The study compared different plant communities in the headwater region of the Yellow River. They looked at shrubs, meadows, and degraded meadows to see how diverse and similar they were. The shrub had the highest diversity, while the degraded meadow had the lowest. The meadows with native plants were more even in species distribution. As the meadows degraded, the dominant plant species changed. The shrub had the most aboveground biomass, while the degraded meadow had the least. Most of the belowground biomass was found in the top 20cm of soil.