Pattern of plant biomass and net primary production was investigated in two localities (Minqin and Linze) of oasis-desert ecotone (ODE) in Northwest China, in order to recognize the spatial and temporal variability of vegetation under same regional climate with different groundwater depth. The average depth to groundwater was over 14.02 m at Minqin -- marked further as DG (deep groundwater) and about 4.96 m at Linze -- marked further as SG (shallow groundwater). We have measured plant biomass and Netprimary productivity (NPP) across species, threetimes per year for three consecutive years, in sixplots along Minqin and Linze oasis-desert ecotone(further marked as DG and SG ODE), respectively.Our results showed that DG and SGODEs had different growth responses to differentgroundwater depths. DG ODE exhibited higherinter-annual variation in annual NPP (rangedfrom 0.18 to 9.30 g m⁻²) than did SG ODE (rangedfrom 0.42 to 17.99 g m⁻²). Decrease of groundwaterdepth had apparently altered the seasonalityof productivity in DG ODE systems, where precipitationin summer maintained plant growth,while ODE with high groundwater depth tendedto have higher spring NPP in SG ODE. Spatialand temporal heterogeneity of NPP at the scaleof our measurements was significantly greater inDG ODE than in SG ODE. SG ODE tended tosupport higher NPP than did DG ODE. In addition,the groundwater depth strongly influenced spatial and temporal heterogeneity of NPP in thedesert ecosystems. Clearly, the desert ecosystemwith higher groundwater depth is more stable andmore resistant to long-term drought or climateshifts in arid regions. These investigations andquantitatively analysis are very significant for theexecution of conservation and restoration in aridecosystems.
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