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Vegetation and soil responses to livestock grazing in Central Asian grasslands: a review of Chinese literature

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Abstract

Grasslands in northern China and the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau are particularly important to both ecosystem functioning and pastoral livelihoods. Although there are numerous degradation studies on the effect of livestock grazing across the region, they are largely only published in Chinese, and most focus on single sites. Based on case studies from 100 sites, covering a mean annual precipitation gradient of 95–744 mm, we present a comprehensive, internationally accessible review on the impact of livestock grazing on vegetation and soils. We compared ungrazed or slightly grazed sites with moderately and heavily grazed sites by evaluating changes in two indicator groups: vegetation (plant species richness, vegetation cover, aboveground biomass, belowground biomass and root/shoot ratio) and soil (pH, bulk density, organic C, total N, total P and available P). Most indicators declined with intensified grazing, while soil pH, bulk density and belowground biomass increased. Available P showed no clear response. Variables within indicator groups were mostly linearly correlated at a given grazing intensity. Relative grazing effects on different indicators varied along specific abiotic gradients. Grazing responses of plant species richness, aboveground biomass, soil bulk density, total N and available P interacted with precipitation patterns, while grazing effects on belowground biomass were influenced by temperature. Elevation had impact on grazing responses of aboveground biomass and soil organic carbon. Complex grazing effects reflect both methodological inconsistency and ecological complexity. Further assessments should consider specific characteristics of different indicators in the context of the local environment.

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Acknowledgments

The China Meteorological Forcing Dataset used in this study was developed by the Data Assimilation and Modelling Centre for Tibetan Multi-spheres, the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (CAS). Y. J. Wang carefully extracted and processed the climate data, H.Y. Yu gave suggestions for Arcgis processing, H. von Wehrden provided advice on statistics, Dr. McCluskey kindly checked English. Two anonymous referees and J. Kamp provided helpful comments on the manuscript. The study was financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research within the joint research programme “Central Asia– Monsoon dynamics and geo-ecosystems (CAME) project” and supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA05130702 to Y. P. Y.)

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  1. Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz, P.O. Box 300154, 02806, Görlitz, Germany

    Yun Wang & Karsten Wesche

  2. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Karsten Wesche

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  1. Yun Wang
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Wang, Y., Wesche, K. Vegetation and soil responses to livestock grazing in Central Asian grasslands: a review of Chinese literature. Biodivers Conserv 25, 2401–2420 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-1034-1

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