The response of grassland productivity, soil carbon content and soil respiration rates to different grazing regimes in a desert steppe in northern China
Xiangyang Hou A C , Zhen Wang A , Schellenberg P. Michael B , Lei Ji A and Xiangjun Yun A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot, 010010, China.
B Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre (SPARC), AAFC-AAC, Box 1030, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada S9H 3X2.
C Corresponding author. Email: Houxy16@126.com
The Rangeland Journal 36(6) 573-582 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ13038
Submitted: 26 April 2013 Accepted: 8 September 2014 Published: 30 September 2014
Journal Compilation © Australian Rangeland Society 2014
Abstract
Soil respiration is a major process for organic carbon losses from arid ecosystems. A field experiment was conducted in 2010 and 2012 on the responses to continuous grazing, rotational grazing and no grazing on desert steppe vegetation in northern China. The growing season in 2010 was relatively dry and in 2012 was relatively wet. The results showed that mean soil respiration was the highest with no grazing in both growing seasons. Compared with no grazing, the soil respiration was decreased by 23.0% under continuous grazing and 14.1% under seasonal rotational grazing. Soil respiration increased linearly with increasing soil water gravimetric content, aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), belowground net primary productivity (BNPP) and soil carbon and nitrogen contents across the 2 years, whereas a negative correlation was detected between soil respiration and soil temperature. A significant decrease in soil respiration was observed under both continuous grazing and in seasonal rotational grazing in the dry growing season, but no significant difference was detected in the wet growing season. In the wet year, only a non-significant difference in soil respiration was observed between different grazing types. Patterns of seasonal precipitation strongly affected the temporal changes of soil respiration as well as its response to different grazing types. The findings highlight the importance of differences in abiotic (soil temperature, soil water gravimetric content and soil carbon and nitrogen contents) and biotic (ANPP, BNPP and litter mass) factors in mediating the responses of soil respiration to the different grazing regimes.
Additional keywords: ANPP, BNPP, grazing management, litter mass, soil carbon content, soil nitrogen content, soil temperature, soil water content.
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