The expansion of Stellera chamaejasme is an important indicator of steppe degradation， which markedly alters the structure and function of steppe community. In this study， the natural typical steppe in West Ujimqin Banner， Xilingol League was selected as the research object， and the differences in community characteristics among S. chamaejasme-dominated degraded steppe （SS）， non-S. chamaejasme-dominated degraded steppe （NS） and undegraded steppe （CK） were compared. The results showed that： （1） Steppe degradation reduced community height and coverage， while the community height of SS was higher than that of NS， and the aboveground biomass of SS was significantly higher than that of CK and NS. （2） The species richness and diversity indices of NS were lower than those of SS， and a community dominated by Cleistogenes squarrosa was formed in NS. （3） There were no significant differences in the cumulative dominance of dominant families and functional groups between the two types of degraded grasslands. However， in terms of the percentage composition of functional groups， perennial graminoids （Pg） dominated in NS， while perennial forbs （Pf） accounted for the highest proportion in SS. In summary， the expansion of Stellera chamaejasme induced changes in community composition and species reduction， but it maintained community diversity and a relatively high level of aboveground biomass， indicating that the corresponding communities might be in an “alternative steady state”. Therefore， the restoration strategies for Stellera chamaejasme-dominated degraded grasslands should be distinguished from other types of degraded grasslands.

Stellera chamaejasme  /  Grassland degradation  /  Community structure  /  Diversity index  /  Plant functional groups