Abstract:

Vegetation in the sand zone of the Baiinxile Livestock Farm of Xilingol Steppe Natural Reserve was investigated during 1985–1986. The paper describes the distribution and succession of vegetation in tile sand zone,

1. Vegetation in the sand zone shows mosaic patterns of open forests-brushwood-steppe in its western part and of closed forests-brushwood -steppe in its eastern part. There exists a vegetation ecological series from west to east as the elevation increases. The Principal Component Analysis of the vegetation highlights the fact that it is the gradient of stability of sand dunes and the gradient of soil water content that control the distribution patterns of the plant communities in the sand zone;

2. Succession of primary vegetation in the sand zone is described, The successional stage coincides with the process of sand-dune fixation. The stability of plant communities is highly correlated to the stability of sand dunes. As the soil water content and heat vary with the variation of topography, the succession of vegetation has the sunlight-slope sere and the shade-slope sere, the former developing towards forests and the latter towards steppe.

3. As regards the use and conservation of vegetation resources in the sand zone, 6 suggestions are put forward.