Distribution, characteristics and classification of Caryopteris
mongholica community in northern China
Abstract
Abstract: Caryopteris mongholica is a rare resource plant distributed in
typical steppe, desertified steppe and desert areas. Based on field
survey data sampled during the growing seasons from 2018 to 2021,
combined with relevant previous literature, this study analyzed the
distribution and environmental characteristics of C. mongholica
population, the characteristics, classification and species diversity of
C. mongholica community, and the influence of environmental factors. The
results showed that: (1)The C. mongholic population was mainly
distributed in the east, middle and west of Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region, the north of Loess Plateau, Hexi corridorm, Qilian Mountains and
other northwest temperate desert or steppe areas in China. It was the
dominant species or companion species in the community. (2) According to
the survey of 40 sample plots, a total of 141 species of seed plants
were recorded, belonging to 110 genera of 37 families, and families of
Compositae, Leguminosae and Gramineae played crucial roles in the
species composition. Among them, 42 of these species were shrubs and
dwarf/semi-shrubs, 76 were perennial herbs, 23 were annuals and
biennials. In the class of species presence, 88.02% were occasional
species with frequency distribution smaller than 20%. Typical
xerophytes occupied the main advantage(32.39%) in the water ecological
types. East Palearctic elements(25.35%) were the major floristic
geographic elements. (3) Based on the life form and dominance of
species, the C. mongholica communities were divided into 6 major
association groups,which were further divided into 23 associations.
(4)Precipitation, solar radiation and other environmental factors
significantly affect the distribution of C. mongholica population and
the species diversity of the community. Key word: Caryopteris
mongholica, population distribution, community characteristic, species
diversity