Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2011, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (10): 991-999.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1258.2011.00991

• Editorial •     Next Articles

Ecological adaptation of plants and control of rocky-desertification on karst region of Southwest China

GUO Ke*(), LIU Chang-Cheng, DONG Ming   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
  • Received:2009-01-12 Accepted:2009-06-03 Online:2011-01-12 Published:2011-11-07
  • Contact: GUO Ke

Abstract:

Karst region of Southwest China is ecologically very fragile. It has been suffering from severe rock-desertification and its vegetation has been damaging heavily. The restoration or reconstruction of the vegetation is extremely difficult. In recent years, a lot of pure and application-oriented basic researches have been performed in order to scientifically and technologically support the management of the rock-desertification. In this paper, we summarize habitat characteristics of the karst region and review the progress in ecological researches on plant adaptation, plant population, plant community and ecosystem in the region. In addition, as for current situation in management of the rock-desertification, we propose, particularly from angle of plant ecology, expectations for further researches in the region.

Key words: calcium soil, drought stress, habitat heterogeneity, karst, nutrient limit