Influence of historic sheep grazing on vegetation and soil properties of a Desert Steppe in Inner Mongolia

Li, Chunli; Hao, Xiying; Zhao, Mengli; Han, Guodong; Willms, Walter D.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2008.05.008

Cited by 160 publications

(133 citation statements)

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“…This led us to add seven more references to the first dataset, two more to the second dataset and four more to the third dataset. Given the different reactions of plant communities to grazing intensity depending on habitat productivity (Bakker et al, 2006;de Bello et al, 2006) and salinity levels (Olff and Ritchie, 1998), the few data available on semiarid grasslands (Osem et al, 2002;Li et al, 2008;Campbell et al, 2010) and marshland plant communities (Bouchard et al, 2003;Hofmann and Mason, 2006;Milotić et al, 2010) were excluded from this analysis. Assessment of study quality also led us to exclude surveys dealing with mixed grazing, as well as those where stocking rate could not be calculated from plot size and number of grazing days.…”

Section: Literature Search and Study Inclusion Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

How do sheep affect plant communities and arthropod populations in temperate grasslands?

Scohier

Dumont

2012

Animal

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Grasslands being used in sheep farming systems are managed under a variety of agricultural production, recreational and conservational objectives. Although sheep grazing is rarely considered the best method for delivering conservation objectives in seminatural temperate grasslands, the literature does not provide unequivocal evidence on the impact of sheep grazing on pasture biodiversity. Our aim was therefore to review evidence of the impacts of stocking rate, grazing period and soil fertility on plant communities and arthropod populations in both mesotrophic grasslands typical of agriculturally improved areas and in native plant communities. We therefore conducted a literature search of articles published up to the end of the year 2010 using 'sheep' and 'grazing' as keywords, together with variables describing grassland management, plant community structure or arthropod taxa. The filtering process led to the selection of 48 articles, with 42 included in the stocking rate dataset, 9 in the grazing period dataset and 10 in the soil fertility dataset. The meta-analysis did not reveal any significant trends for plant species richness or plant community evenness along a wide stocking rate gradient. However, we found frequent shifts in functional groups or plant species abundance that could be explained by the functional properties of the plants in the community. The meta-analysis confirmed that increasing soil fertility decreased plant species richness. Despite the very limited dataset, plant species richness was significantly greater in autumn-grazed pastures than in ungrazed areas, which suggests that choosing an appropriate grazing period would be a promising option for preserving biodiversity in sheep farming systems. Qualitative review indicated that low grazing intensity had positive effects on Orthoptera, Hemiptera (especially phytophagous Auchenorrhyncha) and, despite a diverse range of feeding strategies, for the species richness of Coleoptera. Lepidoptera, which were favoured by more abundant flowering plants, also benefited from low grazing intensities. Spider abundance and species richness were higher in ungrazed than in grazed pastures. In contrast, there are insufficient published studies to draw any firm conclusions on the benefits of late grazing or stopping fertilization on insect diversity, and no grounds for including any of this information in decision support tools at this stage.Keywords: biodiversity, grazing period, insect, stocking rate, soil fertility ImplicationsThere is a general trend toward a gradual intensification of ruminant production to meet the increasing demand for livestock products (Bouwman et al., 2005), which logically raises major concerns over the environmental consequences involved. Grassland intensification entails higher livestock densities and fertilizer application rates to increase soil productivity, which negatively affects the diversity of resident plant communities. Grasslands are being managed under a variety of agricultural production and conservation objectives;...

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Section: Literature Search and Study Inclusion Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

How do sheep affect plant communities and arthropod populations in temperate grasslands?

Scohier

Dumont

2012

Animal

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“…In the northeast, meadow steppe is the most productive type of grassland ecosystem [16], developing in areas with moist fertile soils rich in organic matter and includes Stipa baicalensis, L. chinensis, and Cleistogenes mucronata [19]. The north central area of the IMAR borders the semi-desert and is dominated by typical steppe [20]. Typical steppe is capable of drought tolerance, and includes Stipa grandis, Leymus chinensis, and multiple species of Artemisia and Festuca.…”

Section: Area Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing Food Consumption Patterns and Impact on Water Resources in the Fragile Grassland of Northern China

Zhen

Groot

et al. 2015

Sustainability

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A burgeoning population, pressing development needs and increasing household consumption are rapidly accelerating water use in direct and indirect ways. Increasingly, regions around the world face growing pressure on sustainable use of their water resources especially in arid and semi-arid regions, such as Northern China. The aim of this research is to obtain an overview of the cumulative water requirement for direct (domestic) water use and indirect water use for the basic food consumption of the households in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR), in order to reduce the pressure on grassland of Western China by encouraging sustainable water consumption. For indirect water use, we use VWC (virtual water content) analysis theory to analyze the total consumption package of 15 basic food types that were identified and quantified based on the household survey in 2011. In this survey, domestic water consumption data and food consumption data were collected from 209 representative households with spatial variation across three sub-regions (including meadow steppe in Hulun Buir, typical steppe in Xilin Gol, and semi-desert steppe in Ordos) and temporal variation from 1995 to 2010. The results show that the total amounts of food consumption per capita in three sub-regions all show an increasing trend, OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 5629 especially in Hulun Buir and Ordos. Compared to the direct water consumption, the indirect water consumption behind food production made up a major portion of total water consumption, which is affected (1) geographic locations (grassland types); (2) economic development levels and (3) grassland use policy measures. From 1995 to 2010, indirect water consumption displays a decreasing trend in Xilin Gol and Ordos due to the decrease of meat consumption and increase of fruit and vegetable consumption. When considering the amount of land per household, the grassland in Ordos still faces the great threat of high water consumption pressure. Such water consumption may affect water conservation services and productivity of grassland. Therefore, changing diet behavior and reducing the population can be considered options for sustainable use of water.

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“…Ohwi. The dominant soil types are Kastanozem (FAO soil classification) or Brown Chernozem (Canadian Soil Classification) with a loamy sand texture [14].…”

Section: Study Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane Emission from Sheep Respiration and Sheepfolds During the Grazing Season in a Desert Grassland

Zhai¹,

Lu²,

Tang³

et al. 2015

TOASCJ

Self Cite

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Methane (CH 4 ) emissions from ruminants should be accounted for the natural grazed rangeland ecosystems when devising greenhouse gas budget inventory, in particular, their contribution to global warming. In this study, CH 4 emission from sheep respiration at different grazing intensities (light grazing, 0.75 sheep/ha, LG; moderate grazing, 1.50 sheep/ha, MG; and heavy grazing, 2.25 sheep/ha, HG) and in sheepfolds were evaluated in a desert grassland of Inner Mongolia. Results indicated that daily CH 4 emission from sheep was not significantly different between treatments. When CH 4 emission was expressed emission per 100g daily, there was a significant difference of LG vs HG and MG vs HG, with the values of 15.64g, 20.00g and 28.63g for LG, MG and HG, respectively, during the grazing season. There was no significant difference among CH 4 fluxes in sheepfolds (mean 39.0 ug m -2 h -1 ). Considering CH 4 emissions from the grazing ecosystem, net CH 4 emissions from LG, MG and HG plots were -18.33, -1.91 and 21.19 g/ha/day, respectively. The digestibility of forage had a positive correlation with CH 4 emission expressed on daily and metabolic body weight basis. It is concluded that MG will improve the balance between CH 4 emission from grassland and grazing livestock in the desert grasslands of Inner Mongolia.

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Influence of historic sheep grazing on vegetation and soil properties of a Desert Steppe in Inner Mongolia

Cited by 160 publications

References 50 publications

How do sheep affect plant communities and arthropod populations in temperate grasslands?

How do sheep affect plant communities and arthropod populations in temperate grasslands?

Changing Food Consumption Patterns and Impact on Water Resources in the Fragile Grassland of Northern China

Methane Emission from Sheep Respiration and Sheepfolds During the Grazing Season in a Desert Grassland

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