Variation of Livestock Grazing Intensity Modified the Magnitude of Carbon Sequestration and Flow within the Plant-Soil System of a Meadow Steppe Ecosystem

Abstract Aims: Livestock grazing, one of the principal utilization patterns, usually exerts a substantial effect on the carbon allocations between the above- and belowground components of a grassland ecosystem. The major aims of this study were to evaluate the proportions of 13C allocation to various C pools of the plant-soil system of a meadow steppe ecosystem in response to livestock grazing intensity.Methods: In situ stable 13C isotope pulse labeling was conducted in the plots of a long-term grazing experiment with 4 levels of grazing intensities. Plant and soil materials were sampled at on eight occasions (0, 3, 10, 18, 31, 56 and 100 days after labeling) to analyze the decline in 13C over time, and their composition signature of 13C were analyzed by the isotope ratio mass spectrometer technique.Results: We found a significantly larger decline in assimilated 13C for the heavily grazed swards compared to other grazing intensities, with the relocation rate of 13C from shoots to belowground C pool being the highest. In contrast, light grazing significantly allocated 13C assimilates in the belowground pool, especially in the live root and topsoil C-pools.Conclusions: The effects of livestock grazing on the carbon transfers and stocks within the plant-soil system of the meadow steppe were highly intensity dependent, and different carbon pools differed in response to gradient changes in grazing intensity.

Download Full-text

Stocking rate changed the magnitude of carbon sequestration and flow within the plant-soil system of a meadow steppe ecosystem

Plant and Soil ◽

10.1007/s11104-021-05213-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Dongyan Jin ◽

Ruirui Yan ◽

Linghao Li ◽

Jiaguo Qi ◽

Jiquan Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Stocking Rate ◽

Meadow Steppe ◽

Soil System ◽

Plant Soil ◽

Steppe Ecosystem

Download Full-text

Grazing Affects the Ecological Stoichiometry of the Plant–Soil–Microbe System on the Hulunber Steppe, China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11195226 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (19) ◽

pp. 5226 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Juan Cao ◽

Ruirui Yan ◽

Xiaoyong Chen ◽

Xu Wang ◽

Qiang Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

C:N Ratio ◽

Grazing Intensity ◽

N:P Ratio ◽

Meadow Steppe ◽

Soil Microbe ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Plant Soil ◽

C:P Ratio ◽

Grazing Intensities ◽

C:P Ratios

Grazing affects nutrient cycling processes in grasslands, but little is known by researchers about effects on the nutrient stoichiometry of plant–soil–microbe systems. In this study, the influence of grazing intensity (0, 0.23, 0.34, 0.46, 0.69, and 0.92 AU ha−1) on carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and their stoichiometric ratios in plants, soil, and microbes was investigated in a Hulunber meadow steppe, Northeastern China. The C:N and C:P ratios of shoots decreased with grazing increased. Leaf N:P ratios <10 suggested that the plant communities under grazing were N-limited. Heavy grazing intensities increased the C:N and C:P ratios of microbial biomass, but grazing intensity had no significant effects on the stoichiometry of soil nutrients. The coupling relationship of C:N ratio in plant–soil–microbial systems was tightly significant compared to C:P ratio and N:P ratio according to the correlation results. The finding suggested grazing exacerbated the competition between plants and microorganisms for N and P nutrition by the stoichiometric changes (%) in each grazing level relative to the no grazing treatment. Therefore, for the sustainability of grasslands in Inner Mongolia, N inputs need to be increased and high grazing intensities reduced in meadow steppe ecosystems, and the grazing load should be controlled within G0.46.

Download Full-text

Effects of Livestock Grazing on Interannual Variation of Soil Methane Uptake in an Inner Mongolian Meadow Steppe

10.21203/rs.3.rs-214632/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ruirui Yan ◽

Yu Zhang ◽

Jiquan Chen ◽

Linghao Li ◽

Changliang Shao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Nitrogen ◽

Interannual Variation ◽

Grazing Intensity ◽

Belowground Biomass ◽

Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽

Livestock Grazing ◽

Stocking Rate ◽

Meadow Steppe ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Steppe Ecosystem

Abstract Background and aims. This study aimed at identifying the effects of livestock grazing on interannual variation in soil CH4 uptake and underlying mechanisms in a meadow steppe ecosystem. Methods. A multi-year grazing experiment subject to six stocking rates was conducted to quantify CH4 fluxes as well as the changes in driving factors: vegetation traits, soil physicochemical properties and climatic parameters. The closed static chamber technique and a gas chromatograph were used to measure methane fluxes. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to explore empirical relationships. Results. With increasing stocking rate, the multi-year mean CH4 uptake rate decreased in a sigmoid curve-shaped manner, with the threshold point appearing in the light grazing treatment. The interannual changes in soil CH4 uptake were highly dependent on stocking rate, with increasing, leveling and decreasing trends detected with increasing grazing intensity. Major factors affecting CH4 fluxes included vegetation traits, soil moisture, and soil nitrogen content, with the soil NH4+-N content assuming the most important role. However, predominant factors regulating interannual changes in CH4 uptake were rainfall, belowground biomass, and soil nitrogen regime. Conclusions. The steppe ecosystem acted as a CH4 sink, irrespective of stocking rate and year. However, light grazing can be the threshold grazing intensity in terms of both the CH4 uptake potential and primary production in this steppe ecosystem. Our findings have important implications for further understanding magnitudes and regulations of CH4 uptake in grassland soils worldwide.

Download Full-text

Effects of cattle grazing on small mammal communities in the Hulunber meadow steppe

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.2349 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. e2349 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Chan Cao ◽

Ling-Ying Shuai ◽

Xiao-Ping Xin ◽

Zhi-Tao Liu ◽

Yan-Ling Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Small Mammals ◽

Small Mammal ◽

Grazing Intensity ◽

Cattle Grazing ◽

Sustainable Land Use ◽

Meadow Steppe ◽

Grazing Intensities ◽

Small Mammal Communities ◽

Four Levels ◽

Mammal Communities

Small mammals play important roles in many ecosystems, and understanding their response to disturbances such as cattle grazing is fundamental for developing sustainable land use strategies. However, how small mammals respond to cattle grazing remains controversial. A potential cause is that most of previous studies adopt rather simple experimental designs based solely on the presence/absence of grazing, and are thus unable to detect any complex relationships between diversity and grazing intensity. In this study, we conducted manipulated experiments in the Hulunber meadow steppe to survey small mammal community structures under four levels of grazing intensities. We found dramatic changes in species composition in native small mammal communities when grazing intensity reached intermediate levels (0.46 animal unit/ha). As grazing intensity increased,Spermophilus dauricusgradually became the single dominant species. Species richness and diversity of small mammals in ungrazed and lightly grazed (0.23 animal unit/ha) area were much higher than in intermediately and heavily grazed area. We did not detect a humped relationship between small mammal diversity and disturbance levels predicted by the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH). Our study highlighted the necessity of conducting manipulated experiments under multiple grazing intensities.

Download Full-text

Storm Water Planning from the Ground Up—Connecting Plant–Soil System Best Management Practices to Site and Soil Conditions

Soil Horizons ◽

10.2136/sh12-03-0009 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 54 (2) ◽

pp. 0

Author(s):

T.A. Houser ◽

J.D. Storer ◽

S. Prebonick

Keyword(s):

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Storm Water ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Water Planning ◽

Soil System ◽

Best Management ◽

Plant Soil

Download Full-text

Soil moisture, temperature and nitrogen availability interactively regulate carbon exchange in a meadow steppe ecosystem

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology ◽

10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108389 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 304-305 ◽

pp. 108389

Author(s):

Muqier Hasi ◽

Xueyao Zhang ◽

Guoxiang Niu ◽

Yinliu Wang ◽

Qianqian Geng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Nitrogen Availability ◽

Carbon Exchange ◽

Meadow Steppe ◽

Steppe Ecosystem

Download Full-text

Runoff and sediment yield from snowmelt and rainfall as influenced by forage type and grazing intensity

Canadian Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.4141/s97-067 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 78 (4) ◽

pp. 699-706 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

S. I. Gill ◽

M. A. Naeth ◽

D. S. Chanasyk ◽

V. S. Baron

Keyword(s):

Sediment Yield ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Grazing Intensity ◽

Annual Runoff ◽

Rainfall Simulation ◽

Sediment Yields ◽

Natural Rainfall ◽

Grazing Intensities ◽

Grazing Systems ◽

Runoff And Sediment Yield

Currently, there is interest in Western Canada in extending the grazing season using perennial and annual forages. Of greatest concern is the environmental sustainability of these grazing systems, with emphasis on their ability to withstand erosion. A study to examine the runoff and sediment yields of annual and perennial forages in central Alberta was initiated in 1994. Runoff and sediment yield were quantified under snowmelt and rainfall events for two seasons. Rainfall simulation was used to further examine runoff under growing season conditions. Four forage treatments (two annuals: triticale and a barley/triticale mixture and two perennials: smooth bromegrass and meadow bromegrass) and three grazing intensities (light, medium and heavy) were studied, each replicated four times. Total annual runoff was dominated by snowmelt. Generally runoff volumes, sediment yields, sediment ratios and runoff coefficients were all low. Bare ground increased with increasing grazing intensity and was significantly greater in annuals than perennials for all grazing intensities. Litter biomass decreased with increasing grazing intensity and was generally similar in all species for both years at heavy and medium grazing intensities. Results from the rainfall simulation corroborated those under natural rainfall conditions and generally indicated the sustainability of these grazing systems at this site. Key words: Forages, soil erosion, sustainability, rainfall simulation

Download Full-text