Factors driving the biomass and species richness of desert plants in northern Xinjiang China

The desert ecosystem is an important part of the terrestrial ecosystem. Accurate estimations of the biomass and species richness of desert plants are of great value for maintaining ecosystem stability; however, current assessments remain a challenge due to the large spatial heterogeneity in biomass and species richness and difficulties posed by time-consuming field surveys, particularly in remote areas. In the present study, There were 527 sampling sites, and each sampling site contained approximately 9 quadrats. Approximately 4500 quadrats in total were taken from the Junggar Desert of northern Xinjiang, and the spatial distribution and factors driving the biomass and species richness of the desert ecosystem were quantitatively analyzed. The results showed that the average aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, litter, and the Patrick index of the Junggar Desert in northern Xinjiang were 115.42 gm−2, 924.77 gm−2, 13.06 gm−2, and 63, with values ranging from 2–708.12 gm−2, 120.25–3537.3 gm−2, 2–56.46 gm−2, and 0–377, respectively, The mean of the variation coefficient was 56.19%, 41.16%, 62.16% and 73.83%, suggesting moderate variation. The result is affected by the differences between the desert environment and climate. Climate factors had a relatively large impact on species richness, and the variation coefficient of species richness was large, indicating a large degree of dispersion of species richness. The direct influence of environmental and climatic factors on underground biomass (BGB) is relatively small, and its coefficient of variation is small. The spatial distribution of biomass and species richness in northern Xinjiang gradually decreased from west to east. Redundancy analysis showed that climate was the main factor driving desert biomass and species richness in northern Xinjiang, with an average independent explanatory power of 20.38% and 18.57%, respectively. Structural equation modeling indicated that climate factors, elevation, and community coverage had a direct positive effect on the aboveground biomass of the desert plants in northern Xinjiang and a direct negative effect on the belowground biomass. Moreover, climate factors and biological factors showed a direct positive effect on the species richness in northern Xinjiang.