Grazing-induced increases in soil moisture maintain higher productivity during droughts in alpine meadows on the Tibetan Plateau

Zhang, Tao; Xu, Mingjie; Zhang, Yangjian; Zhao, Tao; An, Tingting; Li, Yingge; Sun, Yi; Chen, Ning; Zhao, Tingting; Zhu, Jiang; Yu, Guirui

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.02.022

Cited by 60 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…These shrub species, which have deeper root systems, transfer more quantities of C from root biomass to the deeper layers (Eldridge et al., 2011; Peng et al., 2013). (c) Grazing increases both soil water and soil N in subsoil (Figure 4c), a finding consistent with some previous reports (Zhang et al., 2019; Zhou et al., 2017). Grazing leads to a more compact surface layer, the inevitable result of trampling, and that compact layer serves as a kind of insulation, preventing water from subsoil from rising to the surface (Vandandorj et al, 2017), and thereby conserving the water present in the deeper layers.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Light grazing facilitates carbon accumulation in subsoil in Chinese grasslands: A meta‐analysis

Jiang

Lai

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

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Grazing by livestock greatly affects the soil carbon (C) cycle in grassland ecosystems. However, the effects of grazing at different intensities and durations on the dynamics of soil C in its subsoil layers are not clearly understood. Here, we compiled data from 78 sites (in total 122 published studies) to examine the effects of varying grazing intensities and durations on soil C content at different depths for grasslands in China.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Light grazing facilitates carbon accumulation in subsoil in Chinese grasslands: A meta‐analysis

Jiang

Lai

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

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“…The uncontrolled meadow had a similar RD DOY for soil moisture in 2019 to the other meadows, but in 2020 the RD DOY shifted much later into the year when compared to the others. Zhang et al [59] hypothesized and observed that increased grazing in alpine meadows initially led to lower levels of transpiration from vegetation, allowing for moisture to stay later in the soil. Eventually, however, long term grazing led to an increase of bare ground and evaporation, limiting soil moisture in comparison to less grazed areas.…”

Section: Grazing Impact On Phenologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Meadow Phenology in Response to Grazing Management at Multiple Scales of Measurement

et al. 2021

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Riparian and ground-water dependent ecosystems found in the Great Basin of North America are heavily utilized by livestock and wildlife throughout the year. Due to this constant pressure, grazing can be a major influence on many groundwater dependent resources. It is important for land managers to understand how intensity and timing of grazing affect the temporal availability of these commodities (i.e., biodiversity, water filtration, forage, habitat). Shifts in forage or water availability could potentially be harmful for fauna that rely on them at specific times of the year. Seven meadow communities, each consisting of three distinct vegetative communities, were grazed at three intensities to determine the relationship between grazing management and phenological timing of vegetation. The agreement of on-the-ground measurements, near-surface digital cameras (phenocams), and satellite-based indices of greenness was examined for a two-year period (2019–2020) over these grazing and vegetative community gradients. Field determined phenology, phenocam Green Chromatic Coordinate (GCC), and Landsat Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were all highly correlated and the relationship did not change across the treatments. Timing of growth varied in these ecosystems depending on yearly precipitation and vegetative type. Communities dominated by mesic sedges had growing seasons which stopped earlier in the year. Heavier grazing regimes, however, did not equate to significant changes in growing season. Ultimately, shifts in phenology occurred and were successfully monitored at various spatial and temporal scales.

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“…beneficial to maintain the health of alpine meadow ecosystems (Medina-Roldán et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2019). Moreover, historically, nomadism was a traditional and sustainable way to use alpine meadow systems on the QTP.…”

Section: Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing Exclusion Changed the Complexity and Keystone Species of Alpine Meadows on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2021

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Grazing exclusion is an effective approach to restore degraded grasslands. However, the effects of grazing exclusion on keystone species and the complexity of plant community were poorly investigated. Here, we conducted a field survey among different grazing exclusion durations, i.e., Grazing, grazing exclusion below 5 years, grazing exclusion with 5 years, grazing exclusion with 7 years, and grazing exclusion over 7 years, in alpine meadows on the central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). The complexity and keystone species of alpine meadows were analyzed by a network analysis. The results showed the following: (1) The species richness did not change, but aboveground biomass and the coverage of the plant community tended to increase with the extension of the grazing exclusion duration. (2) The soil nutrients, i.e., total nitrogen, total organic carbon, available nitrogen, and available potassium, remained stable, while the soil bulk density decreased under grazing exclusion conditions. (3) There was a hump-shaped change of the complexity (i.e., average connectivity and average clustering coefficient) of the plant community along with the extension of the grazing exclusion duration. Moreover, the keystone species were different among the grazing exclusion treatments. Based on the complexity of the plant community and the changes of keystone species, the optimum duration of grazing exclusion for alpine meadows should be between 5 and 7 years. Our results suggest that besides the productivity, the change of the complexity and keystone species of plant community should be considered when grazing exclusion is adopted to restore the degraded alpine meadows.

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Grazing-induced increases in soil moisture maintain higher productivity during droughts in alpine meadows on the Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 60 publications

References 55 publications

Light grazing facilitates carbon accumulation in subsoil in Chinese grasslands: A meta‐analysis

Light grazing facilitates carbon accumulation in subsoil in Chinese grasslands: A meta‐analysis

Changes in Meadow Phenology in Response to Grazing Management at Multiple Scales of Measurement

Grazing Exclusion Changed the Complexity and Keystone Species of Alpine Meadows on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

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