The model of karst land management based on plant diversity restoration and protection: Examples from Salaxi and Huajiang areas of Guizhou

Research on plant diversity restoration and protection of rocky desertification land can help repair the ecological environment and solve human-land conflict, providing effective methods for comprehensive treatment in these karst areas. This paper selected the Salaxi demonstration areas of Salaxi, Bijie and Guanling-Zhenfeng, Huajiang in Guizhou as the research objects. Through conventional surveys to plant diversity, we have learned the plant species, plant distribution and plant growth characteristics in the demonstration areas. Field reconnaissance and detection allow us to know land utilization and land consolidation degrees. By breeding pioneer species plants, combined with the theoretical basis of model construction and boundary conditions, zoning methods are suggested for the projects of rocky desertification land consolidation. Under the guidance of ecological land consolidation technology system, a series of modes are proposed including compound management of temperate and cool karst plateaus, potential-slight rocky land consolidation and agro-forestry, and intensive management of dry-hot karst plateau gorge moderate rocky desertification land consolidation and characteristic economic fruit forests. The results show that, (1)Survey on plant diversity is the basis for rocky desertification land consolidation based on the restoration and protection of plant diversity, and plant diversity needs to be dynamically monitored after the project. (2)Land consolidation planning and design should be integrated into the ecological concept, and structure land consolidation pattern based on plant diversity restoration and protection of the rocky desertification can help ecological restoration and reconstruction of fragile ecological environments. For example, during 2011-2014, the vegetation coverage rate raised 8.51% and the area of un-rocky desertification expanded 22.53 hm2 in the Salaxi demonstration area of Bijie. The vegetation coverage rate raised 4.47% and the area of un-rocky desertification expanded 13.2 hm2 in Guanling-Zhenfeng in the Huajiang demonstration area. (3)Model construction should be based on the technology system, which includes potential-slight rocky land consolidation artificial grass cultivation and grassland ecological improvement technology, the slope of hedgerow solid soil water technologies that give priority to honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica),forest food space configuration optimization technologies that give priority to Chinese prickly ash (Zanthoxylumbungeanum Maxim)-corn(Zea mays) and the grass nutrition configuration optimization technology that gives priority to emperor bamboo grass (Pennisetumsinese Roxb)-clover (LotuscorniculatusL) as a business mode.