The alpine vegetation and soil characters along the Golmud-Anduo section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway were researched based on different quadrads in different altitudes. The main species of alpine vegetation along the railway belong to 91 genus, and the constructive species are Stipa purpurea, Carex moorcroftii Falc, Kobresia robusta Maximowicz and Kobresia robusta Maximowicz. The species number, average coverage, underground biomass and total biomass of alpine vegetation are positively correlated with altitude, but average height and aboveground biomass are negatively correlated with altitude. The alpine vegetation community along the railway can be divided into the alpine desert vegetation at altitude less than 4 000 m, alpine valley shrub vegetation at altitude from 4 000 m to 4 500 m, alpine grassland vegetation at altitude from 4 500 m to 4 700 m, alpine cushion vegetation at altitude from 4 700 m to 4 800 m, alpine meadow vegetation at altitude from 4 800 m to 4 900 m, alpine swamp vegetation and flowstone slop vegetation along altitude 5 000 m. The total nitrogen and organic matter contents in soil are positively correlated with altitude, but total phosphorus, total potassium and pH value are negatively correlated with altitude. The grain constitution of soil along the railway mainly includes the medium sand and fine sand (d<0.4 mm), accounting for more than 85% of the total content, therefore, the medium sand and fine sand are the main component of soil particle along the railway.
Introduction
