Niche analysis of dominant species in alpine desert grassland communities in Qaidam Basin

College of Eco-Environmental Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China

^* corresponding author: hlshi7701@126.com; 2267290531@qq.com

Abstract

Community dominant plants and their ecological niche research is the focus of community ecology research. To explore the niche characteristics of desert dominant plants and the relationship between them and soil factors in Qaidam Basin, and to provide a basis for the construction of desert plant communities and the sustainable management of natural resources in Qaidam Basin. Taking 13 desert plant communities in Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province as the research objects, this paper analyzed the characteristics of desert plant communities and dominant species based on soil physical and chemical properties, and calculated the niche width and niche overlap of dominant plants. The dominant plants are, Haloxylon ammodendron, Tamarix chinensis, Achnatherum splendens, Poacynum hendersonii, Reaumuria songonica, Phragmites australiss, Sympegma regelii, and Ajania Tenuifolia, Artemisia sphaerocephala, Ceratoides latens, Pearl russianthistle, Scirpustriquter. There were different degree of niche overlap among species in the community. In addition, CCA sequencing showed that different species had different requirements on the environment, and the distribution of dominant species was mainly affected by soil total nitrogen and soil organic matter.