Plant Soil Environ., 2011, 57(1):40-44 | DOI: 10.17221/153/2010-PSE

Cumulative effects of 20-year exclusion of livestock grazing on above- and belowground biomass of typical steppe communities in arid areas of the Loess Plateau, China

J. Cheng1, G.L. Wu1,2, L.P. Zhao1, Y. Li1, W. Li1,2, J.M. Cheng1,2
1 State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, P.R. China
2 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry

Overgrazing affects typical steppe community in ways similar to grasslands in other areas. Exclusion of livestock grazing is one of the main management practices used to protect grasslands. However, it is not known if long-term exclusion of livestock grazing has positive effect on above- and belowground community properties in typical steppe of the Loess Plateau. We studied the long-term (20-year) cumulative effects of exclusion of livestock grazing on above- and belowground community properties compared with that before exclusion of livestock grazing in a typical steppe of the Loess Plateau, NW China. Our results show that twenty-year exclusion of livestock grazing significantly increased above- and belowground biomass, species richness, cover and height for five different communities. Most of belowground biomass was in the 0-20 cm horizon and grazing exclusion increased biomass especially at the depth of 0-10 cm. Our study suggests that long-term exclusion of livestock grazing can greatly improve community properties of typical steppe in the Loess Plateau.

Keywords: grazing exclusion; underground biomass; arid grasslands; the Loess Hilly-Gully Region

Published: January 31, 2011  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Cheng J, Wu GL, Zhao LP, Li Y, Li W, Cheng JM. Cumulative effects of 20-year exclusion of livestock grazing on above- and belowground biomass of typical steppe communities in arid areas of the Loess Plateau, China. Plant Soil Environ.. 2011;57(1):40-44. doi: 10.17221/153/2010-PSE.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Chen H.S., Kang Y.H. (1992): Condensed vapor and its role in the ecological environment of shapotou region. Journal of Arid Land Research and Environment, 6: 63-72.
    2. Cheng J., Hu T.M., Cheng J.M. (2010): Responses of vegetation restoration to climate change during the past 30 years in enclosed grassland of Yunwu Mountain in semi-arid region of the Loess Plateau. Acta Ecollogical Sinica, 30: 2630-2638.
    3. Gallego L., Distel R.A., Camina R., Rodriguez Iglesias R.M. (2004): Soil phytoliths as evidence for species replacement in grazed rangelands of central Argentina. Ecography, 27: 725-732. Go to original source...
    4. Gibson R.S., Hewitt A., Sparling G., Bosch O.J.H. (2001): Vegetation change and soil quality in central. Otago Tussock grasslands, New Zealand. Rangeland Journal, 22: 190-204. Go to original source...
    5. Grime J.P. (1998): Benefits of plant diversity to ecosystems: immediate, filter and founder effects. Journal of Ecology, 86: 902-910. Go to original source...
    6. Huston M.A. (1994): Biological Diversity, the Coexistence of Species on Changing Landscapes. Cambridge University Press, New York.
    7. Lal R. (2004): Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science, 304: 1623-1627. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    8. Langley J.A., Hungate B.A. (2003): Mycorrhizal controls on belowground litter quality. Ecology, 84: 2302-2312. Go to original source...
    9. Li Y.Q., Zhao H.L., Zhao X.Y., Zhang T.H., Chen Y.P. (2006): Soil respiration, carbon balance and carbon storage of sandy grassland under post-grazing natural restoration. Acta Pratacultrual, Sinica, 15: 25-31.
    10. Piao S.L., Fang J.Y., Ciais P., Peylin P., Huang Y., Sitch S., Wang T. (2009): The carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems in China. Nature, 458: 1009-1013. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    11. Shrestha G., Stahla P.D. (2008): Carbon accumulation and storage in semi-arid sagebrush steppe: effects of long-term grazing exclusion. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 125: 173-181. Go to original source...
    12. Smith R.S., Shiel R.S., Millward D., Corkhill P. (2000): The interactive effects of management on the productivity and plant community structure of an upland meadow: an 8-year field trial. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37: 1029-1043. Go to original source...
    13. Spooner P., Lunt I., Robinson W. (2002): Is fencing enough? The short-term effects of stock exclusion in remnant grassy woodlands in southern NSW. Ecology Management and Restoration, 3: 117-126. Go to original source...
    14. Valone T.J., Nordell S.E., Ernest S.K.M. (2002): Effects of fire and grazing on an arid grassland ecosystem. Southwestern Naturalist, 47: 557-565. Go to original source...
    15. Van der Wal R., Bardgett R.D., Harrison K.A., Stien A. (2004): Vertebrate herbivores and ecosystem control: cascading effects on tundra ecosystems. Ecography, 27: 242-252. Go to original source...
    16. Wright A.L., Hons F.M., Rouquette Jr F.M. (2004): Long-term management impacts on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics of grazed bermudagrass pastures. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 36: 1809-1816. Go to original source...
    17. Wu G.L., Du G.Z., Liu Z.H., Thirgood S. (2009): Effect of fencing and grazing on a Kobresia-dominated meadow in the QinghaiTibetan Plateau. Plant and Soil, 319: 115-126. Go to original source...
    18. Wu G.L., Du G.Z. (2007): Discussion on ecological construction and sustainable development of degraded alpine grassland ecosystem of t he Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Chinese Journal of Nature, 29: 159-164.
    19. Wu G.L., Liu Z.H., Zhang L., Cheng J.M., Hu T.M. (2010): Longterm fencing improved soil properties and soil organic carbon storage in an alpine swamp meadow of western China. Plant and Soil, 332: 331-337. Go to original source...
    20. Zhao Y.Y., Hu X.M., Cheng J.M., Wang H.E. (2008): Effects of natural enclosing on grassland communities in Yunwu mountain. Bulletin of Soil and Water Conservation, 28: 95-98.

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content