The Relationships between Plant Community Stability and Diversity across Different Grassland Types and Their Association with Environmental Factors in the Habahe Forest Area, Xinjiang

Abstract

Plant community stability and diversity play crucial roles in maintaining the stable performance of grassland ecosystem functions. In this study, we selected 55 representative grassland community sample plots in the Habahe Forest region of the Altai Mountains, Xinjiang. We examined the number of species, the number of individuals, and the cover of each species in the sample plots. Additionally, we determined the aboveground biomass of grassland communities, the stability of M. Godron communities, and plant diversity (using the Margalef index, Simpson index, Shannon–Wiener index, and Alatalo evenness index) in the sample plots. We analyzed community stability, plant diversity, and the correlation between community stability, plant diversity, and environmental factors (such as longitude, latitude, altitude, slope, humus thickness, soil thickness, air temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture). The results show that the plant coverage and height of different grassland types in the Habahe Forest area decrease from mountain meadow to desert steppe. The aboveground biomass and species diversity of meadows are significantly higher than those of steppes. The stability of different grassland types is as follows: montane steppe > montane meadow steppe > mountain meadow > desert steppe. The species richness of the four grassland types is positively correlated with community stability, while evenness is negatively correlated with community stability. Dominance in montane steppe and montane meadow steppe is significantly positively correlated with community stability, whereas diversity in desert steppe and montane steppe is significantly negatively correlated with community stability. Precipitation and soil moisture are the main factors affecting species diversity and stability in the Habahe Forest area. Soil nutrients and slope can also impact community stability by affecting species diversity. In summary, the ecological management of grasslands in the Habahe Forest area should consider climate, soil, and terrain factors, and different management measures should be selected to adapt to different grassland types.