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Semiarid steppe ecosystems account for large terrestrial areas and are considered as large carbon (C) sinks. However, fundamental information on topsoil sensitivity to grazing is lacking across different spatial scales including the effects of topography. Our interdisciplinary approach considering soil chemical, physical, and vegetation properties included investigations on pit scale (square-metre scale), plot scale (hectare scale), and the scale of a landscape section (several hectares). Five different sites, representing a grazing intensity gradient, ranging from a long-term grazing exclosure to a heavily grazed site were used. On the pit scale, data about aggregate size distribution, quantity of different soil organic carbon (SOC) pools, SOC mineralisation, hydraulic conductivity and shear strength was available for topsoil samples from representative soil profiles. Spatial variability of topographical parameters, topsoil texture, bulk density, SOC, water repellency, and vegetation cover was analysed on the basis of regular, orthogonal grids in differently grazed treatments by using two different grid sizes on the plot scale and landscape section. On the pit scale, intensive grazing clearly decreased soil aggregation and the amount of fresh, litter-like particulate organic matter (POM). The weak aggregation in combination with animal trampling led to an enhanced mineralisation of SOC, higher topsoil bulk densities, lower infiltration rates, and subsequently to a higher risk of soil erosion. On the plot scale, the effects of soil structure disruption due to grazing are enhanced by the degradation of vegetation patches and resulted in a texture-controlled wettability of the soil surface. In contrast, topsoils of grazing exclosures were characterised by advantageous mechanical topsoil characteristics and SOC-controlled wettability due to higher POM contents. A combined geostatistical and General Linear Model approach identified topography as the fundamental factor creating the spatial distribution of texture fractions and related soil parameters on the scale of a landscape section. Grazing strongly interfered with the topography-controlled particle relocation processes in the landscape and showed strongest effects on the aboveground biomass production and biomass-related soil properties like SOC stocks. We conclude that interdisciplinary multi-scale analyses are essential (i) to differentiate between topography- and grazing-controlled spatial patterns of topsoil and vegetation properties, and (ii) to identify the main grazing-sensitive processes on small scales that are interacting with the spatial distribution and relocation processes on larger scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grazed steppe ecosystems are discussed as one of the big global carbon sinks that may have the potential to sequester large amounts of atmospheric CO and mitigate the effects of global change if grazing is abandoned or management improved. But until today, little is known about sequestration potentials and stabilisation mechanisms in complete soil profiles of semiarid grasslands and how these systems react to grazing cessation. We applied a combined aggregate size, density and particle size fractionation procedure to sandy steppe soils under different grazing intensities (continuously grazed = Cg, winter grazing = Wg, ungrazed since 1999 = Ug99, ungrazed since 1979 = Ug79). Higher inputs of organic matter in ungrazed treatments led to higher amounts of OC in coarse aggregate size classes (ASC) and especially in particulate organic matter (POM) fractions across all depth. These processes started in the topsoil and took more than 5 years to reach deeper soil horizons (>10 cm). After 25 years of grazing cessation, subsoils showed clearly higher POM amounts. We found no grazing-induced changes of soil organic matter (SOM) quantity in fine ASC and particle size fractions. Current C-loading of fine particle size fractions was similar between differently grazed plots and decreased with depth, pointing towards free sequestration capacities in deeper horizons. Despite these free capacities, we found no increase in current C-loading on fine mineral soil fractions after 25 years of grazing exclusion. Silt and clay fractions appeared to be saturated. We suppose empirical estimations to overestimate sequestration potentials of particle size fractions or climatic conditions to delay the decomposition and incorporation of OM into these particle size fractions. POM quality was analysed using solid-state C NMR spectroscopy to clarify if grazing cessation changed chemical composition of POM in different ASC and soil depths via changing litter quality or changing decomposition dynamics. We found comparable POM compositions between different grazing intensities. POM is decomposed hierarchically from coarse to fine particles in all soil depths and grazing cessation has not affected the OM decomposition processes. The surplus of OM due to grazing cessation was predominately sequestered in readily decomposable POM fractions across all affected horizons. We question the long-term stabilisation of OM in these steppe soils during the first 25 years after grazing cessation and request more studies in the field of long-term OM stabilisation processes and assessment of carbon sequestration capacities to consider deeper soil horizons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: It is not clear from the literature whether heavy grazing leads to a deterioration of physical and chemical parameters of topsoils in steppe ecosystems. We sampled five sites in northern China with different grazing intensities, ranging from ungrazed since 1979 to heavily grazed, at 540 sampling points to a depth of 0–4 cm. Each sample was analysed for bulk density, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (N), total sulphur (S) and pH. The dataset was analysed using general statistics and explorative analysis (ANOVA, Kruskal–Wallis). As a result of the large number of samples, we were able to detect a change in the mean value of all parameters of less than 10%, with a statistical power of 90% and a level of significance of 0.01. Bulk density increased significantly with increasing grazing intensity. Organic carbon, total N and total S concentrations decreased significantly with increasing grazing intensity. No effect on the pH or C/N ratio was detected. Significant differences in C/S and N/S ratios between differently grazed plots were found. These differences point towards a relative accumulation of sulphur in grazed compared to ungrazed areas following an increased organic matter decline or lower inputs of diluting litter. Elemental stocks of the upper 4 cm were calculated for OC, total N and total S using the measured bulk densities. The data revealed significantly lower amounts for all three elements on the heavily grazed site, but no significant differences for the other areas. In addition, elemental stocks were calculated using an equivalent mass instead of bulk density to take into account changes in bulk density following grazing. This revealed a highly significant decrease for OC, total N and total S with increasing grazing intensity. OC, total N and total S concentrations respond similarly to different grazing intensities, showing highly significant positive correlations. OC concentrations and bulk densities were significantly negatively correlated. We found effects of grazing cessation only in the long-term, as no ameliorating effects of reduced or excluded grazing could be detected five years after grazing cessation. After 25 years of exclusion, significantly different values were found for all parameters. Thus, physical and chemical parameters of steppe topsoils deteriorated significantly following heavy grazing, remained stable if grazing was reduced or excluded for five years, and recovered significantly after 25 years of grazing exclusion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Soil labile organic carbon (C) oxidation drives the flux of carbon dioxide (CO) between soils and the atmosphere. However, the impact of grazing management and the contribution soil aggregate size classes (ASCs) to labile organic C from grassland soils is unclear. We evaluated the effects of grazing intensity and soil ASC on the soil labile organic C, including CO production, microbial biomass C, and dissolved organic C and nitrogen (N) mineralization in topsoils (0-10 cm) in Inner Mongolia, Northern China. Soil samples were separated into ASCs of 0-630 μm [fine ASC (fASC)], 630-2000 μm [medium ASC (mASC)] and >2000 μm [coarse ASC (cASC)]. The results showed that heavy grazing (HG) and continuous grazing (CG) increased soil labile organic C significantly compared to an ungrazed site since 1999 (UG99) and an ungrazed site since 1979 (UG79). For winter grazing site (WG), no significant differences were found. CO production was highest in cASC, while lowest in fASC. Microbial biomass C and dissolved organic C showed the highest values in mASC and were significantly lower in fASC. Grazing increased N mineralization in bulk soils, while it exhibited complex effects in the three ASCs. The results suggest that the rate of C mineralization was related to the rate of N accumulation. To reduce CO emission and nutrient loss, and to improve soil quality and productivity, a grazing system with moderate intensity is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grazing of grasslands changes soil physical and chemical properties as well as vegetation characteristics, such as vegetation cover, species composition and biomass production. In consequence, nutrient allocation and water storage in the top soil are affected. Land use and management changes alter these processes. Knowledge on the impacts of grazing management on nutrient and water fluxes is necessary because of the global importance of grasslands for carbon sequestration. Soil water in semi-arid areas is a limiting factor for matter fluxes and the intrinsic interaction between soil, vegetation and atmosphere. It is therefore desirable to understand the effects of grazing management and stocking rate on the spatial and temporal distribution of soil moisture. In the present study, we address the question how spatio-temporal soil moisture distribution on grazed and ungrazed grassland sites is affected by soil and vegetation properties. The study took place in the Xilin river catchment in Inner Mongolia (PR China). It is a semi-arid steppe environment, which is characterized by still moderate grazing compared to other regions in central Inner Mongolia. However, stocking rates have locally increased and resulted in a degradation of soils and vegetation also in the upper Xilin River basin. We used a multivariate geostatistical approach to reveal spatial dependencies between soil moisture distribution and soil or vegetation parameters. Overall, 7 soil and vegetation parameters (bulk density, sand, silt and clay content, mean weight diameter, mean carbon content of the soil, vegetation cover) and 57 soil moisture data sets were recorded on 100 gridded points on four sites subject to different grazing intensities. Increasing stocking rates accelerated the influence of soil and vegetation parameters on soil moisture. However, the correlation was rather weak, except for a site with high stocking rate where higher correlations were found. Low nugget ratios indicate spatial dependency between soil or plant parameters and soil moisture on a long-term ungrazed site. However, the effect was not found for a second ungrazed site that had been excluded from grazing for a shorter period. Furthermore the most important soil and vegetation parameters for predicting soil moisture distribution varied between different grazing intensities. Therefore, predicting soil moisture by using secondary variables requires a careful selection of the soil or vegetation parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]