The exclusion of grazing has been used extensively in alpine meadows on the Tibetan Plateau. Studies, however, have shown reported recent trends of decreasing concentrations of soil nutrients because of grazing exclusion and climate change. The effects of excluding grazing on the soil biogeochemical process of phosphorus cycling in alpine meadows are unclear, especially under climatic warming. We conducted a 5-year grazing-exclusion and warming-manipulation experiment to examine the effects of excluding grazing on fractions of soil phosphorus, microbial and nematode communities and enzymatic activities in treatments of low grazing intensity, grazing exclusion, and combined grazing exclusion and warming. Our results indicated that excluding grazing significantly decreased bacterivore and omnivore-predator densities, phoD gene abundance and alkaline phosphomonoesterase activity (in the 0-5 cm layer by -34, -41, -38 and -42 %) at altitudes of 3850 m, 4000 m, 4150 m and 4250 m, respectively. Structural equation modeling indicated that bacterivores positively affected phoD gene abundance, alkaline phosphomonoesterase activity and inorganic‑phosphorus fractions. Combined grazing exclusion and warming significantly decreased bacterivore and omnivore-predator densities but significantly increased fungivore density (in the 0-5 cm layer by 238, 172, 119 and 65 %) at altitudes of 3850, 4000, 4150 and 4250 m, respectively. Structural equation modeling also indicated that the combined grazing-exclusion and warming treatment increased the soil fungi and fungivores, but the higher abundances of fungi and fungivores did not significantly affect acid phosphomonoesterase activity or inorganic‑phosphorus fractions. Alternatively, the combined grazing-exclusion and warming treatment significantly increased the concentrations of amorphous and free aluminum, which were positively correlated with the maximum adsorption of phosphorus. The combined grazing-exclusion and warming treatment thus significantly decreased the availability of resin phosphorus (-63, -51, -81 and -67 %) in the 0-5 cm layer at altitudes of 3850, 4000, 4150 and 4250 m, respectively. Our results suggested that light grazing (0.5 yak ha year) could increase phosphorus mineralization and the activity of soil enzymes in alpine meadows under global warming. An adequate load of livestock pressure at each altitude can be an effective management technique, mainly under warming, to maintain an adequate, sustainable and equilibrated phosphorus cycle in the plant-soil system.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162313 | DOI Listing |
J Environ Manage
January 2025
Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Department of Agronomy, Dom Manoel de Medeiros Street, w/n, Recife, PE, 52171-900, Brazil. Electronic address:
Overgrazing is the primary human-induced cause of soil degradation in the Caatinga biome, intensely threatening lands vulnerable to desertification. Grazing exclusion, a simple and cost-effective practice, could restore soils' ecological functions. However, comprehensive insights into the effects of overgrazing and grazing exclusion on Caatinga soils' multifunctionality are lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcol Appl
January 2025
Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Livestock grazing and trampling have been shown to reduce arthropod populations. Among arthropods, defoliating lepidopterans are particularly important for their impact on trees, the keystone structures of agroforestry systems. This study investigates the impact of livestock on the community of defoliating lepidopterans in agroforestry systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Environ Manage
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China.
Grazing exclusion is effective in restoring vegetation and ecological services in degraded grasslands within semi-arid regions. Variations in plant functional traits associated with the duration of grazing exclusion can indicate both ecological adaptability of plants and restoration processes of ecosystems. However, research on ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) under grazing exclusion and restoration mechanisms mediated by plant functional traits is relatively limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Environ Manage
January 2025
Department of Nature and Life Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences and Nature and Life Sciences, University of Tebessa, 12002, Tebessa, Algeria; Laboratory "Water and Environment", University of Tebessa, 12002 Tebessa, Algeria.
Arid steppe rangelands in North Africa are highly significant ecosystems that are exceedingly sensitive to global warming and are also influenced by severe grazing and heavy utilization practices. Consequently, it is imperative to conduct extensive investigations regarding the impact of overgrazing due to increased sheep populations on plant diversity in these regions. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of two grazing managements (grazing-excluded vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Anim Nutr
November 2024
Zootecnia, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Brasil.
The objective was to investigate the effect of rainfall on sodium (Na) dissolution and total losses by runoff of loose mineral mixtures (MM) available in uncovered feeders to grazing cattle, as well as the possible impacts on their growth performance and fulfilment of Na nutritional needs. Experiments ( = 7) were conducted to quantify the amount of Na lost due to rainfall and to evaluate the effects of different Na levels in the MM (35, 70, 105, and 140 g Na/kg) on MM assumed intake and growth performance. Cattle grazed Brachiaria sp.
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