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Bulk soil and particle size-associated C and N under grazed and ungrazed regimes in Mountainous arid and semi-arid rangelands

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Abstract

Sheep grazing is known to influence soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and dynamics in rangelands. However, very little is known of grazing impacts on measurable SOC pools associated with primary particles, particulate organic matter (POM) and carbohydrates in the heavily grazed rangelands of Zagros Mountains, Iran. Bulk SOC, total nitrogen (N), POM and hot-water extractable carbohydrates (HWC) as well as different SOC and N fractions in particle-size separates were studied in natural mountainous rangelands of arid (Boroujen with 255 mm annual rainfall) and semi-arid (Sabzkouh with 860 mm annual rainfall) sites, Central Zagros. Two sheep grazing regimes including grazed and ungrazed (for 20–25 years) rangelands with four replicates were identified as the grazing treatments at each site. Soil samples (0–15 cm) were taken and analyzed for bulk SOC, total N, POM, HWC, and SOC and N associated with physical fractions. Bulk SOC contents were similar for both ungrazed and grazed regimes, while total N contents significantly decreased under grazed conditions. Bulk soil POM and HWC contents decreased considerably and clearly by sheep grazing, indicating that these fractions of total soil organic matter (SOM) pool may be suitable indicators for detecting the grazing effects on bulk SOC changes and storage in these arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Semi-arid rangeland sites contained more bulk SOC, total N and POM contents than arid rangeland sites. These differences were primarily due to the large differences in vegetation composition, annual rainfall and soil conditions between the two rangelands. After 20–25 years of grazing over 10–33 % of SOC and total N losses occurred in the sand- and clay-size fractions with 10 % increases in the silt fraction. This means sheep grazing increases the contribution of the silt fraction to bulk soil N. We found evidence that sheep grazing decreases soil POM and HWC pools, and the sand fraction C, suggesting a lower recent annual input of decomposable organic C in heavily grazed rangelands. Sheep grazing had no influence on the potential C mineralization of the bulk soil at the semi-arid site (Sabzkouh), but reduced C mineralization at the arid-site (Boroujen), indicating that sheep grazing may affect SOC dynamics by changes in substrate quality at the former, but by substrate quantity at the later. In brief, long-term sheep grazing can potentially lead to losses of both labile and no-labile SOM in these arid and semi-arid rangelands.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by Shahrekord University, Iran. The authors greatly appreciate the useful comments by two anonymous reviewers.

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  1. Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, P.O. Box 115, Shahrekord, Iran

    Najmeh Ghorbani, Fayez Raiesi & Shoja Ghorbani

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  1. Najmeh Ghorbani
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  2. Fayez Raiesi
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Correspondence to Fayez Raiesi.

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Ghorbani, N., Raiesi, F. & Ghorbani, S. Bulk soil and particle size-associated C and N under grazed and ungrazed regimes in Mountainous arid and semi-arid rangelands. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 93, 15–34 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-012-9496-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-012-9496-y

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