Effects of alien species Robinia pseudoacacia on plant community functional structure in hilly-gully region of Loess Plateau, China.

• Published in: Ying yong sheng tai xue bao Vol. 29; no. 2; p. 459
• Main Authors: Zhu, Duo Ju, Wen, Zhong Ming, Zhang, Jing, Tao, Yu, Zeng, Hong Wen, Tang, Yang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Chinese
• Published: China 01.02.2018
• Subjects: China; Ecosystem; Forests; Introduced Species; Nitrogen; Robinia; Soil; functional structure; Robinia pseudoacacia community; native plant community; hilly-gully region of Loess Plateau
• ISSN: 1001-9332
• DOI: 10.13287/j.1001-9332.201802.007

To investigate the effects of the introduction of Robinia pseudoacacia on the functional structure of plant communities, we selected paired-plots of R. pseudoacacia communities and native plant communities across different vegetation zones, i.e., steppe zone, forest-steppe zone, forest zone in hilly-gully region of Loess Plateau, China. We measured several functional characteristics and then compared the functional structures of R. pseudoacacia and native plant communities in different vegetation zones. The results showed that the variation of the functional traits across different vegetation zones were consistent in R. pseudoacacia community and native plant community, including leaf carbon concentration, leaf nitrogen concentration, leaf phosphorus concentration, specific leaf area, and leaf tissue density. The leaf carbon concentration, leaf nitrogen concentration, and specific leaf area of the R. pseudoacacia community were significantly higher than those of the native plant community. The trend of change