Diversity And Productivity Of Plant Functional Groups Under Different Grazing Intensities Of Leymus Chinensis Steppe

Leymus chinensis steppe is one of the unique types of rhizomatous steppe that appeares in middle-Asia. In recent years, plant functional groups have been became a new research focus.This study was based on the ecological investigation, discussing the variation regularity of plants productivity and biodiversity of Leymus chinensis rangeland at different grazing intensities. The aim is to find the response mechanism in plants diversity under different grazing intensities by comparing the biomass and biodiversity of community and functional groups, and it also would give suggestion for rational exploitation of steppe. The main results showed as follow: (1) As the grazing intensities increased, biodiversity was reduced , but it increased at moderately grazing area. And there were some relationships between biodiversity and functional diversity. (2) Plant biomass reduced with the grazing level increased. (3)Different plant functional groups have changed in different ways, and it has compensatory effects among them. (4) As grazing intensities increased,it could make the soil nutrients decrease, water content reduce, and soil compaction increase, soil aeration and permeability reduce, this change is obvious in surface soil.