Photosynthetic pathway (C3, C4, and CAM) and morphological functional types were identified for the forage species from steppe vegetation in Inner Mongolia, China, using the data from both field survey and references. Of the total 136 identified vascular species, in 29 families and 89 genera, 78 % were found with C3 photosynthesis, including dominant herbs, e.g. Stipa grandis P. Smirn., S. krylovii Roshev., and Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel. These C3 species covered about 90 % of the total herbage production in the steppe. 20 % were found with C4 photosynthesis and 2 % with CAM photosynthesis. Photosynthetic pathway functional types were coarse and may not fit for the studies and land management in small scales, because of the high C3 photosynthesis composition and the few families in which C4 species occur. Morphological functional types (e.g. shrubs, high perennial grasses, short perennial graminaceous plants, annual grasses, annual forbs, perennial forbs, and succulents) may be practical for spatial and temporal descriptions of steppe ecosystems in local and region scales. Classification for plant functional types, especially morphological types, may contribute to studying the links between plant species and communities, ecosystems, and global changes, and for steppe management decisions in the region.
Floristic compositions, life forms, reproductive types for forage species, and their responses to desertification in Hunshandake desert were studied. 164 species, in 30 families and 94 genera, were identified with C3 (137 species), C4 (25 species), and CAM (2 species) photosynthesis. Of the 25 C4 species, 76 % were grasses and Chenopodiaceae species (hereafter chenopods). This suggests that the C4 species mainly occurred in a few families in the desert region. The reduction of C3 species and the increase of C4 species with desertification indicated that C4 species might have higher tolerance to environmental stresses (e.g. dry and poor soil). Relatively more hemicrytophyte and therophyte forms in the desert are related to the local temperate climate and vegetation dynamics. Relatively greater proportions of C4/C3 and clonal species/sexual species at mobile dune showed that the C4 species and clonal species could make greater contribution to sand land restoration in the Hunshandake desert.