A study on community characteristics and soil moisture variation in alpine meadow secondary bare land

In order to restore and reconstruct the severely degraded grassland of Maqu alpine regions, the community characteristics and soil moisture variation were studied based on investigation of vegetation and soil moisture in water erosion type secondary bare lands of Maqu country (the first bend of the Yellow River). The results showed that the vegetation community in water erosion type secondary bare lands was mainly dominated by weeds and with characteristics of simple structure, single type, low coverage, sparse distribution, obscure vertical structure of community and dominant aboveground buds. The soil moisture showed a seasonal change with of change precipitation. The soil moisture in 0~20 cm and 20~40 cm soil layers was increased firstly and then decreased from May to November, and the maximum value appeared in July to August and the minimum value in May and November. These findings suggest that due to loose soil structure and low vegetation coverage, effects of water conservation on water erosion type secondary bare land are far less than that on the light degraded grassland.