The effect of grazing on the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation

Grazing can alter the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation, influencing ecosystem processes and biodiversity. Our objective was to identify why grazing causes increases in the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation in some cases, but decreases in others. The immediate effect of grazing on heterogeneity depends on the interaction between the spatial pattern of grazing and the pre-existing spatial pattern of vegetation. Depending on the scale of observation and on the factors that determine animal distribution, grazing patterns may be stronger or weaker than vegetation patterns, or may mirror the spatial structure of vegetation. For each possible interaction between these patterns, we make a prediction about resulting changes in the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation. Case studies from the literature support our predictions, although ecosystems characterized by strong plant-soil interactions present important exceptions. While the processes by which grazing causes increases in heterogeneity are clear, how grazing leads to decreases in heterogeneity is less so. To explore how grazing can consistently dampen the fine-scale spatial patterns of competing plant species, we built a cell-based simulation model that features two competing plant species, different grazing patterns, and different sources of vegetation pattern. Only the simulations that included neighborhood interactions as a source of vegetation pattern produced results consistent with the predictions we derived from the literature review.     

Form and function of grass ring patterns in arid grasslands: the role of abiotic controls

Ring-shaped growth patterns commonly occur in resource-limited arid and semi-arid environments. The spatial distribution, geometry, and scale of vegetation growth patterns result from interactions between biotic and abiotic processes, and, in turn, affect the spatial patterns of soil moisture, sediment transport, and nutrient dynamics in aridland ecosystems. Even though grass ring patterns are observed worldwide, a comprehensive understanding of the biotic and abiotic processes that lead to the formation, growth and breakup of these rings is still lacking. Our studies on patterns of infiltration and soil properties of blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) grass rings in the northern Chihuahuan desert indicate that ring patterns result from the interaction between clonal growth mechanisms and abiotic factors such as hydrological and aeolian processes. These processes result in a negative feedback between sediment deposition and vegetation growth inside the bunch grass, which leads to grass die back at the center of the grass clump. We summarize these interactions in a simple theoretical and conceptual model that integrates key biotic and abiotic processes in ring formation, growth and decline.     

Vegetation pattern formation in a fog-dependent ecosystem

Vegetation pattern formation is a striking characteristic of several water-limited ecosystems around the world. Typically, they have been described on runoff-based ecosystems emphasizing local interactions between water, biomass interception, growth and dispersal. Here, we show that this situation is by no means general, as banded patterns in vegetation can emerge in areas without rainfall and in plants without functional root (the Bromeliad Tillandsia landbeckii) and where fog is the principal source of moisture. We show that a simple model based on the advection of fog-water by wind and its interception by the vegetation can reproduce banded patterns which agree with empirical patterns observed in the Coastal Atacama Desert. Our model predicts how the parameters may affect the conditions to form the banded pattern, showing a transition from a uniform vegetated state, at high water input or terrain slope to a desert state throughout intermediate banded states. Moreover, the model predicts that the pattern wavelength is a decreasing non-linear function of fog-water input and slope, and an increasing function of plant loss and fog-water flow speed. Finally, we show that the vegetation density is increased by the formation of the regular pattern compared to the density expected by the spatially homogeneous model emphasizing the importance of self-organization in arid ecosystems.     

植被与水土流失关系研究进展

水土流失是世界性的环境问题之一,对人类社会可持续发展构成威胁,控制水土流失成为迫切需要,有许多水土流失控制措施,而生物措施尤其植被一直是人们研究的焦点.根据前人的研究,从斑块、坡面和流域/区域尺度总结了植被与水土流失的关系.斑块尺度植被对降雨和径流侵蚀能量具有很大的减弱或消除作用,可以改变植株底部的土壤性质,改善其结构,进而降低土壤可蚀性,增加入渗能力,从而减轻土壤侵蚀程度.不同植被类型、植被的不同层次结构,不同植被的形态结构具有不同的土壤侵蚀控制作用.坡面尺度主要从坡位、坡度、坡向对植被生长和分布格局的影响、对水土流失过程和格局的影响以及裸地-植被镶嵌格局、植被的条带格局对水土流失的影响和反映水土流失过程的景观格局指数的构建等方面进行了研究.更多是从植被恢复及其水土流失效应方面进行了探讨,为退化生态系统恢复和格局设计提供了极其有用的信息.流域/区域尺度植被与水土流失的关系更大程度上受到气候、地貌特征的影响,因此研究多从一定气候条件控制的土地覆盖（植被覆盖）及其格局的水土流失效应方面进行的.由于大尺度监测非常困难,研究多从遥感监测、GIS集成和模型模拟方面开展,是流域、区域等大尺度生态安全格局设计的有力支持.前人的研究为生态环境建设和保护提供了大量参考信息,但仍有一些问题需要进一步探讨,对此进行了初步的概括和归纳,希望能够对植被和水土流失关系的研究起到一定促进作用.     

Invasion legacy effects versus sediment deposition as drivers of riparian vegetation

Riparian zones are formed by interactions between fluvio-geomorphological processes, such as sediment deposition, and biota, such as vegetation. Establishment of invasive alien plant (IAP) species along rivers may influence vegetation dynamics, evidenced as higher seasonal or inter-annual fluctuations in native plant diversity when IAP cover is high. This could impact the overall functioning of riparian ecosystems. Conversely, fine sediment deposited in riparian zones after floods may replenish propagule banks, thus supporting recruitment of native species. The interactive effects of invasion and fine sediment deposition have hitherto, however, been ignored. Vegetation surveys across rivers varying in flow regime were carried out over 2 years to assess changes in community composition and diversity. Artificial turf mats were used to quantify over-winter sediment deposition. The viable propagule bank in soil and freshly deposited sediment was then quantified by germination trials. Structural Equation Models were used to assess causal pathways between environmental variables, IAPs and native vegetation. Greater variation in flow increased the cover of IAPs along riverbanks. An increased in high flow events and sediment deposition were positively associated with the diversity of propagules deposited. However, greater diversity of propagules did not result in a more diverse plant community at invaded sites, as greater cover of IAPs in summer reduced native plant diversity. Seasonal turnover in the above-ground vegetation was also accentuated at previously invaded sites, suggesting that a legacy of increased competition in previous years, not recent sediment deposition, drives above-ground vegetation structure at invaded sites. The interaction between fluvial disturbance via sediment deposition and invasion pressure is of growing importance in the management of riparian habitats. Our results suggest that invasion can uncouple the processes that contribute to resilience in dynamic habitats making already invaded habitats vulnerable to further invasions.     

Dispersal strategies and spatial organization of vegetation in arid ecosystems

Seed dispersal and establishment are critical stages for plants in arid environments, where vegetation is spatially organized in patches with suitable and unsuitable sites for establishment. Theoretical studies suggest that the ability of vegetation to self‐organize in patchy spatial patterns is a critical property for plant survival in arid environments, and is a consequence of a scale‐dependent feedback between plants and resource availability. Field observations show that plants of arid environments evolved towards short dispersal distance (proxichory) and that the investment in reproduction increases along an aridity gradient. Here, we investigated how plant dispersal strategies affect spatial organization and associated scale‐dependent feedback in arid ecosystems. We addressed this research question using a model where the spatio‐temporal vegetation patterns were driven by scale‐dependent feedbacks between plants and soil water availability. In the model, water availability limited vegetation growth, seed production and establishment ability. Seed dispersal was modelled with an integrodifferential equation that mimicked important plant dispersal characteristics (i.e. fecundity, mean dispersal distance and establishment ability). Results showed that, when the investment in fecundity was relatively high, short seed dispersal helped maintaining higher mean biomass in the system, improving the vegetation efficiency in water use. However, higher fecundity induced a large cost, and high mean biomass could be sustained only with high establishment ability. Considering low establishment ability, intermediate fecundity was more efficient than low fecundity in maintaining high plant biomass under the most arid conditions. Consistently, plant dispersal strategies that maintained more biomass were related to a vegetation spatial organization that allowed the most efficient soil water redistribution, through the strengthening of the scale‐dependent feedback. The efficient dispersal strategies and spatial patterns in the model are commonly observed in plants of arid environments. Thus, dispersal strategies in arid environments might contribute to a favourable spatial organization and associated scale‐dependent feedback.     

A model for the explanation of vegetation stripes (tiger bush)

Abstract. Regular vegetation patterns appear on aerial views of plateaux in SW Niger where densely and sparsely populated zones alternate with each other. This spatial organization of the vegetation is an endogenous phenomenon which is not limited to specific plants or soils; it is a characteristic landscape of many arid regions throughout the world. The phenomenon is interpreted as the result of a spatial range difference between two biologically distinct interactions operating at the plant population level. The proposed mechanism is independent of external heterogeneities deriving from soil geomorphology or meteorology. We present a model to simulate the genesis of vegetation stripes. In addition, the model predicts the occurrence of vegetation hexagons corresponding to higher or lower density spots arranged in a hexagonal lattice. The distinction between the two spatial symmetries is discussed in terms of their Fourier transforms.     

Short range co-operativity competing with long range inhibition explains vegetation patterns

We model the non-local dynamics of vegetation communities and interpret the formation of vegetation patterns as a spatial instability of intrinsic origin: the wavelength of the patterns predicted within the framework of this approach is determined by the parameters governing the dynamics rather than by boundary conditions and/or geometrical constraints. The spatial periodicity results from an interplay between short-range co-operative interactions and long-range self-inhibitory interactions inside the vegetation community. The influence of environmental anisotropies on pattern symmetry and orientation is discussed. As a case study, the approach is applied to a system of vegetation bands situated in the north-west of Burkina Faso. The parameters describing the co-operative and inhibitory interactions at the origin of the patterns are evaluated.     

Spatial heterogeneity and irreversible vegetation change in semiarid grazing systems

Recent theoretical studies have shown that spatial redistribution of surface water may explain the occurrence of patterns of alternating vegetated and degraded patches in semiarid grasslands. These results implied, however, that spatial redistribution processes cannot explain the collapse of production on coarser scales observed in these systems. We present a spatially explicit vegetation model to investigate possible mechanisms explaining irreversible vegetation collapse on coarse spatial scales. The model results indicate that the dynamics of vegetation on coarse scales are determined by the interaction of two spatial feedback processes. Loss of plant cover in a certain area results in increased availability of water in remaining vegetated patches through run-on of surface water, promoting within-patch plant production. Hence, spatial redistribution of surface water creates negative feedback between reduced plant cover and increased plant growth in remaining vegetation. Reduced plant cover, however, results in focusing of herbivore grazing in the remaining vegetation. Hence, redistribution of herbivores creates positive feedback between reduced plant cover and increased losses due to grazing in remaining vegetated patches, leading to collapse of the entire vegetation. This may explain irreversible vegetation shifts in semiarid grasslands on coarse spatial scales.     

植被格局对侵蚀产沙影响的研究评述

土壤侵蚀是人类可持续发展的重要挑战,植被重建则是防控侵蚀产沙的有效手段。在当前水土资源日益稀缺的新形势下,优化植被布局将成为黄土高原等生态脆弱地区未来阻蚀减沙、改善环境的重要途径,有关植被格局对侵蚀产沙影响的科技需求更加急迫、意义更加重要。为此,从坡面与流域两个尺度,总结评述了侵蚀产沙研究中的植被格局表征、侵蚀产沙对植被格局的变化响应两个议题的研究进展。分析认为,目前主要存在缺乏反映侵蚀产沙过程的植被格局表征指数、较少考虑植被与地形叠置格局对侵蚀产沙的耦合影响、尚未建立侵蚀产沙对植被格局的直观响应关系等问题。为促进有关研究,今后在格局指数和耦合关系的构建中应重视植被和地形对侵蚀产沙过程的耦合影响,并选用具有良好应用精度的分布式物理成因模型,以获得反映植被格局影响的流域侵蚀产沙结果。同时,可通过采用GIS空间分析技术,设计获得更多的典型植被格局及对应情景的侵蚀产沙,以丰富基础资料,减少信息干扰。     

流域径流泥沙对多尺度植被变化响应研究进展

植被变化与流域水文过程构成一个反馈调节系统,是目前生态水文学研究的重点对象.由于植被自身的生长发育以及受自然因素和人为干扰的作用,植被变化具有多尺度性;由于受流域水文环境的异质性和水文通量的变化性的影响,流域水文过程也同样具有多尺度性.因此,只有通过对不同尺度生态水文过程分析,才能揭示流域径流泥沙对植被变化的响应机理.从不同时空尺度回顾了植被生长、植被演替、植被分布格局变化、造林以及森林经营措施等对流域径流泥沙影响的主要研究成果;概括了目前研究采用的3种主要方法,即植被变化对坡面水流动力学影响的实验室模拟、坡面尺度和流域尺度野外对比观测实验以及水文生态模型模拟方法;分析了植被变化与径流泥沙响应研究要考虑的尺度问题,从小区尺度上推至流域尺度或区域尺度时应考虑不同的生物物理控制过程.研究认为,要确切理解植被与径流泥沙在不同时空尺度的相互作用,必须以等级生态系统的观点为基础,有效结合生态水文与景观生态的理论,从地质-生态-水文构成的反馈调节入手,系统地理解植被变化与径流泥沙等水分养分之间的联系及反馈机制,建立尺度转换的基础.同时,作为有效的研究工具,今后水文模型的发展应更加注重耦合植被生理生态过程以及景观生态过程,从流域径流泥沙对多尺度植被变化水文响应的过程与机制入手,为植被恢复与重建、改善流域水资源状况和流域生态环境奠定基础.     

Intraspecific competition in models for vegetation patterns: Decrease in resilience to aridity and facilitation of species coexistence

Patterned vegetation is a characteristic feature of many dryland ecosystems. While plant densities on the ecosystem-wide scale are typically low, a spatial self-organisation principle leads to the occurrence of alternating patches of high biomass and patches of bare soil. Nevertheless, intraspecific competition dynamics other than competition for water over long spatial scales are commonly ignored in mathematical models for vegetation patterns. In this paper, I address the impact of local intraspecific competition on a modelling framework for banded vegetation patterns. Firstly, I show that in the context of a single-species model, neglecting local intraspecific competition leads to an overestimation of a patterned ecosystem’s resilience to increases in aridity. Secondly, in the context of a multispecies model, I argue that local intraspecific competition is a key element in the successful capture of species coexistence in model solutions representing a vegetation pattern. For both models, a detailed bifurcation analysis is presented to analyse the onset, existence and stability of patterns. Besides the strengths of local intraspecific competition, also the difference between two species has a significant impact on the bifurcation structure, providing crucial insights into the complex ecosystem dynamics. Predictions on future ecosystem dynamics presented in this paper, especially on pattern onset and pattern stability, can aid the development of conservation programs.     

干旱半干旱区斑块状植被格局形成模拟研究进展

斑块状植被格局是世界上干旱半干旱区常见的景观类型,它们的形成、组成结构和演替过程研究,对于揭示区域生态系统变化的关键过程具有重要意义。鉴于基于地面调查和遥感技术的方法难以全面刻画斑块状植被格局的形成过程及机制,借助于模型模拟成为解决这一问题的有效方法。自20世纪90年代初至今,斑块状植被格局形成的连续和离散模拟研究不断涌现,然而,连续模拟侧重于植被格局形成的一般机理,缺乏与现实格局的对比和验证,离散模拟单元选择与规则制定等仍需不断研究。在简要回顾斑块状格局形成的反馈机制基础上,重点综述了斑块状植被格局形成的连续和离散模拟的最新研究进展,并指出了现有研究的不足。干旱半干旱区小尺度上植物和水的反馈作用决定了大尺度的斑块状植被格局,充分揭示植被-土壤水分相互作用机理是模型模拟研究的关键,放牧强度和降水格局等外部环境对干旱半干旱区斑块状植被格局特征具有重要影响。在未来研究中,应加强模型模拟结果与实际观测的植被格局比较和验证,重视局域环境条件、生态系统功能在模型中的表达,构建综合连续和离散模型各自优点的混合模型,注重斑块状植被格局形成过程中的标准子模型及模型开发和集成平台的研发,同时强调面向格局模拟和构建空间显式的斑块状植被格局形成模型。     

Herbivores as architects of savannas: inducing and modifying spatial vegetation patterning

In this paper, we address the question whether and through which mechanisms herbivores can induce spatial patterning in savanna vegetation, and how the role of herbivory as a determinant of vegetation patterning changes with herbivore density and the pre-existing pattern of vegetation. We thereto developed a spatially explicit simulation model, including growth of grasses and trees, vertical zonation of browseable biomass, and spatially explicit foraging by grazers and browsers. We show that herbivores can induce vegetation patterning when two key assumptions are fulfilled. First, herbivores have to increase the attractiveness of a site while foraging so that they will revisit this site, e.g. through an increased availability or quality of forage. Second, foraging should be spatially explicit, e.g. when foraging at a site influences vegetation at larger spatial scales or when vegetation at larger spatial scales influences the selection and utilisation of a site. The interaction between these two assumptions proved to be crucial for herbivores to produce spatial vegetation patterns, but then only at low to intermediate herbivore densities. High herbivore densities result in homogenisation of vegetation. Furthermore, our model shows that the pre-existing spatial pattern in vegetation influences the process of vegetation patterning through herbivory. However, this influence decreases when the heterogeneity and dominant scale of the initial vegetation decreases. Hence, the level of adherence of the herbivores to forage in pre-existing patches increases when these pre-existing patches increase in size and when the level of vegetation heterogeneity increases. The findings presented in this paper, and critical experimentation of their ecological validity, will increase our understanding of vegetation patterning in savanna ecosystems, and the role of plant–herbivore interactions therein.     

Linking habitat modification to catastrophic shifts and vegetation patterns in bogs

Paleoecological studies indicate that peatland ecosystems may exhibit bistability. This would mean that these systems are resilient to gradual changes in climate, until environmental thresholds are passed. Then, ecosystem stability is lost and rapid shifts in surface and vegetation structure at landscape scale occur. Another remarkable feature is the commonly observed self-organized spatial vegetation patterning, such as string-flark and maze patterns. Bistability and spatial self-organization may be mechanistically linked, the crucial mechanism being scale-dependent (locally positive and longer-range negative) feedback between vegetation and the peatland environment. Focusing on bogs, a previous model study shows that nutrient accumulation by vascular plants can induce such scale-dependent feedback driving pattern formation. However, stability of bog microforms such as hummocks and hollows has been attributed to different local interactions between Sphagnum, vascular plants, and the bog environment. Here we analyze both local and longer-range interactions in bogs to investigate the possible contribution of these different interactions to vegetation patterning and stability. This is done by a literature review, and subsequently these findings are incorporated in the original model. When Sphagnum and encompassing local interactions are included in this model, the boundaries between vegetation types become sharper and also the parameter region of bistability drastically increases. These results imply that vegetation patterning and stability of bogs could be synergistically governed by local and longer-range interactions. Studying the relative effect of these interactions is therefore suggested to be an important component of future predictions on the response of peatland ecosystems to climatic changes.     

西南岩溶区植被碳循环研究进展

由于岩溶关键带是地球关键带系统中重要的部分,岩溶区的植被是陆地生态系统重要的碳汇项,岩溶区植被的地上部分通过植物生长固碳的同时其地下部分的碳储量也非常可观,地下生物量生长和凋落物分解也会提高土壤有机碳和无机碳的含量,因此岩溶区植被碳循环已成为当前岩溶碳汇研究的热点之一。该文梳理了近四十年来岩溶植被固碳过程的研究文献,阐述了西南岩溶区植被特有的生理学特征,重点论述了以下4个方面的内容:(1)西南岩溶区植被生物量、生产力、碳储量评估;(2)西南岩溶区植被时空变化格局与碳源汇效应;(3)岩溶区植被碳利用特殊机制;(4)岩溶区植被碳循环模型预测与碳汇潜力。同时,提出了目前研究中存在的问题,并对今后的研究方向进行了展望,认为今后应在岩溶区植被碳循环的相关参数系统测定和机理过程研究,精细识别西南岩溶地区植被景观类型、量化固碳过程,以及对岩溶植被碳循环模型进行校正和修改等方面开展研究。该文可为深入理解岩溶区碳的时空演化规律、探索区域碳循环机理提供参考。     

Numerical investigation of spatial pattern in a vegetation model with feedback function

The vegetative cover in semi-arid lands typically occurs as patches of individual species more or less separated from one another by bare ground. Klausmeier [1999. Regular and irregular patterns in semiarid vegetation. Science 284 (5421), 1826-1828] reported that the vegetation striped patterns can grow lying along the contours of gentle slopes. He has proposed a model of vegetation stripes based on competition for water. In this paper, our main aim is to study the positive feedback effects between the water and biomass on the vegetation spatial pattern formation within a nonsaturated soil, which arises from the suction of water by the roots and processes of water resource redistribution. According to the dispersion relation formula, we discuss the changes of the wavelength, wave speed, as well as the conditions of the spatial pattern formation. Our numerical results show that trees are more sensitive than grasses to the positive feedback function to format the spatial heterogenous pattern, and the stronger positive feedback increases the parameters region where vegetation bands occur, which indicates that the positive feedback raises the possibility of shift from green to desert states in semi-arid areas for the long term. Our numerical results also show that the positive feedback can increase the migration velocity of the vegetation stripes.     

Vegetation patterns generated by a wind driven sand-vegetation system in arid and semi-arid areas

Wind has been proposed as a driving factor in determining vegetation patterns, but there are few dynamic models that include both vegetation and wind. In this paper, we present a dynamic model to investigate how a vegetation pattern is generated and affected by wind. In the model, the effects of prevailing wind and non-prevailing wind on sand and vegetation are modeled respectively as advection terms and diffusion terms. With these considerations and proper parameter values that satisfy Turing bifurcation conditions, labyrinth and banded vegetation patterns are obtained in two situations of wind. By changing wind transportation capacity, we simulate the adaptation process from one vegetation pattern to another. With environmental changes of large amplitude, the width of vegetation bands varies while the wavelength can increase but does not decrease in our simulation. Then we describe the difference between simulated patterns and real patterns. And in the discussion, we explain the mechanism that forming patterns and the consistency of this research with other studies.     

植物群落中物种小尺度空间结构研究

植物群落中, 物种小尺度空间结构影响着种群或群落的动态及有关的生态学过程。植物主要是和它同种或异种的邻近个体相互作用,植物个体周围的局部环境和大空间尺度下群落的平均水平是完全不同的。群落中的许多过程都影响小尺度空间结构的形成和动态,同样,局部空间结构反过来影响着植物的生长、更新和凋亡等重要过程。鉴于目前对小尺度空间结构进行的大量研究以及其重要性,有必要对其研究进展进行适当的总结,以期明确将来进一步的研究方向。该文以此为出发点,首先介绍了植物群落中物种小尺度空间结构产生的6个原因:1)生境的空间异质性;2)植物繁殖体的传播;3)植物之间的相互作用;4)生物环境(动物和微生物)的作用;5)外界干扰的作用;6)多因子综合作用。然后阐述了小尺度空间结构意义及对生物多样性、植物种群遗传学和恢复生态学研究的影响。最后对目前物种小尺度空间结构研究存在的几点问题及将来的研究方向作以下归纳:1)大尺度植被动态的研究应该整合小尺度空间结构的信息;2)不论从生物学还是生态学上来讲, 植被小尺度空间结构的研究应该把植物作为中心,确定适当的尺度和采取合理的空间统计方法;3)充分重视小尺度空间结构在退化生态系统恢复中的应用意义;4)注重从小尺度的局部格局研究入手对群落总体特征进行整合;5)植物群落动态研究中,物种小尺度空间结构与平均场假说相结合的必要性。     

库布齐沙漠南缘风沙-植被相互作用及其景观效应

干旱区尤其沙漠边缘地区的风沙与植被相互作用对塑造地表景观具有重要意义。选择库布齐沙漠南缘的油蒿灌丛地为研究区,开展了植被调查、风沙流观测和表层沉积物粒度采样测试,分析了顺风向植被盖度、风沙流结构与沉积物特征的沿程变化,探讨了风沙-植被相互作用及其对地表景观格局的影响。结果表明,风沙流与植被相互作用方式的改变使植物生长状况与地表蚀积模式发生变化,进而导致顺风向景观表现出明显的空间异质性。自上风向裸地过渡到均匀分布的新生油蒿和油蒿灌丛再至斑块状分布的灌丛沙堆,植被盖度与覆沙厚度先增大后减小,空气动力学粗糙度沿程不断增加且在过渡时其增幅最大,输沙率与沉积物粒度呈先减小后增大趋势,并在植被盖度与覆沙厚度最大处出现最小值。在沙漠边缘剥蚀高原上,起初适量风沙堆积促进油蒿定植与生长,均匀分布的油蒿灌丛进一步促进沙物质堆积,但当堆积厚度超过油蒿耐沙埋深度时发生退化,灌丛出现斑块状分布且风沙流在丘间地处侵蚀。据此,可理解为剥蚀高原风沙区景观异质性是风沙与植被相互协同与抑制作用的结果。