Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of livestock grazing intensity on soil biota in a semiarid steppe of Inner Mongolia

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

Abstract

Intensive livestock is known to significantly affect soil physical and chemical parameters in steppe ecosystems. However, the effects on soil biological parameters still remain unknown. We hypothesized that intensive grazing would significantly decrease the size and diversity of soil biota due to deterioration of the soil environment and reduction in vegetation cover, while the adapted grazing intensity would improve the biological parameters. Soil samples were collected from five sites with different grazing intensities and history in a semiarid steppe of Inner Mongolia in August 2005. Two sites were long-term ungrazed since 1979 (UG79) and 1999 (UG99), one had been moderately grazed in winter (WG), one continuously grazed moderately (CG) and one long-term site was heavily grazed (HG). Soil microbial biomass carbon (C), basal respiration (BR), catabolic diversity of soil microbial communities, protozoa and nematodes abundance were measured. Soil physicochemical variables were also measured to establish the relationships between soil biological parameters and key soil physical and chemical properties. Soil microbial biomass C, BR, biomass specific respiration (qCO2) and soil protozoa abundance were significantly lower at the HG site compared to the UG79 site, but no clear differences were found in the other sites. However, soil nematodes abundance increased with increasing grazing intensity, and the abundance of soil amoeba were greater in CG than in the other sites. Principal component analysis (PCA) of Biolog data revealed large differences in catabolic capacity of soil microbial communities between UG79, HG and UG99, WG, CG. However, Shannon’s diversity index did not indicate marked effects of grazing intensity on substrate catabolic community structure. In conclusion, heavy grazing negatively affected soil microbial biomass, activity and protozoan abundance, but positively influenced soil nematodes abundance and did not affect soil microbial catabolic diversity. Based on these results, CG may provide an appropriate grazing intensity to be used in the long term in the semiarid steppe of Inner Mongolia.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson TH, Domsch KH (1990) Application of eco-physiological quotients (qCO2 and qD) on microbial biomass from soils of different cropping histories. Soil Biol Biochem 22:251–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson TH, Domsch KH (1993) The metabolic quotient for CO2 (qCO2) as a specific activity parameter to assess the effects of environmental conditions, such as pH, on the microbial biomass of forest soils. Soil Biol Biochem 25:393–395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Attard E, Degrange V, Klumpp K, Richaume A, Soussana JF, Le Roux X (2008) How do grassland management history and bacterial micro-localisation affect the response of bacterial community structure to changes in aboveground grazing regime? Soil Biol Biochem 40:1244–1252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bai Y, Chen Z (2000) Effects of long-term variability of plant species and functional groups on stability of a Leymus chinensis community in the xilin River basin, Inner Mongolia. Acta Phytoecologica Sin 24(6):641–647 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bai Y, Han X, Wu J, Chen Z, Li L (2004) Ecosystem stability and compensatory effects in the Inner Mongolia grassland. Nature 431:181–184

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bardgett RD (2005) The biology of soil, a community and ecosystem approach. Oxford University Press Inc, New York, p 242

    Google Scholar 

  • Bardgett RD, Wardle DA (2003) Herbivore mediated linkages between aboveground and belowground communities. Ecology 84:2258–2268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bardgett RD, Leemans DK, Cook R, Hobbs PJ (1997) Seasonality in the soil biota of grazed and ungrazed hill grasslands. Soil Biol Biochem 29:1285–1294

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bardgett RD, Wardle DA, Yeates GW (1998) Linking above-ground and below-ground food webs: how plant responses to foliar herbivory influence soil organisms. Soil Biol Biochem 30:1867–1867

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bezemer TM, van Dam NM (2005) Linking aboveground and belowground interactions via induced plant defenses. Trends Ecol Evol 20:617–624

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brussard L, Kuyper TW, Goede RGM (2001) On the relationships between nematodes, mycorrhizal fungi and plants: functional composition of species and plant performance. Plant Soil 232:155–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clegg CD (2006) Impact of cattle grazing and inorganic fertilizer additions to managed grasslands on the microbial community composition of soils. Appl Soil Ecol 31:78–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coûteaux M-M (1985) The effects of compressing forest litter (H layer) on the populations of testate amoebae. Revue Écol Biol Sol 22:447–461

    Google Scholar 

  • Degen BP, Schipper LA, Sparling GP, Vojvodic-Vukovic M (2000) Decreases in organic matter C reserves in soils can reduce the catabolic diversity of soil microbial communities. Soil Biol Biochem 32:189–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dyer MI, DeAngelis DL, Post WM (1986) A model of herbivore feedback on plant productivity. Math Biosci 79:171–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekelund F, Rønn R (1994) Notes on protozoa in agricultural soil with emphasis on heterotrophic flagellates and naked amoebae and their ecology. FEMS Microbiol Rev 15:321–353

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gao Y, Zhu W, Chen W (2000) Structure of the protozoan community in soil and its ecological functions. Chn J Ecol 19(1):59–65 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gao Y, Giese M, Lin S, Sattelmacher B, ZhaoY BH (2008) Belowground net primary productivity and biomass allocation of a grassland in Inner Mongolia is affected by grazing intensity. Plant Soil 307:41–50

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garland JL (1996) Analytical approaches to the characterization of samples of microbial communities using patterns of potential C source utilization. Soil Biol Biochem 28:213–221

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garland JL, Mills AL (1991) Classification and characterization of heterotrophic microbial communities on the basis of patterns of community-level sole-carbon-source-utilization. Appl Environ Microb 57:2351–2359

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Giller KE, Beare MH, Lavelle P, Izac AMN, Swift MJ (1997) Agricultural intensification, soil biodiversity and agroecosystem function. Appl Soil Ecol 6:3–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham MH, Haynes RJ (2005) Catabolic diversity of soil microbial communities under sugarcane and other land uses estimated by Biolog and substrate- induced respiration methods. Appl Soil Ecol 29:155–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison KA, Bardgett RD (2004) Browsing by red deer negatively impacts on soil nitrogen availability in regenerating native forest. Soil Biol Biochem 36:115–126

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann C, Funk R, Wieland R, Li Y, Sommer M (2008) Effects of grazing and topography on dust flux and deposition in the Xilingele grassland, Inner Mongolia. J Arid Environ 72:792–807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt JA (1997) Grazing pressure and soil carbon, microbial biomass and enzyme activities in semi-arid northeastern Australia. Appl Soil Ecol 5:143–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ilmarinen K, Mikola J, Nieminen H, Vestberg M (2005) Does plant growth phase determine the response of plant and soil organisms to defoliation? Soil Biol Biochem 37:433–443

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Iyyemperumal K, Israel DW, Shi W (2007) Soil microbial biomass, activity and potential nitrogen mineralization in a pasture: Impact of stock camping activity. Soil Biol Biochem 39:149–157

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kang L, Han X, Zhang Z, Sun O (2007) Grassland ecosystems in China: review of current knowledge and research advancement. Philos T R Soc 362:997–1008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohler F, Hamelin J, Gillet F, Gobat J-M, Buttler A (2005) Soil microbial community changes in wooded mountain pastures due to simulated effects of cattle grazing. Plant Soil 278:327–340

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Qu Q (2002) Soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in Mongolian grassland. Acta Pedologica Sin 39(1):97–104 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li L, Wang Q, Bai Y, Zhou G, Xing X (2000) Soil respiration of a Leymus chinensis grassland stand in the Xilin river basin as affected by over-grazing and climate. Acta Phytoecologica Sin 24(6):680–686 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Q, Mayzlish E, Shamir I, Pen-Mouratov S, Sternberg M, Steinberger Y (2005) Impact of grazing on soil biota in a mediterranean grassland. Land Degrad Dev 16:581–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Wang W, Liu Z, Jiang S (2008) Grazing gradient versus restoration succession of Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel. Grassland in Inner Mongolia. Restor Ecol 16:572–583

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu W (2000) Plant pathogenic nematology. Beijing, China Agriculture Press, pp 373–376 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu X, Liu Y, Qian D, Guo L (1997) Comparative study on soil animals under experimented grazing pressures in degenerated grassland. J Arid Land Resour Environ 11(3):81–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu R (1999) Analytical methods for soil and agricultural chemistry. China Agricultural Scientech Press, Beijing (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ma X, Wang Y, Wang S, Wang J, Li C (2005) Impacts of grazing on soil carbon fractions in the grasslands of Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia. Acta Phytoecologica Sin 29(4):569–576 (in Chinese with abstract)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maharning AR, Mills AAS, Adl SM (2009) Soil community changes during secondary succession to naturalized grasslands. Appl Soil Ecol 41:137–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merkley M, Rader RB, McArthur JV, Eggett D (2004) Bacteria as bioindicators in wetlands: bioassessment in the Bonneville Basin of Utah, USA. Wetlands 24:600–607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Micallef SA, Shiaris MP, Colon-Carmona A (2009) Influence of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions on rhizobacterial communities and natural variation in root exudates. J Exp Bot 60:1729–1742

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mills A, Adl MS (2006) The effects of land use intensification on soil biodiversity in the pasture. Can J Plant Sci 86:1339–1343

    Google Scholar 

  • Northup BK, Brown JR, Holt JA (1999) Grazing impacts on the spatial distribution of soil microbial biomass around tussock grassed in a tropical grassland. Appl Soil Ecol 13:259–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan Q, Bai Y, Han X, Zhang L (2004) Carbohydrate reserves in rhizome of Leymus chinensis in response to nitrogen additions. Acta Phytoecologica Sin 28(1):53–58 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sakaran M, Augustine DJ (2004) Large herbivores suppress decomposer abundance in a semiarid grazing ecosystem. Ecology 85:1052–1061

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarathchandra SU, Perrott KW, Upsdell MP (1984) Microbiological and biochemical characteristics of a range of New Zealand soils under established pasture. Soil Biol Biochem 16:177–183

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider K, Huisman JA, Breuer L, Frede H-G (2008) Ambiguous effects of grazing intensity on surface soil moisture: A geostatistical case study from a steppe environment in Inner Mongolia, PR China. J Arid Environ 72:1305–1319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sparling GP, Shepherd TG, Kettles HA (1992) Changes in soil organic C, microbial C and aggregate stability under continuous maize and cereal cropping, and after restoration to pasture in soils from the Manawatu region, New Zealand. Soil Till Res 24:225–241

    Article  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 143:63–72

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tong C, Wu J, Yong S, Yang J, Yong W (2004) A landscape-scale assessment of steppe degradation in the Xilin river basin, Inner Mongolia, China. J Arid Environ 59:33–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:703–707

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Verschoor BC, Pronk TE, de Goede RGM, Brussaard L (2002) Could plant-feeding nematodes affect the competition between grass species during succession in grasslands under restoration management? J Ecol 90:753–761

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang K, McSorley R, Bohlen P, Gathumbi SM (2006) Cattle grazing increases microbial biomass and alters soil nematode communities in subtropical pastures. Soil Biol Biochem 38:1956–1965

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yin W (1998) Pictorial keys to soil animals of China. Science Press, Beijing, pp 7–42, 51–89

  • Zak JC, Willing MR, Moorhead DL, Wildman HG (1994) Function diversity of microbial communities: a quantitative approach. Soil Biol Biochem 26:1101–1108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao J (1999) Effect of stocking rates on soil microbial number and biomass in steppe. Acta Agrestia Sin 7(3):223–227 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao W, Chen S, Han X, Lin G (2009) Effects of long-term grazing on the morphological and functional traits of Leymus chinensis in the semiarid grassland of Inner Mongolia, China. Ecol Res 24:99–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou Z, Sun O, Huang J, Li L, Liu P, Han X (2007) Soil carbon and nitrogen stores and storage potential as affected by land-use in an agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China. Biogeochemistry 82:127–138

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zolda P (2006) Nematode communities of grazed and ungrazed semi-natural steppe grasslands in Eastern Austria. Pedobiologia 50:11–22

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was founded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40571079) and the German Science Foundation (DFG project No. 536, “Matter fluxes in Inner Mongolia as influenced by stocking rate”, MAGIM). The authors are grateful to the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences for their support at the IMGERS. We thank the staffs of the MAGIM project for their cooperation and support during the fieldwork. Special thanks to Prof. P Voroney and Prof. P.C. Brookes for revising the manuscript and two referees’ good suggestions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resource and Environment, China Agricultural University, No.2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Sha Qi, Haixia Zheng, Qimei Lin, Guitong Li, Zhenhua Xi & Xiaorong Zhao

Authors
  1. Sha Qi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Haixia Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qimei Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Guitong Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Zhenhua Xi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Xiaorong Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaorong Zhao.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Ingrid Koegel-Knabner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Qi, S., Zheng, H., Lin, Q. et al. Effects of livestock grazing intensity on soil biota in a semiarid steppe of Inner Mongolia. Plant Soil 340, 117–126 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0463-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0463-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation