LIfe and Environment Sciences
LI Houchun, QIN Hao, ZHANG Hong, LI Junjian, LIU Yong
Changes in the composition and diversity of plant communities during vegetation restoration in reclaimed areas can enhance our understanding on the evolutionary processes and patterns of plant communities. Four planted forests, Populus simonii, Pinus tabuliformis, Ulmus pumila and Robinia pseudoacacia in a typical coal mine reclamation area in Pingshuo, Shanxi, were selected to analyze the composition and species diversity of the understory herbaceous community and to investigate the influence of soil and stand on the herbaceous layer of the plant community. The aim of the present study was to provide basis information for species selection in the later stage of mining area reclamation. The results showed that: (1) there were 25 families, 49 genera and 59 species of understory herbaceous plants, among which the A. Bercht has the most species, followed by the F. Lindl and P. Barnhart, and the life type is mainly perennial herbs. The dominant species of plants are mainly woodland P. nemoralis, M. sativa and S. chamaejasme. (2) The herbaceous diversity of the P. tabuliformis showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing during vegetation recovering, while the opposite trend was observed in the U. pumila, and no obvious trends were observed in the P. simonii and R. pseudoacacia communities. (3) Soil organic matter and total nitrogen increased significantly (P < 0.05), soil bulk density decreased significantly (P < 0.05), and total phosphorus increased significantly (P > 0.05), except for R. pseudoacacia, while soil water content did not change significantly (P > 0.05). (4) Soil physical and chemical properties and highly significant effects on herbaceous community composition (P < 0.01). The study reveals the successional characteristics of herbaceous communities under different plantation forests in the Pingshuo coal mining reclamation area, which can provide a scientific basis for the ecological restoration in this area.