The soil microbial community plays an important role in grassland ecosystem dynamics and has a crucial influence upon plant ecophysiological traits (Andres et al., 2017; Ford, Rousk, Garbutt, Jones, & Jones, 2013). A major challenge in applied ecology is to understand response mechanisms of those complex microbial communities to grazing, especially for those associated with grass species tolerant of grazing. Many studies have demonstrated that herbivores largely determine aboveground biomass, and also directly and indirectly affect the belowground soil microbial community through their impact on plants and soil properties (Dawson, Grayston, & Paterson, 2000; Yang et al., 2013). In this interaction, a common response of grazed grass plants to browsing is the stimulation of microbial processes and nitrogen availability within their rhizospheres, and the reallocation of belowground resources to aboveground structures (Bardgett,
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