2026-10-07T09:28:41Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33653128 2026-10-01T01:38:48Z category_24217 category_24220 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

From mobile sand dunes to 30-year Haloxylon ammodendron plantations: a dataset of ground arthropod diversity responses to vegetation cover changein the Badain Jaran Desert Jialong Ren (24710866) Wang Yongzhen (24823986) Zi-Ting Wang (24712088) He Zhibin (24823993) Quanlin Ma (17677778) Rong Yang (14834737) Liu Jiliang (24823990) Xiu-Zhen Zhao (25147355) Hong-Hong Xin (25147364) Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology) Ecological physiology desert ecosystem restoration ground-dwelling arthropods Haloxylon ammodendron plantations species diversisty Ground arthropods are major detritivoresin desert ecosystems, and their functional role becomes more pronounced as changes in soil water availability driven by vegetation cover and precipitation. In both natural and artificial sand-fixing vegetation areas, bottom-up effects mediated by vegetation cover and top-down effects driven by predatory vertebrate diversity jointly reshape the structure and function of the detrital food web, thereby influencing vegetation-soil feedback mechanisms. Based on a natural desertification gradient and the planting ages of Haloxylon ammodendronin artificial sand-fixing areas, we established a series of plots representing vegetation cover change across mobile, semi-mobile, semi-fixed, and fixed sand dunes, as well as 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-year H. ammodendronplantations. A multivariate dataset was then compiled, centered on ground arthropod diversity and complemented by potential drivers including vegetation, soil, and reptile and mammal diversity. The dataset covers eight habitat types. For each habitat, 12 sampling plots (30 m × 50 m) were established, with five pitfall traps per plot. Ground arthropods were sampled in May and August 2014. Infrared-triggered cameras and line transects were used to survey reptile and mammal diversity in natural desert areas, 5-10-year, and 20-30-year plantations. In autumn 2014, vegetation community structure was surveyed in each ground arthropod sampling plot, and soil samples were collected for physicochemical analysis. The dataset includes: (1) data on species composition, abundance, functional traits of ground arthropods; (2) data on changes in activity of reptiles and mammals; (3) data on vegetation cover, shrub nutrient content, species diversity, and biomass; and (4) data on fungal and bacterial OTUs diversity,soil enzyme activity, mechanical composition,bulk density, moisture, pH, salinity, and the contents and stocks of organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus. This long-term dataset provides baseline data for studying soil-vegetation-animal interactions during the restoration of artificial sand-fixing vegetation in arid regions, and offers scientific support for evaluating restoration effectiveness and informing management decisions in desert ecosystems. 2026-10-01T01:38:48Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33653128.v3 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/A_dataset_of_ground_arthropods_along_a_desert_restoration_gradient_from_sand_dunes_to_i_Haloxylon_ammodendron_i_/33653128 CC BY 4.0