Table 2.

Pearson's correlation coefficients for relationships of above‐ground net primary productivity with different biodiversity indices in three different land‐use types in a semi‐arid steppe ecosystem of northern China

Land use†	Plant abundance (m−2)	Pielou index	Shannon–Wiener index	Species richness
GE	0·30	−0·34	0·11	0·87**
MW	0·09	−0·22	0·47*	0·88**
FG	−0·51	−0·21	−0·48*	−0·55**

^† GE, grazing exclusion without biomass removal; MW, grazing exclusion with biomass removal by mowing in August; FG, free grazing.

Correlation significant at *, P < 0·05; **, P < 0·01 (two‐tailed test).