Suitable Habitat For The Achnatherum Splendens Community In Typical Steppe Region Of Inner Mongolia

The Achnatherum splendens community is an important vegetation resource in arid and semi-arid regions. Achnatherum splendens often as a natural pasture in typical steppe regions in Inner Mongolia, especially as the winter camp, when lack of forage in the cold winter and the period of drought, Achnatherum splendens due to residual and tall plants can avoid wind and snow, so it has a great feeding significance.A mosaic A. splendens community often exists in the slightly lower topographical parts of typical steppe regions in Inner Mongolia, and often adjoins the low-lying wetlands. In order to research the suitable habitat for the A. splendens community. Four representative study areas of typical steppe in the Xilinguole Grassland were selected to study the suitable habitat for this community in the steppe region of Inner Mongolia. We selected an area in each plot to measure the local topography, including the length, width, and heigh of each plot. Also we surveyed the vegetation of the A. splendens community and its adjacent communities, which were zonal Stipa communities and wet meadow communities. When possible, we measured the underground water level in the plots at the topographic control point; a soil sample 1 meter in depth was collected to test the soil conductivity, soil pH value, soil texture feature and the soil moisture to reveal the habitat characteristics and the formation mechanism of the A. splendens community. By comparing the above indices with the other adjacent communities, some conclusions can be made:1. The A. splendens community of typical steppe in Inner Mongolia often located in the washland and the intervale, it is a result of an elevation gradient. It has a kind of zonal distribution among the communities of A. splendens, zonal Stipa communities, and wet meadow communities.2. It is clear the A. splendens community occurs in areas with groundwater at 1-3 m below the surface, in addition to surface runoff which caused by the surface micro ups and downs. The soil moisture is higher than zonal Stipa communities but lower than wet meadow communities.3. It is also relevant to the soil pH value and the soil conductivity tests reflect the soil salt content. The salt tolerance of A. splendens community is well known to be very high. Soil salinity, low at the soil surface, was relatively higher as depth increased. The soil pH is significantly higher in this community than in the adjacent wet meadow community and zonal Stipa community.4. It can be concluded that the formation of the A. splendens community suitable habitat is unrelated to soil texture.