Plant diversity and its environmental explaination in gobi district of northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, northwestern China

In order to explore the relationship between plant diversity and environmental factors in gobi district of northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of northwestern China, the sampling data and environmental data of 38 plant communities in the gobi area of northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were used to study the relationship between plant diversity and environmental factors in this area by one-way ANOVA, CCA analysis, variance decomposition. The results showed that: 1) there were 36 species of 29 genera in 12 families, the main species were Chenopodiaceae, Tamaricaceae, Gramineae and Compositae plants, and the distribution frequency of Reaumuria songarica was the largest. The plant forms grew in this area are mostly shrubs and herbs; 2) The characteristics of different dominant communities in the region were different. There were very significant differences in plant density (P < 0.01) and there were significant differences in vegetation coverage (P < 0.05), but there were not significant differences in species richness and Shannon diversity index in each community. 3) By CCA analysis, the annual precipitation significantly affected the distribution pattern of plant species in the area; 4) The community structure of the area was mainly affected by soil factors, climatic factors and biological factors and the explanatory rate of the above three reached 51.68%, among which, the individual explanatory rate of soil factor was the maximum, reached 25.36%. Since the remaining 48.91% was not explained, it can be presumed that there were other factors affecting the plant community structure in the region. In conclusion, the plant diversity level in the gobi area of the northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is low and the community structure is simple. Soil condition is the most important factor influencing plant diversity.