统之间重要的物质和能量通道之一,在生态脆弱区植被和土壤修复过程中发挥着特殊的功能和作用.以科尔沁沙地流动沙丘、固定沙丘和草地为对象,通过连续测定9个生长季凋落物量,并结合气温与降水量数据,研究沙地生态系统不同生境的凋落物年际和年内动态及其调控因子.结果表明:不同生境植被年凋落物大小依次为:流动沙丘(9.01 g·m-2)＜固定沙丘(67.46 g·m-2)＜草地(119.55 g·m-2).凋落物总量年际动态波动明显,固定沙丘年际变化呈“双峰”曲线,草地年际变化呈“W”型曲线.凋落物量年内变化均表现为“U”型曲线,在4和9月出现高峰值.降水量和气温对固定沙丘和草地凋落物量月际动态影响显著,而对不同生境条件下凋落物量年际变化影响均不显著.气温是影响该沙地生态系统生长季(4—9月)凋落物量月动态的主要因素.
Keywords: Horqin Sandy Land; habitat; litter.