Abstract
Livestock grazing is an important determinant of species diversity and plant growth. Overgrazing is identified as one of the most important disturbances resulting in grassland degradation. Although many restoration practices have been implemented, grazing exclusion is one of the most effective methods to restore degraded grasslands. We explored the impact of five years of grazing exclusion on plant growth and species diversity in four types of grasslands: temperate steppe (TS), swamp meadow (SM), alpine steppe (AS), and alpine meadow (AM). Our results showed that grazing exclusion increased plant height, coverage, biomass, and species diversity in all four grasslands. The aboveground biomass in AM (180.8%), TS (117.3%), and SW (105.9%) increased significantly more than AS (10.1%). Grazing exclusion in AM had the greatest effect on proportion of palatable species, and the increase in palatable species in AM was higher than that of the other grassland types significantly. Species diversity increased significantly within the enclosure in SM (23.9%) and AM (20.8%). Our results indicate that grazing exclusion is an effective management strategy to restore degraded grasslands and it works best in alpine meadow. This study contributes to the growing theoretical basis for grassland management strategies and has a significant effect on sustainable development for grassland resources and pastoral areas.
Highlights
Grazing, as one of the main land uses of natural grasslands, affects the species composition of communities, vegetation characteristics, and plant biomass [1,2]
Enforcing a short-term grazing exclusion is important and essential for restoring degraded grassland [22,23], we ask what type of grassland is the most affected by grazing exclusion restoration practices? In this study, we have examined the impact of grazing exclusion for five years on plant growth and species diversity in different grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau
The plant heights of the temperate steppe (TS) and swamp meadow (SM) were significantly higher in Grazing exclusion (GE) than CK sites, and especially in the SM site, where the vegetation height increased by an average of 4.66 times
Summary
As one of the main land uses of natural grasslands, affects the species composition of communities, vegetation characteristics, and plant biomass [1,2]. Previous studies have demonstrated the effects of grazing intensities and management systems on nutritive value of herbage, forage quality, and biodiversity [3,4]. Both plant productivity and species diversity will increase under appropriate grazing intensity [5]. Parts of grassland ecosystems have degenerated and largely disappeared [7], and the most effective method to improve the ecological conditions in grasslands is to restore the natural vegetation [8]. Studying the effects of restoration practices is important for sustainably developing plant recovery and management strategies
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