Yajaun Zhu received her Ph.D. from the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2007. She is currently an associate professor at the Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry. She has published sixty-four articles on desert ecology and land desertification control. She has published two books on desert plants and ecosystem management.
A desert is an ecosystem in an arid zone in which sand dunes cover the land and sandstorms often occur. Although desert vegetation is sparse, it plays an important role in ecosystem structure and function. Desertification is one of the most severe environmental problems today. Land desertification can be controlled through many measures, such as eco-villages, eco-agriculture, biodiversity conservation, and the combination of engineering and biology. This edited volume provides new insights into the pattern of desert ecosystems and the progress of desertification control. It is a useful resource for researchers in ecology, forestry, and land desertification control.
Go to the bookGonghe basin is located in the ecotone from the semi-arid to arid zone on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Caragana intermedia and Caragana korshinskii are dominant on sand dunes. Salix psammophila and Salix cheilophila are mainly distributed on interdune. Water source of four desert shrubs was examined by δD and δ18O, and their long-term water use efficiency (WUE) was compared by leaf δ13C. Four desert shrubs used different depths of soil water depending on their availability in different seasons, including shallow soil water recharged by rain in spring or summer and deep soil water recharged by ground water. The reliability on ground water of two Salix shrubs on interdune was more significant than two Caragana shrubs on sand dunes. Moreover, the WUE of four shrubs decreased in drought spring. Two shrubs in Caragana had similar WUE in the growing season. However, the WUE of S. psammophila was always higher than that of S. cheilophila, which might have more adaptability in Gonghe Basin.
Part of the book: Water Stress in Plants
Water and soil erosion and sandy desertification are two mainly land desertification types on eastern and southern Ordos Plateau, north China. Hippophae rhamnoides, Armeniaca sibirica and Pinus tabuliformis are three woody plants for soil and water conservation on loess slope. Sabina vulgaris, Artemisia ordosica and Salix psammophila are three shrubs for sand control on sand dune. Water source of six woody plants were investigated by stable isotope technology. The results showed that the δ18O of shallow soil water was similar to that of rainwater in July and September in two habitats. Both of six woody plants in two habitats mainly used shallow soil water in May. However, three shrubs on sand dune mainly used both of shallow and deep soil water in July and September. Three woody plants on loess slope mainly used rainwater or deep soil water in July and September. Therefore, six woody plants utilized different depths of soil water or rain water based on their availability in different seasons, which is an adaptive strategy to the semiarid climate on Ordos Plateau.
Part of the book: Deserts and Desertification