Species diversity of Zygophyllum xanthoxylum community in Minqin Oasis

Species composition, community construction and species diversity of Zygophyllum xanthoxylum community in Minqin Oasis were studied. The results showed that plant composition in this area is single. There are 42 plant species, which belong to 26 genera of 16 families. The vegetation vertical structure in this area is that, shrub layer is mainly composed of Zygophyllaceae and Chenopodiaceae plants, and herb layer is mainly composed of Compositae plants. Species diversities are varied in different habitats. The Simpson index is 0.181 7～0.778 5, the Shannon-Weiner index is 0.362 5～0.426 8, the Pielou index is 0.234 9～0.666 6, and the ecological dominance index is 0.221 5～0.806 7. All these results showed that, with the changing of habitats, functions of different populations in Z.xanthoxylum community are also markedly changed.