Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Grazing alters sandy soil greenhouse gas emissions in a sand-binding area of the Hobq Desert, China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of Arid Land Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Deserts are sensitive to environmental changes caused by human interference and are prone to degradation. Revegetation can promote the reversal of desertification and the subsequent formation of fixed sand. However, the effects of grazing, which can cause the ground-surface conditions of fixed sand to further deteriorate and result in re-desertification, on the greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from soils remain unknown. Herein, we investigated GHG fluxes in the Hobq Desert, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, at the mobile (desertified), fixed (vegetated), and grazed (re-desertified) sites from January 2018 to December 2019. We analyzed the response mechanism of GHG fluxes to micrometeorological factors and the variation in global warming potential (GWP). CO2 was emitted at an average rate of 4.2, 3.7, and 1.1 mmol/(m2·h) and N2O was emitted at an average rate of 0.19, 0.15, and 0.09 μmol/(m2·h) at the grazed, fixed, and mobile sites, respectively. Mean CH4 consumption was as follows: fixed site (2.9 μmol/(m2·h))>grazed site (2.7 μmol/(m2·h))>mobile site (1.1 μmol/(m2·h)). GHG fluxes varied seasonally, and soil temperature (10 cm) and soil water content (30 cm) were the key micrometeorological factors affecting the fluxes. The changes in the plant and soil characteristics caused by grazing resulted in increased soil CO2 and N2O emissions and decreased CH4 absorption. Grazing also significantly increased the GWP of the soil (P<0.05). This study demonstrates that grazing on revegetated sandy soil can cause re-desertification and significantly increase soil carbon and nitrogen leakage. These findings could be used to formulate informed policies on the management and utilization of desert ecosystems.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Brito L F, Azenha M V, Janusckiewicz E R, et al. 2015. Seasonal fluctuation of soil carbon dioxide emission in differently managed pastures. Agronomy Journal, 107(3): 957–962.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Búrquez A, Martínez-Yrízar A, Núñez S, et al. 2010. Aboveground biomass in three Sonoran Desert communities: Variability within and among sites using replicated plot harvesting. Journal of Arid Environments, 74(10): 1240–1247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cable J M, Ogle K, Lucas R W, et al. 2011. The temperature responses of soil respiration in deserts: a seven desert synthesis. Biogeochemistry, 103: 71–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao L H, Liu H M, Zhao S W, et al. 2012. Relationship between carbon and nitrogen in degraded alpine meadow soil. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 7(27): 3945–3951.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castillo-Monroy A P, Maestre F T, Rey A, et al. 2011. Biological soil crust microsites are the main contributor to soil respiration in a semiarid ecosystem. Ecosystems, 14(5): 835–847.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chimner R A, Cooper D J. 2003. Influence of water table levels on CO2 emissions in a Colorado subalpine fen: an in situ microcosm study. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 35(3): 345–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Klein C A M, Shepherd M A, van der Weerden T J. 2014. Nitrous oxide emissions from grazed grasslands: interactions between the N cycle and climate change—a New Zealand case study. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, (9–10): 131–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Vries F T, Williams A, Stringer F, et al. 2019. Changes in root-exudate-induced respiration reveal a novel mechanism through which drought affects ecosystem carbon cycling. The New Phytologist, 224(1): 132–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Douglas J T, Crawford C E. 1993. The response of a ryegrass sward to wheel traffic and applied nitrogen. Grass and Forage Science, 48(2): 91–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunmola A S, Tenuta M, Moulin A P, et al. 2010. Pattern of greenhouse gas emission from a Prairie Pothole agricultural landscape in Manitoba, Canada. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 90(2): 243–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elena V, Gulya K, Rauan Z, et al. 2020. Can conservation agriculture increase soil carbon sequestration? A modelling approach. Geoderma, 369: 114298, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitter A H, Self G K, Brown T K, et al. 1999. Root production and turnover in an upland grassland subjected to artificial soil warming respond to radiation flux and nutrients, not temperature. Oecologia, 120(4): 575–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammad H M, Nauman H M F, Abbas F, et al. 2020. Carbon sequestration potential and soil characteristics of various land use systems in arid region. Journal of Environmental Management, 264: 110254, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hangs R D, Schoenau J J, Lafond G P. 2013. The effect of nitrogen fertilization and no-till duration on soil nitrogen supply power and post-spring thaw greenhouse-gas emissions. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 176(2): 227–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howden S M, White D H, Mckeon G M, et al. 1994. Methods for exploring management options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from tropical grazing systems. Climatic Change, 27(1): 49–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu C X, Liu Y D, Song L R, et al. 2002. Effect of desert soil algae on the stabilization of fine sands. Journal of Applied Phycology, 14(4): 281–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. 2014. Mitigation of Climate Change. Working Group III Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In: Edenhofer O, Pichs-Madruga R, Sokona Y, et al. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones S K, Helfter C, Anderson M, et al. 2017. The nitrogen, carbon and greenhouse gas budget of a grazed, cut and fertilised temperate grassland. Biogeosciences, 14: 2069–2088.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Q, Zhao C, Cheng X, et al. 2015. Soil respiration and carbon pools across a range of spruce stand ages, eastern Tibetan Plateau. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 61(3): 440–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lohila A, Aurela M, Regina K, et al. 2003. Soil and total ecosystem respiration in agricultural fields: effect of soil and crop type. Plant and Soil, 251(2): 303–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mark E R. 2020. Grazing management, forage production and soil carbon dynamics. Resources, 9(4): 49, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/resources9040049.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mosier A R, Delgado J A, Keller M. 1998. Methane and nitrous oxide fluxes in an acid Oxisol in western Puerto Rico: effects of tillage, liming and fertilization. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 30(14): 2087–2098.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papen H, Rennenberg H. 1990. Microbial processes involved in emissions of radiatively important trace gases. In: Transactions 14th International Congress Soil Science. Kyoto, 2: 232–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poulter B, Frank D, Ciais P, et al. 2014. Contribution of semi-arid ecosystems to interannual variability of the global carbon cycle. Nature, 509: 600–603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Priess J A, de Koning G H J, Veldkamp A. 2001. Assessment of interactions between land use change and carbon and nutrient fluxes in Ecuador. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 85(1–3): 269–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qi Y S, Dong Y S, Zhang S. 2002. Methane fluxes of typical agricultural soil in the North China Plain. Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment, 18(3): 56–58, 60. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rustad L E, Huntington T G, Boone R D. 2000. Controls on soil respiration: Implications for climate change. Biogeochemistry, 48(1): 1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shi H Q, Hou L Y, Yang L Y, et al. 2017. Effects of grazing on CO2, CH4, and N2O fluxes in three temperate steppe ecosystems. Ecosphere, 8(4): e01760, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1760.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song C C, Zhang J B, Wang Y Y, et al. 2008. Emission of CO2, CH4 and N2O from freshwater marsh in northeast of China. Journal of Environmental Management, 88(3): 428–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song W M, Chen S P, Wu B, et al. 2012. Vegetation cover and rain timing co-regulate the responses of soil CO2 efflux to rain increase in an arid desert ecosystem. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 49: 114–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soussana J F, Allard V, Pilegaard K, et al. 2007. Full accounting of the greenhouse gas (CO2, N2O, CH4) budget of nine European grassland sites. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment, 121(1–2): 121–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Subke J A, Reichstein M, Tenhunen J D. 2003. Explaining temporal variation in soil CO2 efflux in a mature spruce forest in Southern Germany. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 35(11): 1467–1483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van den Pol-van Dasselaar A, Oenema O. 1999. Methane production and carbon mineralisation of size and density fractions of peat soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 31(6): 877–886.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang B, Duan Y X, Wang W F, et al. 2020. Desertification reversion alters soil greenhouse gas emissions in the eastern Hobq Desert, China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(13): 15624–15634.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang B, Liu J, Zhang X, et al. 2021. Changes in soil carbon sequestration and emission in different succession stages of biological soil crusts in a sand-binding area. Carbon Balance and Management, 16(1): 27, doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-021-00190-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y S, Hu Y Q, Ji B M, et al. 2003. An investigation on the relationship between emission/ uptake of greenhouse gases and environmental factors in semiarid grassland. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 20(1): 295–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolf I, Russow R. 2000. Different pathways of formation of N2O, N, and NO in black earth soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 32(2): 229–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu X, Yao Z S, Brüggemann N, et al. 2010. Effects of soil moisture and temperature on CO2 and CH4 soil-atmosphere exchange of various land use/cover types in a semi-arid grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42(5): 773–787.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu K W, Chen G X, Xu H. 2006. Rice yield reduction by chamber enclosure: a possible effect on enhancing methane production. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 43(2): 257–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Z S, Li X R, Nowak R S, et al. 2013. Effect of sand-stabilizing shrubs on soil respiration in a temperate desert. Plant and Soil, 367(1–2): 449–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou P, Han G D, Wang C J, et al. 2011. Effects of stocking rates on carbon flux in the desert grassland ecological system of Inner Mongolia. Journal of Inner Mongolia Agricultural University (Natural Science Edition), 32(4): 59–64. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou Z C, Gan Z T, Shangguan Z P, et al. 2010. Effects of grazing on soil physical properties and soil erodibility in semiarid grassland of the Northern Loess Plateau (China). CATENA, 82(2): 87–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Inner Mongolia Science and Technology Project of China (2022YFDZ0027) and the Mongolia Basic Geographical Factors and Land Use/Cover Survey of China (2017FY101301-4).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Geographical Science, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot, 010010, China

    Bo Wang, Yuwei Li & Yuhai Bao

Authors
  1. Bo Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yuwei Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yuhai Bao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuwei Li.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, B., Li, Y. & Bao, Y. Grazing alters sandy soil greenhouse gas emissions in a sand-binding area of the Hobq Desert, China. J. Arid Land 14, 576–588 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-022-0095-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-022-0095-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation