Abstract: Taking space as a substitute for time, this paper studied the species composition and species diversity of Artemisia frigid community at three succession stages in Horqin Sandy Land. The three succession stages were Periploca sepium-A. frigida community, Periploca sepium-A. frigida+A. halodendron community, and A. frigida-Cleistogenes squarrosa community, all dominated by the plants of Compositae, Chenopodiaceae and Gramineae. The species number and family number in the communities and the species number of Gramineae decreased with succession, while the percentages of Compositae and Gramineae species increased. The species diversity of the communities was in the order of P. sepium-A. frigida+A. halodendron > P. sepium-A. frigida >A. frigida-C. squarrosa. No obvious difference was observed in the species composition among the three communities. In the three communities, A. frigida had the highest coverage, and the coverage increased with succession.

Key words: Horqin Sandy Land, Artemisia frigid community, community succession, species diversity, similarity, sustainable development, transdisciplinary, coupled human-environment system, Chinalization., sustainability science, linking knowledge and action