Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 59-72 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Plant and soil |
| Volume | 340 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
Over the last few decades, due to increase in grazing intensity, animal trampling has led to soil structure deterioration in Inner Mongolia, China. We investigated two different steppe ecosystems: Leymus chinensis (LCh, characterized by relatively higher precipitation) and Stipa grandis (SG) and two grazing intensities: ungrazed since 1979 (UG79) and grazed (continuously grazed, CG, at the Stipa grandis site and winter grazed, WG, at Leymus chinensis). Soil mechanical and hydraulic properties of semiarid steppe soils from each site and treatment were determined for soil aggregates and disturbed and bulk soil samples from different depths (4-8, 18-22, 30-34 and 56-60 cm for disturbed and bulk samples and 0-15 cm for the aggregates). Grazing causes a significant increase in tensile strength of aggregates and in the precompression stress of the bulk soil as well as a decrease in air and saturated hydraulic conductivity, irrespective of the vegetation type. Furthermore, exclusion from grazing led to more pronounced recovery of soil strength and pore continuity and hydraulic conductivity at the LCh site but it also depended on the moisture conditions of the sites. Under wetter conditions as well as after repeated freezing and thawing the soil strength declined.
Keywords
- Aggregate tensile strength, Grazing, Precompression stress, Repellency index, Steppe
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Soil Science
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Plant Science
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In: Plant and soil, Vol. 340, No. 1, 03.2011, p. 59-72.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Influence of grazing on hydraulic and mechanical properties of semiarid steppe soils under different vegetation type in Inner Mongolia, China
AU - Reszkowska, Agnieszka
AU - Krümmelbein, Julia
AU - Peth, Stephan
AU - Horn, Rainer
AU - Zhao, Ying
AU - Gan, Lei
N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgements The authors are highly indebted to the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the financial support of this research group MAGIM (Forschergruppe 536 MAGIM— Matter fluxes in grasslands of Inner Mongolia as influenced by stocking rate) as well as they would like to thank Xingguo Han, Yongfei Bai and the Institute of Botany (Chinese Academy of Sciences) for the opportunity to work at IMGERS.
PY - 2011/3
Y1 - 2011/3
N2 - Over the last few decades, due to increase in grazing intensity, animal trampling has led to soil structure deterioration in Inner Mongolia, China. We investigated two different steppe ecosystems: Leymus chinensis (LCh, characterized by relatively higher precipitation) and Stipa grandis (SG) and two grazing intensities: ungrazed since 1979 (UG79) and grazed (continuously grazed, CG, at the Stipa grandis site and winter grazed, WG, at Leymus chinensis). Soil mechanical and hydraulic properties of semiarid steppe soils from each site and treatment were determined for soil aggregates and disturbed and bulk soil samples from different depths (4-8, 18-22, 30-34 and 56-60 cm for disturbed and bulk samples and 0-15 cm for the aggregates). Grazing causes a significant increase in tensile strength of aggregates and in the precompression stress of the bulk soil as well as a decrease in air and saturated hydraulic conductivity, irrespective of the vegetation type. Furthermore, exclusion from grazing led to more pronounced recovery of soil strength and pore continuity and hydraulic conductivity at the LCh site but it also depended on the moisture conditions of the sites. Under wetter conditions as well as after repeated freezing and thawing the soil strength declined.
AB - Over the last few decades, due to increase in grazing intensity, animal trampling has led to soil structure deterioration in Inner Mongolia, China. We investigated two different steppe ecosystems: Leymus chinensis (LCh, characterized by relatively higher precipitation) and Stipa grandis (SG) and two grazing intensities: ungrazed since 1979 (UG79) and grazed (continuously grazed, CG, at the Stipa grandis site and winter grazed, WG, at Leymus chinensis). Soil mechanical and hydraulic properties of semiarid steppe soils from each site and treatment were determined for soil aggregates and disturbed and bulk soil samples from different depths (4-8, 18-22, 30-34 and 56-60 cm for disturbed and bulk samples and 0-15 cm for the aggregates). Grazing causes a significant increase in tensile strength of aggregates and in the precompression stress of the bulk soil as well as a decrease in air and saturated hydraulic conductivity, irrespective of the vegetation type. Furthermore, exclusion from grazing led to more pronounced recovery of soil strength and pore continuity and hydraulic conductivity at the LCh site but it also depended on the moisture conditions of the sites. Under wetter conditions as well as after repeated freezing and thawing the soil strength declined.
KW - Aggregate tensile strength
KW - Grazing
KW - Precompression stress
KW - Repellency index
KW - Steppe
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79951813839&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11104-010-0405-3
DO - 10.1007/s11104-010-0405-3
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79951813839
VL - 340
SP - 59
EP - 72
JO - Plant and soil
JF - Plant and soil
SN - 0032-079X
IS - 1
ER -