Divergent effects of grazing versus mowing on plant nutrients in typical steppe grasslands of Inner Mongolia
Grazing and mowing are two major land use types in natural grasslands,which have intensive effects on nutrient cycling of grassland ecosystems by deposition of fecaluria nutrient versus removal of hay nutrient.Plant nutrients sensitively respond to the changes in nutrient cycling,while the information on the effects of diverse grazing versus mowing regimes on plant nutrients at different organs or levels are incomplete.A field experiment was conducted to compare the effects of continuous versus rotational grazing,and low versus high mowing frequencies on grassland ecosystems in a semiarid steppe of Inner Mongolia.Plant community characteristics and C,N and P concentrations of dominant species were determined across different managements.We found(ⅰ)plant community height and standing biomass significantly decreased with grazing intensity under both continuous and rotational grazing and under annual mowing.(ⅱ)Plant shoot C concentration decreased,whereas N and P concentrations increased with grazing intensity in the two grazing regimes,while these concentrations showed no significant changes in response to the two mowing regimes.(ⅲ)Plant community aboveground C,N and P pools significantly decreased with grazing intensity of both grazing regimes,but did not decrease with mowing frequency in the two mowing regimes.(ⅳ)Plant root C,N and P concentrations showed little significant response to different grazing or mowing regimes,indicating a relatively bigger stability or slower response in plant root nutrients.Our study provides insights into the nutrient cycling in grazing and mowing grassland ecosystems from multiple perspectives.
Jiayue Liu、Lu Li、Lei Ji、Yanlong Li、Jiaojiao Liu、Yonghong Li
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Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology,School of Ecology and Environment,Inner Mongolia University,Hohhot 010021,China
National Agricultural Experimental Station for Soil Quality,Institute of Grassland Research,Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science,Hohhot 010022,China
Collaborative Innovation Center for Grassland Ecological Security,Ministry of Education of China,Hohhot 010021,China
放牧制度 刈割制度 植物地上养分 植物根系养分 典型草原
National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNatural Science Foundation of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
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