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Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology ›› 2012, Vol. 23 ›› Issue (10): 2648-2654.

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Effects of cutting on the dominant and subdominant plant species in a Stipa krylovii steppe of Inner Mongolia.

LI Xin1,2,3, SHI Feng-ling1, GAO Yan2, ZHAO Ming-xu3, LI Ling-hao2   

  1. (1College of Ecology and Environmental Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010019, China; 2State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; 3Duolun Grassland Management Station, Duolun 027300, Inner Mongolia, China)
  • Online:2012-10-18 Published:2012-10-18

Abstract: Based on the long-term cutting experiment, this paper analyzed the responses of the aboveground biomass of five dominant and subdominant plant species and the community stability in a Stipa krylovii steppe of Inner Mongolia to various cutting height. Cutting with a stubble height of >10 cm had slight effects on the aboveground biomass of the five species. Cutting with a stubble height of 10 cm benefited the growth of Artemisia frigida but made against the growth of Stipa krylovii. Cleistogenes squarrosa at the stubble height of 2 cm performed best, and Carex korshinskyi at the stubble height of 5 cm contributed most to the community, with the biomass positively correlated with the cutting years. Potentilla acaulis growth was detrimentally affected at the stubble heights of 2 and 15 cm. Overall, perennial species with higher plant height and stronger competitive ability were more tolerant to disturbances, and a minimum cutting height of 10 cm should be applied to maintain a high stability of the steppe ecosystem.