PJB-2021-716
Effects of rest grazing in different seasons on grassland soil nutrients in the Bog Meadow of Sanjiang Plain , China
Mingjun Wang, Lingbo Zheng, Zhenyin Bai, Fengcheng Zhang, Dongwei Liu, Yintao Shi and Guowen Cui
Abstract
Grazing heavily influences the soil organic carbon pool of grassland ecosystems and therefore plays an important role in the global carbon balance. In China, various efforts aimed at alleviating grazing pressure have been promoted in the past two decades to conserve and restore degraded grassland, and improved management has shown profound effects on grassland resilience. Although many studies have explored the role of rest-grazing in arid grasslands, little is known about the effects of seasonal rest-grazing strategies on carbon storage in mesic grasslands. This study analysed the effects of rest grazing in spring, summer, and autumn on the soil nutrients and plant growth content of plots under light, medium, and heavy grazing intensities, respectively, for 3 continuous years (2010-2012) on the Deyeuxia angustifolia meadow grassland in Sanjiang Plain in Northeast China. The study contributes to the understanding of the relative effectiveness of different seasonal rest-grazing strategies on grassland sustainability in the Sanjiang Plain. The results highlight the importance of timing in the use of seasonal rest-grazing in the short term for the soil carbon balance of mesic grassland: (1) under moderate and severe grazing pressure, the aboveground net primary productivity of grassland plants was significantly increased in spring and summer but not in autumn. (2) The organic matter content in the 0-30 cm soil layer significantly increased in spring and autumn, and the organic matter content in the 0-20 cm soil layer significantly increased in summer. (3) Seasonal rest-grazing significantly decreased the content of available nitrogen in the 0-30 cm soil layer, especially in the 10-20 cm soil layer. In addition to the driving power of growing season precipitation, our results suggest that seasonal rest-grazing has a great potential for the recovery of soil carbon storage in mesic grassland despite differential grazing intensity levels.
To Cite this article:
Wang, M., L. Zheng, Z. Bai, F. Zhang, D. Liu, Y. Shi and G. Cui. 2023. Effects of rest grazing in different seasons on grassland soil nutrients in the Bog Meadow of Sanjiang Plain, China. Pak. J. Bot., 55(5): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2023-5(16)
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