[Root architecture of two desert plants in central Hexi Corridor of Northwest China].

In this study, the root systems of desert plant species Reaumuria soongorica and Nitraria tangutorum in the central Hexi Corridor of Northwest China were excavated by shovel, and the characteristics of the plant root architecture were analyzed by using topology and fractal theory. The root topological indices of the two desert plants were small, and the root branching patterns were herringbone-like. The roots of the two desert plants had obvious fractal characteristics, with the fractal dimension of R.