Table 3.

Species frequency (%) in three different land‐use types in a semi‐arid steppe ecosystem of northern China

Plant functional group	Species	Land‐use type*
		GE	MW	FG
Annual and biennial	Setaria viridis	0 a	0 a	24 ± 3 b
	Dontostemon micranthus	3 ± 2 a	8 ± 3 a	3 ± 2 a
	Salsola collina	60 ± 7 b	4 ± 2 a	8 ± 3 a
	Chenopodium aristatum	9 ± 3 a	25 ± 4 b	12 ± 3 a
	Chenopodium glaucum	0 a	1 ± 1 a	3 ± 2 a
	Fagopyrum tataricum	0 a	1 ± 1 a	0 a
	Gentiana squarrosa	4 ± 2 a	11 ± 3 b	0 a
	Orostachys fimbriatus	0 a	4 ± 2 b	0 a
Perennial rhizome grass	Agropyron michnoi	66 ± 5 b	39 ± 5 a	57 ± 4 b
	Leymus chinesis	11 ± 3 b	3 ± 2 a	3 ± 3 a
	Aneurolepidium secalinum	0 a	0 a	1 ± 1 a
Perennial bunchgrass	Cleistogenes squarrosa	91 ± 3 ab	98 ± 2 b	83 ± 4 a
	Stipa krylovii	100 a	100 a	100 a
	Poa angustifolia	1 ± 1 a	2 ± 2 a	0 a
	Koeleria cristata	0 a	0 a	30 ± 5 b
Perennial forb	Oxytropis glabra	3 ± 2 a	5 ± 2 a	30 ± 3 b
	Carex duriuscula	46 ± 4 a	82 ± 4 b	96 ± 2 c
	Melissitus ruthenica	10 ± 3 a	7 ± 2 a	36 ± 4 b
	Astragalus scaberrimus	36 ± 6 b	8 ± 2 a	65 ± 3 c
	Astragalus galactites	0 a	1 ± 1 a	23 ± 2 b
	Heteropappus altaicus	47 ± 5 b	31 ± 5 a	41 ± 5 ab
	Echinops latifolius	0 a	3 ± 3 a	0 a
	Potentilla acauli	6·7 ± 0·6 b	7·9 ± 0·5 b	4·8 ± 0·6 a
	Potentilla bifurca	20 ± 4 b	27 ± 3 b	0 a
	Potentilla tanacetifolia	1 ± 1 a	1 ± 1 a	12 ± 3 b
	Potentilla betonicaefolia	1 ± 1 a	0 a	0 a
	Allium bidentatum	98 ± 1 b	99 ± 1 b	2 ± 1 a
	Allium tenuissimum	82 ± 3 b	93 ± 3 c	8 ± 2 a
	Allium neriniflorum	34 ± 6 b	30 ± 5 b	9 ± 2 a
	Allium ramosum	4 ± 2 a	44 ± 2 b	0 a
	Allium senescens	10 ± 3 b	54 ± 2 c	0 a
	Phlomis mongolica	0 a	4 ± 2 b	0 a
	Iris tenuifolia	19 ± 4 b	17 ± 2 b	0 a
	Thalictrum petaloideum	7 ± 3 a	7 ± 2 a	2 ± 1 a
	Silene jenisseensis	1 ± 1 a	2 ± 1 a	1 ± 1 a
	Dianthus chinensis	1 ± 1 a	5 ± 3 a	0 a
	Stellera chamaejasme	1 ± 1 a	2 ± 1 a	2 ± 1 a
Shrub and semishrub	Artemisia frigida	100 a	100 a	100 a
	Thymus serphyllum	1 ± 1 a	0 a	6 ± 2 b

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

Values designated by the same letter are not significantly different at P = 0·05.