• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.177-186
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• 2023

Background: Inner Mongolia, desertification is happening due to climate change and land use alterations. In order to evaluate desert restoration effectiveness, this study compares number of species and species diversity in restored (with planted trees), unrestored area, and the reference ecosystem (Ref-E, typical steppe and woody steppe). Results: The Ref-E had the most plant species (64 taxa), while the unrestored area had the fewest (5 taxa). Among restored areas (restored in 2012, 2008, 2005), older restoration sites had more species (18-42). Similarly, species richness (3.93-0.41) and diversity (1.99-0.40) were highest in the Ref-E and lowest in unrestored areas, with older restored sites having higher values. Conclusions: More plant species and diversity in older restoration areas suggest progress toward ecosystem stabilization, approaching the Ref-E. Therefore, tree planting in Inner Mongolia's Hulunbuir semi-arid desert is a successful restoration effort.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.30-42
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• 2018

Background: The southern and eastern parts of the Gobi Desert area are a unique dry ecosystem with a diverse regional desert, semi-desert, and mountain dry steppe flora. This area habitat is located at the overlap of different floristic regions; on its northeast side, Central Asian desert flora is dominating, and on the eastern side, East Asian flora is observed. The comprehensive survey was carried out to find the floral diversity of the medicinal plants on the region. Methods: All recorded species in this study were based on the collected voucher specimens between June and August in the year 2017. Results: We recorded 23 families, 57 genera, and 78 species of vascular plants. The families Asteraceae (15 species), Fabaceae (10 species), and Amaranthaceae (10 species) were represented most in the study area, while Caragana (5 species), Salsola (4 species), and Arnebia (3 species) were the most common genera found. Conclusion: Conservation status for remarkable species was also reviewed based on the literature. Around the study area, 24 species as "sub-endemic," 10 species as "very rare," 4 species as "rare," 1 species as "alien," 13 species as "relict," 10 species as "Red Book," 2 species as "endangered (EN)," 3 species as "vulnerable (VU)," 3 species as "near threatened (NT)," and 2 species as "least concern (LC)" plants are growing.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.103-110
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• 2018

Backgrounds: In arid grasslands, wells are subject to heavy trampling and grazing pressure, which can increase vulnerability to local land degradation. To investigate trampling and grazing, we surveyed plant communities at three well sites in the desert steppe of Mongolia, using 1600-m line transects from the wells. The sites (Bshrub, Sshrub, and shrubL) differed by concomitant shrub type (big shrub, small shrub, and shrub-limited) and livestock pressure (light, medium, and heavy). A plant classification scheme based on edibility and morphology (rosette or creeping type) was used to separate grazing and trampling effects on plant communities. Results: Edible plants were dominant at all sites but a fraction of grazing- and trampling-tolerant plants increased in the order Bshrub, Sshrub, and shrubL, following livestock pressure. Clear transition zones from inedible to edible plant groups were recognized but at different locations and ranges among the sites. Trampling-tolerant plants explained 90% of inedible plants at Sshrub with camels and horses, but grazing-tolerant plants prevailed (60%) at shrubL with the largest livestock number. Plant coverage increased significantly along the transects at Bshrub and Sshrub but showed no meaningful change at shrubL. Herbaceous plant biomass showed significant positive and negative trends at Bshrub and shrubL, respectively. Conclusions: Both grazing and trampling can produce larger fractions of inedible plants; in this, camel and horses can have considerable effects on desert-steppe plant communities through trampling.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.79-86
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• 2004

An extensive study of the vegetation characteristics of the Hamersley Ranges, a mountainous desert area of north-west Australia, facilitated the comparison of plant species diversity measures with mountainous deserts of other parts of the world. Alpha diversity was defined as the number of species co-existing at local scales and was found to average 18 species per 0.1 ha for the Hamersley Ranges. This was found to be similar to seven other mountainous deserts in North and South America, and southern Africa. Variation in alpha diversity between these deserts was found to considerably lower than within deserts, suggesting that local processes control species richness at local scales. Beta diversity, defined here as turnover in species composition at various spatial scales, can be measured in many ways. For the Hamersley Ranges, Wilson's β ranged from 1.2 to 1.6 for five sites along a topographic gradient, whereas Whittaker's β between different plant communities was found to average 0.93. Comparable data was not found for other desert areas, but comparisons to non-desert areas suggest beta diversity within landscapes is relatively high and is likely to reflect the considerable landform heterogeneity of the Hamersley Ranges. 55∼70% of species were shared between different landscapes of the Hamersley Ranges; comparisons to other regions suggest beta diversity at this scale is relatively low. Gamma diversity, the number of species over large spatial extents, was successfully compared using regression analysis of the log-log species - area relationship. This revealed that the northern Sonoran desert has significantly less species than the Nama (inland) Karoo and Hamersley Ranges over medium spatial extents, but species numbers were similar at a regional scale. Several constraints to the valid comparison of species diversity were identified, including lack of standardisation of sampling techniques, the wide range of measures employed, general lack of published data, and the influence of the various components of spatial scale on most diversity measures. Recommendations on how to improve future comparative work are provided.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.158-162
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• 1974

Some ecological attributes of perennial plants and Pb contamination were analyzed for study plots near an entrance of Nevade Test Site at Mercury Valley, Nye County, Nevada. The surface of the desert pavement soil was composed of stones (1 to 4cm diameter). The underside of each stone was coated with coarse and fine sand (about 90%). The profiles of soil were constituted with the A-horizon and C-horizon only. The soil pH at the plots ranges from 7.6 to 8.5, C/N was 13 and cation exchange capacity showed 15me/100g. Nine species and 42 number of individuals were found in all plots. Franseria dumosa and Larrea divaricata were dominant species. The discrete clumps of vegetation were consisted of 9 species of common perennials and these were covered about 25% on desert pavement, on the other words, bare area without vegetation was about 75%. The size and spacing of the plants was irregular. Community coefficient as comparison between shrub species in these study area and those in near the low elevation desert indicated a low degree of similarity. Density, cover and productivity in the study plots as compared with those in the nearest study areas in Mercury Valley showed a higher value. The soils in the studied area involved high heavy metal contents in the plant tissue was higher than those of its soil. The leavds of Lycium andersonii tended to accumulate more Zn and Mo than those of the other species. Larrea divaricata leaves accumulated very high leaves of Fe and Ephedra nevadensis were generally high in Mn. Lead contamination was apparent in foliage of desert vegetation collected alongside the roadway, reflecting the variation in traffic volume. Lead contents greater than fifteen-fold of normal (low traffic) were found in plant foliage alongside the heavily traveled roadway. Lead content of old foliage by the heavily traveled roadway was as much as 129 ppm but that of new foliage 17 ppm only.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.167-167
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• 2003

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.112-112
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• 2003

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.217-222
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• 2010

Bark is a general medium for potted Cymbidium in Korea, but it is difficult to shake off or eliminate the medium from the roots before exporting the potted plants. This working process can injure the roots and then deteriorate plant marketability. This study was carried out to select the optimum medium easier to eliminate from the roots instead of bark and the optimum amount of applied fertilizer to improve the plant growth. Cymbidium young plants 'Honey Hot' and 'Desert Look' were planted in pots with bark, cocochip, and peatmoss. The plants were treated with 2, 4, and 6 g of slow release fertilizer. The plant growth characteristics were investigated in the first and second years during production period of three years. The medium characteristics and mineral nutrient content of the leaves were also examined in the second year. In the first year, the plant growth of 'Desert Look' was improved in all peatmoss treatments more than bark. 'Honey Hot' showed the highest plant growth values in the bark treatment. In the second year, the plant growth of the two cultivars was improved in peatmoss. Cocochip treatments showed the lower plant growth values than bark and peatmoss in the first and second year. There was no significant difference among fertilizer amounts in all the media. The higher CEC values of peatmoss medium resulted to higher capacity to hold more nutrients than bark, and the nutrient retention of the peatmoss improved the plant growth. The higher K and Ca contents in the leaves would contribute to improve the plant growth. Consequently, it would be possible to use peatmoss instead of bark for Cymbidium young plants, but there must be always attention to appropriately water the medium and manage the moisture.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2022

Background: Plant vegetation appears in heterogeneous and patchy forms in arid and semi-arid regions. In these regions, underneath the plant patches and the empty spaces between them are covered by biological soil crusts (moss, lichen, cyanobacteria, and fungi). Biological soil crusts lead to the formation and development of fertile islands in between vegetation patches via nitrogen and carbon fixation and the permeation of runoff water and nutrients in the soil. Results: The present study has investigated the association of biological soil crusts, the development of fertile islands, and the formation of plant patches in part of the Takht-e Soltan protected area, located in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran. Three sites were randomly selected as the working units and differentiated based on their geomorphological characteristics to the alluvial fan, hillslope, and fluvial terrace landforms. Two-step systematic random sampling was conducted along a 100-meter transect using a 5 m² plot at a 0-5 cm depth in three repetitions. Fifteen samplings were carried out at each site with a total of 45 samples taken. The results showed that the difference in altitude has a significant relationship with species diversity and decreases with decreasing altitude. Results have revealed that the moisture content of the site, with biocrust has had a considerable increase compared to the other sites, helping to form vegetation patterns and fertile islands. Conclusions: The findings indicated that biological crusts had impacted the allocation of soil parameters. They affect the formation of plant patches by increasing the soil's organic carbon, nitrogen, moisture and nutrient content provide a suitable space for plant growth by increasing the soil fertility in the inter-patch space.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.155-160
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• 2005

Haloxylon recurvum (Locally known as Khar) is drought and salt tolerant plant of Thar Desert. This plant is a major biomass producer and has economic and ecological importance for the region. There is need for study on biology, propagation and genetic improvement for utilization of this plant for reclamation of saline soils. We report here on in vitro propagation of Haloxylon recurvum (Moq.) using nodal explant. Secretion of phenolic compound from explants was a major constraint for establishment of culture. This was checked by thorough washing and quick transfer of explant on fresh culture medium. Juvenile nodal explant with leaves was found suitable for culture establishment. Benzy-ladenine($4.0\;{\mu}M$) incorporated in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with additives (50 mg/L ascorbic acid and 25 mg/L each of adenine sulphate, arginine and citric acid) induced multiple shoots from nodal explant. Addition of $1.0\;{\mu}M$ naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) in combination with $4.0\;{\mu}M$ BAP improved the growth of axillary shoots. Further shoot amplification was achieved by repeated subculture of mother explants on fresh medium. Forty percent of the micropropagated shoots rooted on half-strength MS medium with $4.0\;{\mu}M$ indolebutyric acid (IBA) and 100 mg/L activated charcoal, at $28{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ and $60\%$ RH. Sixty percent of these plantlets were hardened in green house.