Niche and interspecific correlation of herbaceous plants in the Altay desert region

The interspecific relationships of herbaceous plants provide insights into potential strategies for their ecological restoration. In order to elucidate the interspecific relationships between herb plants in the Altay desert region, plot data from a field survey was used to determine the niche and interspecific association of 14 dominant herbaceous plants using the combined approaches of niche determination, χ² test, association coefficient (AC), and Spearman rank correlation test. As a result, a total of 121 herbaceous species were found in 72 plots, mainly Compositae, Poaceae and Chenopodiaceae. The important values and niche breadth of Ceratocarpus arenarius, Kali collinum, and Seriphidium terrae-albae were larger among the dominant herbaceous species. Secondly, the degree of niche overlap was generally low, with a mean value of 0.11, and the competition among species was small. In addition, the overall correlation of dominant herb species was significantly negative, and the community was in an unstable succession state. Lastly, the results of χ² test, interspecific association coefficient AC, and Spearman rank correlation coefficient indicated that most species were not significantly associated, and that their interspecific association was low. Therefore, in the context of the ecological restoration of herbaceous plants in the Altay desert region, these results indicate that dominant herbaceous species with large niche breadth and high positive correlation should be selected to restore community stability.