Effects of Seasonal and Perennial Grazing on Soil Fauna Community and Microbial Biomass Carbon in the Subalpine Meadows of Yunnan, Southwest China

作     者：LIU Shengjie YANG Xiaodong Anthony R. IVES FENG Zhili SHA Liqing 

作者机构：Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Mengla 666303 (China) University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049 (China) Department of Zoology University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison WI 53706 (USA) 

出 版 物：《Pedosphere》 (土壤圈（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2017年第27卷第2期

页      面：371-379页

核心收录：

学科分类：090503[农学-草业科学] 0909[农学-草学] 0905[农学-畜牧学] 0818[工学-地质资源与地质工程] 09[农学] 0903[农学-农业资源与环境] 0901[农学-作物学] 

基　　金：supported by the Biogeochemistry Laboratory of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40671103 and 41271278) the Innovative Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences- “The Effects of Different Land Use on Biodiversity in Northwest of Yunnan, China” (No. KSCX2-SW-123-5) 

主　　题：grass nutrient meadow ecosystems mowing plant and animal communities soil microbes over-grazing 

摘      要：Grazing and over-grazing may drive changes in the diversity and functioning of below-ground meadow ecosystems. A field soil survey was conducted to compare microbial biomass carbon （Cmin） and soil fauna communities in the two main grassland management systems in subalpine regions of Yunnan Province, China： perennial grazing currently practiced due to increasing herd sizes and traditional seasonal grazing. A three-year exclosure experiment was then conducted to further compare the effects of different grazing practices, including treatments of no mowing, perennial grazing （NM ＋ G）, mowing followed by seasonal grazing （M ＋ G）, mowing and no grazing （M ＋ NG）, and no mowing or grazing （NM ＋ NG）. The comparative survey result revealed that Cmin and total density of soil fauna were significantly lower at a perennially grazed site than at a seasonally grazed site. The experiment results showed that in comparison to non-grazing treatments （M ＋ NG and NM ＋ NG）, grazing （NM ＋ G and M ＋ G） reduced total fauna density （by 150 individuals m-2） and the number of taxonomic groups present （by 0.32 taxa m-2）. Mowing decreased Cmin （by 0.31 mg g-l）. Furthermore, the NM ＋ G treatment （perennial grazing） had the lowest density of Collembola （16.24 individuals m-2）, one of the two most common taxonomic groups, although other taxonomic groups responded differently to the treatments. Treatment effects on soil fauna were consistent with those on above-ground grasses, in which C：N ratios were greatly reduced by grazing, with this effect being the greatest for the NM ＋ G treatment. In contrast, different grazing treatments had little effect on C：N ratio of soil. Furthermore, the traditional grazing method （mowing followed by seasonal grazing） may have less severe effects on some taxonomic groups than perennial grazing. Therefore, an appropriate management should aim to protect soil fauna and microbes in this area from over-grazing and against further degradation.