Excluding grazers is one of most efficient ways to restore degraded grasslands in desert-steppe communities, but may negatively affect the recovery of plant species diversity. However, diversity differences between grazed and fenced grasslands in desert-steppe are poorly known. In a Stipa breviflora desert steppe community in Northern China, we established six plots to examine spatial patterns ...

Organic carbon (OC) sequestration in degraded semi-arid environments by improved soil management is assumed to contribute substantially to climate change mitigation. However, information about the soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration potential in steppe soils and their current saturation status remains unknown. In this study, we estimated the OC storage capacity of semi-arid grassland soils ...

A risk assessment of vegetation zone responses to climate change was conducted using the classical Holdridge life zone model on the Loess Plateau of Northwest China. The results show that there are currently ten vegetation zones occurring on the Loess Plateau (1950–2000), including alvar desert, alpine wet tundra, alpine rain tundra, boreal moist forest, boreal wet forest, cool temperate desert...

In the Great Basin, coniferous trees are expanding their range at a rate higher than any other time during Holocene. Approximately 90% of expansion has occurred in ecosystems previously dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.). Transitions from open, steppe to woodlands considered threat greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), obligate gallinaceous bird that occupies approximately 56% i...

In the alpine steppe zone on the Central Tibetan Plateau, a large amount of area has been degraded due to natural and artificial factors. N & P fertilization is widely accepted to recover degraded pastures in other regions all over the world. However, it is not clear how alpine steppe communities respond to N & P fertilization, and what is the optimal application rate, in the perspective of for...

A. annua is so named because it is almost the only member of the genus with an annual cycle. It is a shrub, often growing over 2 m high (Ferreira et al., 1997; see Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2). Its leaves and flowers contain artemisinin, first isolated in China in 1971; this is the constituent with the greatest antimalarial activity (see Table 3.3). Artemisinin has been found in only two other sp...

Herbs have long been used in the treatment of various disorders in traditional medicine since ancient age. Artemisia absinthium, one of these herbs, has traditionally been used in different societies for antibiotic, antiparasitic, antifungal and antipyretic purposes. Here, we report a poisoning case of a 10-month-old male infant progressing with severe diarrhoea and persistent metabolic acidosi...

The landscapes of Inner Mongolia are widely known for the vast Stipa krylovii steppes. However, overgrazing and other improper land uses have extensively degraded the Stipa krylovii steppe ecosystem in recent decades. Knowledge about the soil seed banks and the remaining vegetation in these damaged ecosystems is crucial for guiding the restoration efforts. Using a germination method, this study...

The first study of the aphid fauna from Chukotka Autonomous Okrug has been made; 18 species are reported from this territory, the most north-eastern of Russia and of the Palaeartic Region. Five new species are described: Aphis aquilonalis sp. nov. on Rumex arcticus Trautv.; Aphis beringiensis sp. nov. were collected by yellow trap; Macrosiphoniella (Asterobium) jaroslavi sp. nov. on Artemisia a...

This study aimed to determine phenolic compounds of Artemisia spicigera (family Asteraceae) growing in East-Azarbaijan province of Iran. 20%, 40 % and 60% SPE fractions of methanolic extract of A. spicigera, were subjected to reversed phase preparative HPLC, with the mobile phase consisted of methanol and water. Structural identification of phytochemicals by spectroscopic methods including UV a...