Objective This research aims to analyze the effects of different shrub plantations on herbaceous species diversity and soil physicochemical properties,and quantify their improvement performance,to provide a scientific basis for regional ecological restoration and artificial forest structure optimization in desert ecosystems. Method The study was conducted in Dalate Banner,Ordos City,Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,located in the central part of the Hobq Desert.Three typical sand-fixing shrub plantations with similar topographic conditions and good growth conditions-Artemisia ordosica,Salix psammophila,and Caragana korshinskii-were selected.Using a combined method of field surveys and laboratory analyses,the species composition and diversity of understory herbaceous plants were determined and the soil physicochemical properties were measured.Correlation analyses were performed between herbaceous plant community diversity and soil physicochemical parameters,and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to comprehensively evaluate the improvement performance of each plantation type. Result A total of 15 herbaceous species were recorded across the three plantation types,with Chenopodiaceae being the dominant species (26.67%).The Simpson dominance index,Shannon-Wiener diversity index,and Margalef richness index of the understory herbaceous communities differed markedly among the three shrub plantations,with their values increasing in the order of A.ordosica plantation<S.psammophila plantation<C.korshinskii plantation,while the Pielou evenness index exhi-bited no significant difference.Within the 0-60 cm soil layer,except for soil bulk density,soil moisture content, field capacity,total porosity,and contents of organic matter,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen,available phosphorus, and available potassium all followed the same trend of A.ordosica plantation<S.psammophila plantation < C. korshinskii plantation.Correlation analysis indicated that except for the Pielou evenness index,the Simpson dominance index,Shannon-Wiener diversity index,and Margalef richness index of the herbaceous communities were significantly or extremely significantly correlated with soil physicochemical properties.PCA-based evaluation showed that the comprehensive scores of the three plantation types were decreased in the order of C.korshinskii (1.78)>S.psammophila (0.11)>A.ordosica (-1.90). Conclusion Different shrub plantations exert significant influences on herbaceous species diversity and soil physicochemical properties,among which C.korshinskii plantation demonstrated the strongest improvement effect.
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