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Jiang A, Mipam TD, Jing L, Li Z, Li T, Liu J, Tian L. Large herbivore grazing accelerates litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Sci Total Environ 2024; 922:171288. [PMID: 38423309 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Plant litter decomposition is critical for carbon and nutrient cycling globally. However, the effect of large herbivore grazing on litter decomposition and its mechanisms remain less explored. Here, 1203 paired observations and 381 independent experiments were analyzed to determine how litter decomposition and nutrient cycling respond to changes in grazing intensity. Grazing significantly increased litter decomposition rate by 14.08 % and litter carbon release by 5.03 %, and this effect was observed in grasslands and croplands but not in forests. The positive grazing effect was also found under sheep and cattle/yak grazing. Moderate grazing advanced the home-field advantage effect but inhibited under heavy grazing for grazed litters. The grazing effect was larger for high quality litter than for low quality litter. Litter decomposition slowed under >10 years heavy grazing but accelerated under moderate grazing. The effects of large herbivore grazing on litter decomposition were jointly influenced by grazing intensity, livestock type, climate condition, decomposition duration, litter quality, and soil properties. Our results demonstrated that large herbivore grazing accelerates litter decomposition globally and emphasized the significance and importance of grazing intensity on litter decomposition, which should be integrated into terrestrial ecosystem models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ao Jiang
- Sichuan Zoige Alpine Wetland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory for Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Tserang Donko Mipam
- Sichuan Zoige Alpine Wetland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Institute of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Luhuai Jing
- Sichuan Zoige Alpine Wetland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory for Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Zhe Li
- Sichuan Zoige Alpine Wetland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory for Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Tao Li
- Sichuan Zoige Alpine Wetland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory for Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Jianquan Liu
- Sichuan Zoige Alpine Wetland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory for Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Liming Tian
- Sichuan Zoige Alpine Wetland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory for Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
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Xu H, You C, Tan B, Xu L, Liu Y, Wang M, Xu Z, Sardans J, Peñuelas J. Effects of livestock grazing on the relationships between soil microbial community and soil carbon in grassland ecosystems. Sci Total Environ 2023; 881:163416. [PMID: 37059137 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Livestock grazing of grassland ecosystems may induce shifts in microbe community traits and soil carbon (C) cycling; however, impacts of grassland management (grazing) on soil C- microbe community trait (microbial biomass, diversity, community structure, and enzyme activity) relationships are unclear. To address this, we conducted a global meta-analysis of 95 articles of livestock grazing studies that vary in grazing intensities (light, moderate, and high) and durations (<5 years, 5-10 years, and > 10 years). We found that gazing decreased soil organic carbon content (SOC; 10.1 %), and activities of the enzymes of saccharase (SA; 31.1 %), urease (UA; 7.0 %), and acid phosphatase (11.9 %) in topsoil. Meanwhile, the SOC, soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities consistently decreased as grazing intensity and duration prolonged. Furthermore, we observed strong linear relationships of microbe community traits with SOC (p < 0.05), but weak relationships with soil N or P (p > 0.05) in grasslands, which also depends on the grazing intensity and duration. In conclusion, our results indicate that traits of soil carbon content, soil microbe community, and in particular their relationships in global grasslands are overall significantly affected by livestock grazing, but the effects strongly depend on the grazing intensity and duration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongwei Xu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
| | - Chengming You
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
| | - Bo Tan
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
| | - Lin Xu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
| | - Yang Liu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
| | - Minggang Wang
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
| | - Zhenfeng Xu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain; CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain; Nonlinear Analysis and Applied Mathematics (NAAM)-Research Group, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80257, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain; Nonlinear Analysis and Applied Mathematics (NAAM)-Research Group, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80257, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
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Zhang Z, Hua T, Zhao Y, Li Y, Wang Y, Wang F, Sun J, Sun J. Divergent effects of moderate grazing duration on carbon sequestration between temperate and alpine grasslands in China. Sci Total Environ 2023; 858:159621. [PMID: 36280069 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Moderate grazing has been widely proven to improve ecosystem functioning and have profound effects on the carbon cycling and storage in grassland ecosystems, which highly depend on grazing duration and grassland type. However, the effects of moderate grazing durations on carbon sequestration with different grassland types over broad geographic scales across China remain underexplored in the context of striving for carbon neutrality. Here, we explored the probably different responses of carbon sequestration to moderate grazing duration for temperate and alpine grasslands based on 129 published literatures regarding the China's grasslands. The results showed the soil organic carbon stocks were significantly increased during short-term (<5 years) grazing duration, while significantly decreased during medium- (5-10 years) and long-term (≥ 10 years) grazing durations in temperate grasslands. However, the soil organic carbon stocks were significantly decreased during short-term grazing duration, while showed no significant changes during medium- and long-term grazing durations in alpine grasslands. The changes in soil organic stock were significantly positively correlated with the changes in belowground biomass, root:shoot, and microbial biomass carbon (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that the temperate grasslands change from carbon sink to carbon source with moderate grazing duration increasing, while the alpine grasslands present an opposite change pattern from carbon source to carbon sink, regulated by grazing-altered carbon input and microbial activities. Our study might have significant implications for future sustainable management practices for carbon sequestration of China's grasslands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenchao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Grassland Resources and Ecology in the Yellow River Delta, College of Grassland Science, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, Shandong, China
| | - Ting Hua
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yanhua Zhao
- Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Grassland Resources and Ecology in the Yellow River Delta, College of Grassland Science, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, Shandong, China
| | - Yanpeng Li
- School of Mapping and Geographic Information, Jiangxi College of Applied Technology, Ganzhou 341000, China
| | - Yi Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Fei Wang
- Institute of Agricultural Information and Economics, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No.23788, Industrial North Road, Jinan 250010, Shandong, China
| | - Juan Sun
- Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Grassland Resources and Ecology in the Yellow River Delta, College of Grassland Science, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, Shandong, China.
| | - Jian Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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