Growth and Survival of Tree Species on Reforestation Study in Degraded Sandy Soil Regions of Central Mongolia

Ganchudur Tsetsegmaa1,WonwooCho2,KhaulenbekAkhmadi1,HoduckKang3,*

1Division of Desertification Study, Institute of Geography & Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Mongolia,

2Division of Forest Tree Improvement, National Institute of Forest Science, South Korea,

3Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Dongguk University Biomedi Campus, South Korea

Abstract: The study was implemented in the Elsen Tasarkhai station of the Research and Experimental Center for Combating Desertification (47° 19' 41.4" N, 103° 42' 06.5" E; 1,967 m altitude), located in Khugnu-Tarna National Park in Rashaant district in the Bulgan province, Central Mongolia. Since 2010, trees and shrubs that are native and can be nativated have been planted within the scope of experiment station to combat desertification to combat sand movement and to build windbreak. In May 2010, a total of 1,764 seedlings from five different species (Acer tataricum, Caragana arborescens, Malus baccata, Populus sibirica and Ulmus pumila) of trees and shrubs were planted. The different species showed different survival rates in the reforestation experiment. By the end of 2010, 98 % of the all planted trees remained alive. In 2011 and 2012, the survivorship of A. tatarium and M. pallasiana continuously decreased significantly. From 2012, there was not any significant decrease in the survival of U. pumila, P. sibirica and U. pumila species (78 %, 82 % and 95 % respectively, p < 0.05). In the experiment, U. pumila exhibited the highest survival of 88% followed by the C. arborescens stand and then P. sibirica (86 % and 83 % respectively, p < 0.05). M. pallasiana and A. tataricum showed the lowest significant survival of 66 % and 53 % respectively, p < 0.05 in trees compared with other species. Overall, the results showed that P. sibirica showed the tallest tree height, after A. tataricum, U. pumila, C. arborescens, but M. pallasiana species has the shortest height in autumn 2017. The height growth of P. sibirica, U. pumila and C. arborescens significantly increased (7.02 %, 13.30 % and 30.35 %, respectively) during the study years. But A. tataricum (-1.56 %) and M. pallasiana (-3.70 %) species showed a decrease in height. The value of trees height showed significant differences between species (F = 41.43 to 79.08; p = < 0.001). In combined conclusion, U. pumila, C. arborescens and P. sibirica were better adapted to the environment, while M. pallasiana and A. tataricum were weak in adaptability. Reforestation experiments on reduced land degradation are challenging long-term endeavours that require thoughtful planning, implementation and monitoring. While they are closely related, a conceptual distinction may be made between them. The purpose of reduced land degradation is to restore the degraded land to its original state that is, to re-establish the presumed structure, productivity and species diversity of the soil originally present at the site. Research conducted among features are related to the central steppe region of the Mongolian forest-steppe and semi-desert regions. Combining the results obtained with reforestation and sustainable land-management practices can help to improve soil organics in degraded sandy soil regions.