Impact of land use on plant biodiversity and measures for biodiversity conservation in the Loess Plateau in China – a case study in a hilly-gully region of the Northern Loess Plateau

Authors: Jiang Y.¹; Kang M.²; Gao Q.¹; He L.¹; Xiong M.¹; Jia Z.³; Jin Z.⁴

Source: Biodiversity and Conservation, Volume 12, Number 10, October 2003 , pp. 2121-2133(13)

Publisher: Springer

Abstract:

The Loess Plateau is a special natural–cultural unit in northern China. Intensive land use in the past has had, and forestation and grass planting at present will have inevitable impacts on plant biodiversity in the Loess Plateau. Based on the analysis of floristic features within three sampling sites with different land use practices and analysis of species richness among different land use types, we discuss impacts of land use on species richness and floristic features in the Northern Loess Plateau. The results drawn from this case study are as follows: (1) It appears that forestation and grass planting have had a positive influence on the local species diversity, but they have contributed little to the native vegetation in terms of conserving its floristic features. (2) Caragana intermedia shrubland, Pinus tabulaeformis forestland, and natural grassland have made important contributions to supporting indigenous species and maintaining local plant biodiversity. (3) There is a significant positive correlation between land use diversity and species richness. These results imply that practicing biodiversity conservation in situ is feasible and the suitable choice for the Loess Plateau. Concrete measures for biodiversity conservation in the area can include setting up small nature reserves and diversifying land use patterns to maintain as much habitat as possible for native vegetation. The artificial Hippophae rhamnoides shrubland should not be further promoted, considering its negative influence on biodiversity conservation.

Keywords: Land use; Loess Plateau; Nature conservation; Plant biodiversity; Species richness

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Natural Disaster, Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Resources Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China 2: Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Natural Disaster, Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Resources Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China (e-mail: kangmy@bnu.edu.cn) 3: Department of Life Sciences, University of Inner Mongolia, China 4: Academy of Hydraulic Engineering, University of Inner Mongolia, China

Publication date: 2003-10-01

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• In this Subject: Ecology
• By this author: Jiang Y. ;  Kang M. ;  Gao Q. ;  He L. ;  Xiong M. ;  Jia Z. ;  Jin Z.

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