Adaptive grazing enhances plant species richness and density in the soil seed bank in a semi-arid grassland

Yanlong Li; Hao Wang; Ziyuan Ma; Pengfei Xing; Yanan Wang; Zhicheng Jin; Yaxuan Zhou; Frank Yonghong Li

Ecological Indicators (Jun 2024)

Adaptive grazing enhances plant species richness and density in the soil seed bank in a semi-arid grassland

Yanlong Li,
Hao Wang,
Ziyuan Ma,
Pengfei Xing,
Yanan Wang,
Zhicheng Jin,
Yaxuan Zhou,
Frank Yonghong Li

Affiliations

Yanlong Li: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China; The Collaborative Innovation Center for Grassland Ecological Security, Ministry of Education of China and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
Hao Wang: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
Ziyuan Ma: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
Pengfei Xing: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
Yanan Wang: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
Zhicheng Jin: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
Yaxuan Zhou: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
Frank Yonghong Li: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China; The Collaborative Innovation Center for Grassland Ecological Security, Ministry of Education of China and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China; Corresponding author at: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 163
p. 112113

Abstract

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The soil seed bank plays a key role in vegetation resilience under environmental disturbances, and is especially important for the restoration of degraded vegetation. However, the responsive dynamics of the soil seed bank to animal grazing and its potential in the restoration of grazing degraded steppe grassland remain unclear. Here we examined the changes in plant species diversity and density in both the soil seed bank and the aboveground vegetation of a natural grassland along an experimental gradient of four grazing intensities (nil, light, moderate and heavy grazing) in an adaptive grazing management system that ensures grassland residual cover was always above a certain criteria. The grassland is a typical steppe dominated by Leymus chinensis, Stipa grandis, and Cleistogenes squarrosa in central Inner Mongolia, China. We found that (i) plant species richness and density of the seed bank in the top 10 cm soil layer increased with grazing intensity, though the density of the seed bank in the top 5 cm soil layer showed an decrease. (ii) Moderate and heavy grazing significantly decreased the density of perennial but increased annual and biennial plants in the top 5 cm soil layer, which dominate the changes in the top 10 cm soil layer. (iii) Plant species richness and density in the aboveground vegetation also increased with grazing intensity, so did the similarity between the species composition of the soil seed bank and aboveground vegetation in the top 10 cm. The increase in the richness and density of annual and biennial species dominated the responsive changes to grazing of the soil seed bank and aboveground vegetation in the studied grassland. Our results provide a reference basis for grazing management in the region from the perspective of the soil seed bank, and suggest that the adaptive grazing system with grassland residual height controlled above a criterion benefits to the soil seed bank thus the re-generation of vegetation.

Published in Ecological Indicators

ISSN: 1470-160X (Print); 1872-7034 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Biology (General): Ecology
Website: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/ecological-indicators

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