Two controlled experiments were conducted to evaluate the potential for desert species to emerge and establish and to assess whether easily measured plant traits can be used to predict their probable success.In the experiments 5 species of shrubs and semishrubs common in the desert in Northwest China were used.First,a glasshouse experiment was performed to test the effect of sand burial on seedling emergence.Second,a growth experiment was conducted to measure relative growth rate and other growth parameters of seedlings between 7 and 28 days of age.In the burial experiment,the phenomenon of high seedling emergence concentrated at 0~3 cm for the most species examined.The number of days from sowing seeds to seedling emergence was significantly affected by sand burial depth.Seed mass was strongly correlated with the slope of emergence versus burial depth.In the seedling growth experiments,seed mass is positively correlated with AGR and RGR,which may help to explain their prevalence in the desert.RGR was positively correlated with ULR and SLA,however,it was negatively correlated with LAR and LWR.Seed mass was not correlated with ARPR,however it was negatively correlated with RLR and R_L/LA,indicating that smal-l seeded species tended to produce much longer and thinner roots in relation to total seedling mass than larger-seeded species.Seed mass and ULR should help predict their emergence and growth in the desert,however,seed mass and relative growth rate alone do not necessarily predict establishment success.