Elevation m.a.s.l. Longitude Latitude Vegetation cover(%) Aboveground biomass (g m-2) Shannon diversity Dominant species NGST EG 191 122°12’37.97” 43°20’27.75” 73.33 ± 11.54 a 86.94 ± 16.36 a 1.13 ± 0.33 a Artemisia capillaris GG 186 122°13’56.31” 43°22’32.17" 30.00 ± 5.00 b 47.20 ± 12.57 b 1.60 ± 0.13 a Glaux maritima; Carex duriuscula HSLM EG 853 118°50’11.85” 43°54’24.18” 91.67 ± 2.89 a 965.00 ± 65.08a 1.16 ± 0.47 a Leymus chinensis GG 838 118°50’35.85” 43°54’13.30” 68.33 ± 7.63 b 156.67 ± 8.33 b 1.43 ± 0.27 a Carex duriuscula

Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between EG and GG (P<0.05)

Table 1: Vegetation characteristics for EG and GG in the NGST and HSLM.