Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Dynamics of vegetation and soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation over 26 years under controlled grazing in a desert shrubland

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

For decades, arid desert ecosystems in northwest China, covering one-fourth the country’s land surface, have experienced a rapid decline in plant species diversity, productivity and soil carbon stock owing to degradation by overgrazing. In this study, plant community composition, diversity and productivity, as well as soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks, were monitored over 26 years from 1981 to 2006 in a severely degraded Haloxylon ammodendron-dominated shrubland where livestock densities were reduced from 4–5 to 1–2 dry sheep equivalent ha-1. The objective was to assess long-term grazing effects on vegetation and soil C and N accumulation dynamics. Results showed that the reduction of grazing pressure significantly increased vegetation cover, plant diversity and productivity, resulting primarily from an increase in livestock-preferred species. Controlled grazing also led to marked increases in soil C and N stocks in the top 30 cm of soil. This increase was strongly associated with increased plant species richness, vegetation cover and biomass production. Averaged over 26 years, soil C and N accumulated at rates of 89.9 g C and 8.4 g N m-2 year-1, respectively, but rates of C and N accumulation varied greatly at different time periods. The greatest species regeneration occurred in the first 8 years, but the largest C and N accumulation took place during years 9–18, with a time-lag in response to changes in vegetation. Our results provide insights into the long-term recovery patterns of different ecosystem components from the influence of prolonged overgrazing disturbance that cannot be inferred from a short-term study. The findings are important for assessing the resilience of these livestock-disturbed desert ecosystems and developing a more effective strategy for the management of this important biome from a long-term perspective.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson RC, Katz AJ (1993) Recovery of browse–sensitive tree species following release from white–tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman browsing pressure. Biol Conserv 63:203–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakker JP, Olff H, Willems JH, Zobel M (1996) Why do we need permanent plots in the study of long–term vegetation dynamics? J Veg Sci 7:147–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartelt-Ryser J, Joshi J, Schmid B, Brandl H, Balser T (2005) Soil feedbacks of plant diversity on soil microbial communities and subsequent plant growth. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst 7:27–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen LH, Li FX (1998) Aeolian Sandy Soil in China. Science, Beijing (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Dong ZB, Wang XM, Liu LY (2000) Wind erosion in arid and semiarid China: an overview. J Soil Water Conserv 55:439–444

    Google Scholar 

  • Duan ZH, Xiao HL, Dong ZB, He XD, Wang G (2001) Estimate of total CO2 output from desertified sandy land in China. Atmos Environ 35:5915–5921

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhauer N, Beβler H, Engels C, Gleixner G, Habekost M, Milcu A, Partsch S, Sabais ACW, Scherber C, Steinbeiss S, Weigelt A, Weisser WW, Scheu S (2010) Plant diversity effects on soil microorganisms support the singular hypothesis. Ecology 91:485–496

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elmqvist T, Folke C, Nystrom M, Peterson G, Bengtsson J, Walker B, Norberg J (2003) Response diversity, ecosystem change, and resilience. Front Ecol Environ 1:488–494

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eskelinen A, Stark S, Männistö M (2009) Links between plant community composition, soil organic matter quality and microbial communities in contrasting tundra habitats. Oecologia 161:113–123

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feng Q, Cheng G, Mikami M (2001) The carbon of sandy lands in China and its global significance. Climate Change 48:535–549

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fornara DA, Tilman D (2008) Plant functional composition influences rates of soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation. J Ecol 96:314–322

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo Q (2004) Slow recovery in desert perennial vegetation following prolonged human disturbance. J Veg Sci 15:757–762

    Google Scholar 

  • Habekost M, Eisenhauer N, Scheu S, Weigelt W, Gleixner G (2008) Seasonal changes in the soil microbial community in a grassland plant diversity gradient 4 years after establishment. Soil Biol Biochem 40:2588–2595

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hector A, Schmid B, Beierkuhnlein C, Caldeira MC, Diemer M, Dimitrakopoulos PG et al (1999) Plant diversity and productivity experiments in European grasslands. Science 286:1123–1127

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hedlund K, Santa Regina I, Van der Putten WH, Lepš J, Díaz T, Korthals GW, Lavorel S, Brown VK, Gormsen D, Mortimer SR, Rodríguez Barrueco C, Roy J, Smilauer P, Smilauerová M, Van Dijk C (2003) Plant species diversity, plant biomass and responses of the soil community on abandoned land across Europe: idiosyncrasy or above-belowground time lags. Oikos 103:45–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbie S (1992) Effects of plant species on nutrient cycling. Trends Ecol Evol 7:336–339

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jacquet K, Prodon R (2009) Measuring the postfire resilience of a bird-vegetation system: a 28–year study in a Mediterranean oak woodland. Oecologia 161:801–811

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (2003) Offsetting global CO2 emissions by restoration of degraded soils and intensification of world agriculture and forestry. Land Degrad Dev 14:309–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (2004) Carbon sequestration in dryland ecosystems. Environ Manage 33:528–544

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lambers JHR, Harpole WS, Tilman D, Knops J, Reich P (2004) Mechanisms responsible for the positive diversity–productivity relationship in Minnesota grasslands. Ecol Lett 7:661–668

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li QF (2009) Case studies of degradation and recovery. In: Squires VR, Lu XS, Lu Q, Wang T, Yang YL (eds) Rangeland degradation and recovery in China’s pastoral lands. CAB, UK, pp 171–184

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Li FR, Kang LF, Zhang H, Zhao LY, Shirato Y, Taniyama I (2005) Changes in intensity of wind erosion at different stages of degradation development in grasslands of Inner Mongolia, China. J Arid Environ 62:567–585

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li FR, Liu JL, Kang LF, Huang ZG (2008) Responses of soil seed banks and above-ground plant communities to grazing exclusion in a degraded sandy grassland. J Desert Res 28:1078–1085

    Google Scholar 

  • Li FR, Zhao WZ, Liu JL, Huang ZG (2009) Degraded vegetation and wind erosion influence soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus accumulation in sandy grasslands. Plant Soil 317:79–92

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Diamond J (2005) China’s environment in a globalizing world: how China and the rest of the world affect each other. Nature 435:1179–1186

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liu JL, Li FR, Liu QJ, Niu RX (2010) Composition and diversity of surface-active soil fauna communities in arid desert ecosystems of the Heihe River basin. J Desert Res 30:342–349 (In Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Loranger-Merciris G, Barthes L, Gastine A, Leadley P (2006) Rapid effects of plant species diversity and identity on soil microbial communities in experimental grassland ecosystems. Soil Biol Biochem 38:2336–2343

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mann LK (1986) Changes in soil carbon storage after cultivation. Soil Sci 142:279–288

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meffe GK, Carroll CR, Pimm SL (1997) Community- and ecosystem-level conservation: species interactions, disturbance regimes, and invading species. In: Meffe GK, Carroll CR (eds) Principles of conservation biology 2. Sinauer, Sunderland, pp 236–267

    Google Scholar 

  • Milcu A, Partsch S, Langel R, Scheu S (2006) The response of decomposers (earthworms, springtails and microorganisms) to variations in species and functional group diversity of plants. Oikos 112:513–524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller-Dombois D, Ellenberg H (1974) Aims and methods of vegetation ecology. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson MC, Wardle DA, DeLuca TH (2008) Belowground and aboveground consequences of interactions between live plant species mixtures and dead organic substrate mixtures. Oikos 117:439–449

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pei SF, Fu H, Wang CG (2008) Changes in soil properties and vegetation following exclosure and grazing in degraded Alxa desert steppe of Inner Mongolia. Agric Ecosyst Environ 124:33–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose AB, Platt KH (1987) Recovery of northern Fiordland alpine grasslands after reduction in the deer population. NZ J Ecol 10:23–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Squires VR, Lu XS, Lu Q, Wang T, Yang YL (2009) Rangeland degradation and recovery in China’s pastoral lands. CAB, UK

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Steffens M, Kölbl A, Totsche KU, Kögel-Knabner I (2008) Grazing effects on soil chemical and physical properties in a semiarid steppe of Inner Mongolia (P.R. China). Geoderma 75:37–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Suding KN, Gross KL, Houseman GR (2004) Alternative states and positive feedbacks in restoration ecology. Trends Ecol Evol 19:46–53

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tanentzap AJ, Burrows LE, Lee WG, Nugent G, Maxwell JM, Coomes DA (2009) Landscape-level vegetation recovery from herbivory: progress after four decades of invasive red deer control. J Appl Ecol 46:1064–1072

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D, Knops J, Wedin D, Reich P, Ritchie M, Siemann E (1997) The influence of functional diversity and composition on ecosystem processes. Science 277:1300–1302

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D, Reich PB, Knops JMH (2006) Biodiversity and ecosystem stability in a decade-long grassland experiment. Nature 441:629–632

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van den Ven TAM, Fryrear DW, Spaan WS (1989) Vegetation characteristics and soil loss by wind. J Soil Water Conserv 44:347–349

    Google Scholar 

  • Viketoft M, Sohlenius B, Palmborg C, Huss-Danell K, Bengtsson J (2005) Plant species effects on soil nematode communities in experimental grasslands. Appl Soil Ecol 30:90–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webster CR, Jenkins MA, Rock JH (2005) Long–term response of spring flora to chronic herbivory and deer exclusion in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. Biol Conserv 125:297–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang X, Zhang K, Jia B, Ci L (2005) Desertification assessment in China: an overview. J Arid Environ 63:517–531

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zak DR, Holmes E, White DC, Peacock AD, Tilman D (2003) Plant diversity, soil microbial communities, and ecosystem function: Are there any links? Ecology 84:2042–2050

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao WZ, Xiao HL, Liu ZM, Li L (2005) Soil degradation and restoration as affected by land use change in the semiarid Bashang area, northern China. Catena 59:173–186

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou ZY, Chen SK, Fu H (1990) Studies on primary nutritive types in Alashan desert grasslands. Gansu Science and Technology Press, Lanzhou (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank all technicians for their help with field work. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their critical comments and constructive suggestions for the improvement of the manuscript, and Dr Brian Dear for editing the manuscript. This work was funded by the State Key Basic Research and Development Program (2009CB421302-6), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40771068) and research grant (SKLURE2009-2-3) from the State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China

    Zhi-Yu Zhou & Hong-Rong Zhang

  2. Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Feng-Rui Li

  3. Alxa League Grassland Station, Bayanhot, 750306, China

    Shan-Ke Chen

  4. E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (an alliance between Industry & Investment NSW and Charles Sturt University), Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia

    Guangdi Li

Authors
  1. Zhi-Yu Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Feng-Rui Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shan-Ke Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hong-Rong Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Guangdi Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Feng-Rui Li.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Eric Paterson.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Table 2 Changes in plant community species composition across the 26 years of controlled grazing
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zhou, ZY., Li, FR., Chen, SK. et al. Dynamics of vegetation and soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation over 26 years under controlled grazing in a desert shrubland. Plant Soil 341, 257–268 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0641-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0641-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation