Abstract:Abstract:The semi-arid grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China have been degraded by long-term grazing. A series of ecological restoration strategies have been implemented to improve grassland service. However, little is known about the effect of these ecological restoration practices on soil carbon and nitrogen storage. In this study, characteristics of vegetation and soil properties under continued grazing and exclusion of livestock for six years due to a nationwide conservation program-′Returning Grazing Lands … Show more
“…The magnitude of the effect of grazing exclusion on soil physical properties varies with various factors. In the arid and semidesert grasslands of Inner Mongolia, a 6‐year grazing exclusion lowered soil bulk density through increased aboveground and belowground biomasses (Wu et al, ). In comparison, an 8‐year grazing exclusion in alpine grasslands did not improve soil bulk density or particle size distribution (Lu et al, ).…”
Section: Grazing Exclusion and Soil Propertiesmentioning
Nearly 90% of the 390 million ha of grasslands in northern China are degraded. ‘Grazing exclusion’ has been implemented as a nature‐based solution to rejuvenate degraded grasslands, but the effectiveness of the rejuvenation processes is uncertain. Here, we investigated the effects of grazing exclusion on aboveground plant community traits, soil physiochemical and biological properties, and the mechanisms responsible for enhanced grassland rejuvenation. A meta‐analysis across various studies was used to assess the effectiveness. On average, grazing exclusion improved vegetation coverage by 18.5 percentage points and increased aboveground biomass by 1.13 t ha−1 and root biomass by 1.27 t ha−1, which represent an increase of 84%, 246%, and 31%, respectively, compared with continuous grazing practices. Grazing exclusion reduced soil bulk density by 13.7% and increased soil water content by 68.9%. Grasslands under grazing exclusion increased soil organic carbon (SOC) in the 0‐ to 15‐cm depth by 3.95 (±0.35 Std err) t ha−1 and total soil N, available N, and total soil P in the 0‐ to 40‐cm depth by 2.39 (±0.14), 0.83 (±0.37), and 1.96 (±0.44) t ha−1, respectively, compared with continuous grazing; these values represent an increase of 31%, 25%, 23%, and 14%, respectively. Prolonging the duration (years) of grazing practices enlarged the differences in SOC and soil N content between grazing exclusion and continuous grazing. Grazing exclusion has improved plant community traits and enhanced soil physiochemical and biological properties of degraded grasslands, and thus, this ‘nature‐based’ approach can serve as an effective means to rejuvenate degraded grasslands.
“…The magnitude of the effect of grazing exclusion on soil physical properties varies with various factors. In the arid and semidesert grasslands of Inner Mongolia, a 6‐year grazing exclusion lowered soil bulk density through increased aboveground and belowground biomasses (Wu et al, ). In comparison, an 8‐year grazing exclusion in alpine grasslands did not improve soil bulk density or particle size distribution (Lu et al, ).…”
Section: Grazing Exclusion and Soil Propertiesmentioning
Nearly 90% of the 390 million ha of grasslands in northern China are degraded. ‘Grazing exclusion’ has been implemented as a nature‐based solution to rejuvenate degraded grasslands, but the effectiveness of the rejuvenation processes is uncertain. Here, we investigated the effects of grazing exclusion on aboveground plant community traits, soil physiochemical and biological properties, and the mechanisms responsible for enhanced grassland rejuvenation. A meta‐analysis across various studies was used to assess the effectiveness. On average, grazing exclusion improved vegetation coverage by 18.5 percentage points and increased aboveground biomass by 1.13 t ha−1 and root biomass by 1.27 t ha−1, which represent an increase of 84%, 246%, and 31%, respectively, compared with continuous grazing practices. Grazing exclusion reduced soil bulk density by 13.7% and increased soil water content by 68.9%. Grasslands under grazing exclusion increased soil organic carbon (SOC) in the 0‐ to 15‐cm depth by 3.95 (±0.35 Std err) t ha−1 and total soil N, available N, and total soil P in the 0‐ to 40‐cm depth by 2.39 (±0.14), 0.83 (±0.37), and 1.96 (±0.44) t ha−1, respectively, compared with continuous grazing; these values represent an increase of 31%, 25%, 23%, and 14%, respectively. Prolonging the duration (years) of grazing practices enlarged the differences in SOC and soil N content between grazing exclusion and continuous grazing. Grazing exclusion has improved plant community traits and enhanced soil physiochemical and biological properties of degraded grasslands, and thus, this ‘nature‐based’ approach can serve as an effective means to rejuvenate degraded grasslands.
“…(Kang et al, 2007). Grassland is, therefore, critical in regional climate, biodiversity conservation, provision of ecosystem services and socioeconomic development (Wen et al, 2013;Wu et al, 2014;Zhao et al, 2015). These grasslands have suffered severe degradation from long-term overgrazing, cropland expansion and extensive use, and climate change Wu et al, 2010;Zeng et al, 2014).…”
a b s t r a c tGiven the extent of global ecosystem degradation resulting from environmental changes and human activity, restoration efforts have increasingly focused on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Grassland, the largest terrestrial ecosystem globally and in China, has high ecological and economic value. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the impacts of grassland restoration on biodiversity and ecosystem services in China. The results showed that grassland restoration improved biodiversity by 32.44% and ecosystem services by 30.43%, although the restored grassland from degraded conditions failed to reach the level of non-degraded reference conditions for biodiversity and ecosystem services. The analysis of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the four ecological domains showed significant differences in restored grassland compared to the degraded and reference grassland. Restoration outcomes of biodiversity and ecosystem services were affected by different restoration approaches, but restoration age was not detected as significantly correlated with biodiversity and ecosystem services recovery. Biodiversity recovery, however, was positively correlated with ecosystem services recovery so far in our dataset. Despite this, these patterns require further elucidation and synthetic analyses must be conducted to assess and inform future restoration actions.
“…9b). Previous studies showed that grazing exclusion result in significant increasing of SOC and TN as a result of perennial organic matter inputs from plant decomposition, and the lack of disturbance and formation of SOC in micro aggregates lead to the creation of fine soil particles, which causes the spatial inaccessibility of SOC and soil N for soil microbes and enzymes 33,36,37 .Figure 9Soil samples in ( a ) FG and ( b ) GG from 0 to 500 cm.…”
Fencing for grazing exclusion has been widely found to have an impact on grassland soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN), but little is known about the impact of fenced grassland on the changes in deep soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks in temperate grasslands. We studied the influence of 30 years fencing on vegetation and deep soil characteristics (0–500 cm) in the semi-arid grasslands of northern China. The results showed that fencing significantly increased the aboveground biomass (AGB), litter biomass (LB), total biomass, vegetation coverage and height, and soil water content and the SOC and TN in the deep soil. The belowground biomass (BGB) did not significantly differ between the fenced and grazed grassland. However, fencing significantly decreased the root/shoot ratio, forbs biomass, pH, and soil bulk density. Meanwhile, fencing has significantly increased the C and N stocks in the AGB and LB but not in the BGB. After 30 years of fencing, the C and N stocks significantly increased in the 0–500 cm soil layer. The accumulation of SOC mainly occurred in the deep layers (30–180 cm), and the accumulation of TN occurred in the soil layers of 0 to 60 cm and 160 to 500 cm. Our results indicate that fencing is an effective way to improve deep soil C and N stocks in temperate grassland of northwest China. There were large C and N stocks in the soil layers of 100 to 500 cm in the fenced grasslands, and their dynamics should not be ignored.
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