Early warning indicators of desertification: examples of tests in the Chihuahuan Desert

Soyza, Amrita G. de; Whitford, Walter G.; Herrick, Jeffrey E.; Zee, Justin W. Van; Havstad, Kris M.

doi:10.1006/jare.1998.0391

Cited by 61 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Vegetation cover, primary productivity, and area of bare soil are often used to assess the spatial extent and degree of desertification (Zhu & Wang 1992;de Soyza et al 1998). The present study indicated that bare ground increased considerably, while standing and fallen litter and live vegetation cover decreased under continuous grazing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of grazing and exclosure on carbon sequestration in degraded sandy grassland, Inner Mongolia, north China

Zhao

Zhang

2003

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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Livestock grazing is recognised as one of the main causes of vegetation and soil degradation/desertification in the semi-arid Horqin sandy steppe of northern China. In this paper, soilplant system carbon (C) in a representative degraded sandy grassland in the Horqin sandy steppe (42°58' N, 120°42'E altitude c. 360 m a.s.l.) was measured. Three situations: long-term continuous grazing (CG), exclosure for 5 years (5EX), and exclosure for 10 years (10EX), were compared to assess the effect of grazing management on C sequestration. Ground cover increased from the CG (35%) to the 5EX (63%) and to the 10EX (81%), and accordingly soil organic C at 0-15 cm depth and total plant components C increased from the CG (492 and 98 g m -2 ) to the 5EX (524and 134 g m -2) and to the 10EX (584 and 317 g m -2 ). The results suggested that continuous grazing in the erosion-prone sandy grassland is very detrimental to vegetation and soil. Under exclosure conditions, vegetation restoration and litter accumulation significantly increased plantsoil system C storage, and thus sequestration of atmospheric C. It was concluded that the degraded sandy grassland could contribute to significant C sequestration with the implementation of protective practices.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of grazing and exclosure on carbon sequestration in degraded sandy grassland, Inner Mongolia, north China

Zhao

Zhang

2003

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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“…Heavy grazing also markedly reduced vegetation cover compared to light grazing and moderate grazing. This has an important implication for grassland management because vegetation cover is often used to assess spatial extent and degree of desertification [26].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Grazing Intensity on Nitrogen Pools and Nitrogen Cycle in an Alpine Meadow on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau

Gao¹,

Luo²,

Wu³

et al. 2008

Appl Ecol Env Res

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Gao et al.: Impacts of grazing intensity on nitrogen pools and nitrogen cycle in an alpine meadow on the eastern Tibetan Plateau - Abstract. Grazers may influence nitrogen (N) pools and alter N inputs and outputs (losses) to the ecosystem in a number of ways. In this study, we evaluated N pools within the plant-soil system (0-30 cm) and soil N transformation under three different grazing intensities by yaks (light: 1.2, moderate: 2.0, and heavy: 2.9 yaks ha -1 ) in an alpine meadow on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Total plant and soil N at 0-30 cm depth tended to increase as grazing intensity increasing (plant N: 26.6, 31.4 and 36.7 g m -2 ; soil N: 905, 939 and 1125 g m -2 for light, moderate and heavy grazing, respectively). Soil N transformation rates, such as net N mineralization, gross nitrification, denitrification and N 2 O emissions, generally increased under heavy grazing intensity. Results indicate that heavy grazing intensity accelerated the N cycling rates between system components and leaded to increases in plant-soil system N in this alpine meadow.

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“…Comparison of plant primary production and plant cover between managed and reference ecosystems is often used to evaluate the degree of ecosystem degradation (de Soyza et al 1998). …”

Section: Grassland Restoration Following Grazer Removalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing exclusion alters ecosystem carbon pools in Alxa desert steppe

Niu

Hall

et al. 2011

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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The Alxa desert steppe has been strongly degraded by overgrazing, contributing c. 22% of the total springtime dust originating from Asia. Previous work in this region has focused on the impacts of grazer exclusion on restoration of vegetation and soil fertility, yet carbon dynamics are not well known. The effects of 7 years of grazer exclusion on carbon dynamics were studied and related to changes in vegetation and soil properties. Removal of grazing resulted in a significantly greater plant cover and aboveground plant biomass compared with areas that had been subject to grazing, but this had no effects on belowground plant biomass. Removal of grazing resulted in significantly decreased soil bulk density in the 0Á10 cm layer, increased soil water content (7% cf. 40%) and greater soil microbial biomass C (6% cf. 73%) compared with soils in the grazed area. Soil organic carbon (SOC) pools were lower and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) pools were higher in areas that were excluded from grazing. After 7 years of grazer exclusion, the total C pool in the plantÁsoil system was 10% greater (primarily due to 21% greater in SIC) than that in the area that had been grazed over that time period.

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Early warning indicators of desertification: examples of tests in the Chihuahuan Desert

Cited by 61 publications

References 5 publications

Influences of grazing and exclosure on carbon sequestration in degraded sandy grassland, Inner Mongolia, north China

Influences of grazing and exclosure on carbon sequestration in degraded sandy grassland, Inner Mongolia, north China

Impacts of Grazing Intensity on Nitrogen Pools and Nitrogen Cycle in an Alpine Meadow on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau

Grazing exclusion alters ecosystem carbon pools in Alxa desert steppe

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