Abstract: In order to analyze the effects of rain supplementation on soil respiration rate of Nitraria sphaerocarpa community, we measured the temperature sensitivity of respiration (Q₁₀) from bare and vegetated soils in a hyperarid area (Dunhuang) during the growing season. The results showed that Q₁₀ was enhanced significantly with the increase in rain supplementation in the bare soils, but there was no obvious influence on Q₁₀ of the vegetated soils. The rain supplementation (16 mm, 200% of the control) significantly increased the Q₁₀ of the bare soils by 28% (P<0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between Q₁₀ and soil water content during the growing season (P<0.001), and the sensitivity of Q₁₀ to soil water content was higher in the bare soils (1.94) than in the vegetated soils (1.57).

Key words: secondary forest, wood-rotting fungi, species diversity, floral composition