Effects of Grazing Intensity on Soil and Vegetation Properties in a Mediterranean Rangeland

Abstract

Grazing modifies the aboveground soil and plants of rangeland ecosystems. This study was conducted to determine the effects of various grazing intensity levels on soil bulk density, soil pH, soil electrical conductivity (EC), soil total organic carbon (TOC), aboveground biomass production, plant community richness (N), and vegetation diversity (H) in Gian Rangeland, Hamedan Province, Iran. Soil and vegetation samplings were conducted based on the randomized systematic method. Soil and vegetation samplings were carried out along 100-m-long transects placed at 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 m running perpendicular to six sheep corrals. The effects of various grazing intensities on studied parameters were detected by analysis of variance (ANOVA) (at α = 0.05). Results of this study indicated the soil bulk density, EC, TOC, aboveground biomass production, plant community richness, and vegetation diversity values were altered significantly at different distances from the sheep corrals. However, soil pH was not significantly affected by various grazing intensities.