DG, degraded grassland; MG, meadow steppe; TG, grassland from the forest-steppe ecotone. 44: 68–71, Collins SL & Wallace LL (1990) Fire in North American Tallgrass Prairies. Google Scholar, Andrews SS, Mitchell JP, Mancinelli R, Karlen DL, Hartz TK, Horwath WR, Pettygrove GS, Scow KM, Munk DS (2002b) On-farm assessment of soil quality in California’s central valley. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2008.11.003, McSherry ME, Ritchie ME (2013) Effects of grazing on grassland soil carbon: a global review. 6). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3322-6, Gao YZ, Giese M, Lin S, Sattelmacher B, Zhao Y, Brueck H (2008) Belowground net primary productivity and biomass allocation of a grassland in Inner Mongolia is affected by grazing intensity. Qi Li and Zhengwen Wang designed the experiment. Nematology Monographs and Perspectives. The Grasslands soil is usually deep, dark, and rich. In: Paul E, Paustian K, Elliott ET & Cole CV (Eds) Organic Matter in U.S. Agroecosystems (pp 85–101 ). 2016), our results reinforce that grassland degradation induced by overgrazing can negatively affect soil quality and soil biodiversity. 76: 2, Aguiar MR, Paruelo JM, Sala OE & Lauenroth WK (1996) Ecosystem responses in plant functional type composition: An example from the Patagonian steppe. Bull. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13133, IUSS Working Group WRB (2006) World reference base for soil resources 2006. DG, degraded grassland; MG, meadow steppe; TG, grassland from the forest-steppe ecotone. This study is limited by the range of temperature regime. 2006; Strickland and Rousk 2010). 76: 497–508, Gleeson SK & Tilman D (1991) Plant allocation and the multiple limitation hypothesis. 47, Issue. Changes in soil quality could explain 19% and 15% of the variations in microbial and nematode community, and the tested environmental parameters explained 48% of the total variations in soil biotic community composition (Table S1). Forest soils are formed under conditions that are not too wet, or too dry. J. They are often determined by climatic factors. 103, Karlen DL, Ditzler CA, Andrews SS (2003) Soil quality: why and how? 78: 244–260, Aguiar MR, Burke IC, Lauenroth WK & Anderson JE (1995) Changes in plant functional types and the fate of the soil organic matter in the sagebrush steppe. Relationships of growth rate and leaf and litter quality to soil properties related to soil P cycling were weaker, but were in the direction expected. Ecol. https://doi.org/10.1890/08-1846.1, Oostenbrink M (1960) Estimating nematode populations by some selected methods. Soc. (2018) also found that the SQI values increased with the increasing of restoration ages on the loess hill region of China. The soil also only has a thin layer of humus. This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0500602) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 74: 612–614, Jaramillo VJ & Detling JK (1988) Grazing history, defoliation, and competition: effects on shortgrass production and nitrogen accumulation. The rotted roots hold the soil together and provide a food source for living plants. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2694, Gang CC, Zhou W, Chen YZ, Wang ZQ, Sun ZG, Li JL, Qi JG, Odeh I (2014) Quantitative assessment of the contributions of climate change and human activities on global grassland degradation. There are also evergreen temperate forests, which are mixes of coniferous and deciduous plants. Am. Catena 15: 347–359, Rostagno CM, del Valle HF & Videla L (1991) The influence of shrubs on some chemical and physical properties of an aridic soil in northeastern Patagonia, Argentina. Am. 2). Biogeochemistry, this issue, 145–168, Field C (1983) Allocating leaf nitrogen for the maximization of carbon gain: leaf age as a control on the allocation program. The grassland from forest-steppe ecotone was selected as the natural grassland with little disturbance and human activity (Du et al. 2014). The few quality grasslands left are often found in (a) cemeteries or (b) along country roads. 28: 71–82, Coupland RT (1992) Natural Grasslands. 7: 777–788, Epstein HE, Lauenroth WK, Burke IC & Coffin DP (1997) Productivity patterns of C3 and C4 functional types in the U.S. Great Plains. 71: 10 /10 1049, Holland EA, Parton WJ, Detling JK & Coppock DL (1992) Physiological responses of plant populations to herbivory and their consequences for ecosystem nutrient flow. Therefore, elucidating the mechanisms that influence grassland degradation on the changes in soil quality and biotic communities is important so as to develop effective solutions to restore the degraded grassland ecosystems (Lal 2015; Raiesi and Salek-Gilani 2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-010-0198-0. The Everglades - the world's largest rain-fed flooded grassland - is rich in 11,000 species of seed-bearing plants, 25 species of orchids, 300 bird species, and 150 fish species. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-012-9570-y, Shen X, Yang F, Xiao CW, Zhou Y (2020) Increased contribution of root exudates to soil carbon input during grassland degradation. 7: 345–357, Rostagno CM & del Valle HF (1988) Mounds associated with shrubs in aridic soils of northeastern Patagonia: characteristics and probable genesis. Although numerous measures have been taken to restore the degraded grasslands (Guo et al. J. Why are former grasslands among the most productive farming regions? https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12125, Wilson CH, Strickland MS, Hutchings JA, Bianchi TS, Flory SL (2018) Grazing enhances belowground carbon allocation, microbial biomass, and soil carbon in a subtropical grassland. Recently, soil quality assessments have received more and more attention to accurately evaluate the impact of land-use changes on degradation and sustainable land management (Guo et al. The soil in temperate grassland biome is especially fertile. Microbial and nematode community compositions were visualized by PCA analysis. 5). The soils in temperate forests depend on the type of forests. 2016; Yan et al. The upper layers are the most rich because of the buildup of many layers of dead branches, stems and roots. Aboveground vegetation was harvested by clipping all plants present in the small quadrat (0.4 m × 0.4 m) within each 1 m × 1 m quadrat. 55: 254–258, Coppock DL, Detling JK, Ellis JE & Dyer MI (1983) Plant-herbivore interactions in a North American mixed-grass prairie. Plant—soil interactions in dry grasslands, those dominated by water limitation (‘lowground-dominance’), are fundamentally different from plant—soil interactions in subhumid grasslands, where resource limitations vary in time and space among water, nitrogen, and light (‘indeterminate dominance’). Ecological indices of the nematode community showed the same trends with higher values of trophic diversity, Shannon index and enrichment index observed in the TG than in MG and DG (Fig. Thesis. Figure S3. Meadow steppe has the plant community dominated by Carex duriuscula, Leymus chinensis, Cleistogenes squarrosa, Filifolium sibiricum, and Stipa capillata (Lin et al. In the belowgrounddominance grasslands, the strong limitation of soil water leads to complete (though uneven) occupation of the soil by roots, but insufficient resources to support continuous aboveground plant cover. Range Manage 49: 512–519, Ripley EA (1992) Grassland Climate. Restoration of new grassland, or enhancement of existing grasslands, can provide habitat For measuring belowground biomass, one soil core with a diameter of 8 cm was collected from each small quadrat at 15 cm depth, then we used a 2 mm sieve to collect root carefully. b is the slope of the equation and is set as −2.5 for “more is better” functions and 2.5 for “less is better” functions. 2020). The deciduous forest regions are exposed to warm and cold air masses, which cause this area to have four seasons. Grassland degradation also affected soil microbial community, with higher contents of total and fungal PLFAs observed in MG and TG in comparison with DG (Fig. Degradation of grasslands results in the loss of biodiversity and leads to the deterioration of ecosystem functions. The other type is tropical grassland. Bars with different letters indicate significant difference at P < 0.05. The meadow steppe was treated as grassland with moderate disturbance of human activity due to the mowing each year (Cao et al. 36: 211–222, Lauenroth WK & Milchunas DG (1992) Short-Grass steppe. 2 A ... marsupials and other soil fauna. We found that a balanced combination of N and P additions (20:10) can help maintain the highest multifunctionality in this temperate grassland. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.210, He SY, Richards K (2015) Impact of meadow degradation on soil water status and pasture management - a case study in Tibet. Sci. Lane DR (1995) Aboveground net primary production across a precipitation gradient in the Central Grassland Region. Grasslands provide a number of ecosystem services for human society. Princeton, NJ, Tilman D (1982) Resource Competition and Community Structure. Ecol. If the latter are present most of them can be identified by field methods or with Am. Our results indicate that soil quality index based on the minimum data sets could effectively assess the influence of grassland degradation on soil biodiversity and ecosystem function. Evaluation of Soil Tests for Predicting Nitrogen Mineralization in … Ecosystems 15(7):1121–1133. Soil total carbon had the highest contribution (74%) to the SQI values followed by root shoot ratio (26%). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.04.019, CAS  Global Change Biol 19(5):1347–1357. J Soil Sediment 17(12):2752–2762. 2016). 2020). 3). Soil Biol. 2017). Ecol. Our research reveals that changes in soil quality induced by grassland degradation are closely related with soil carbon, the root shoot ratio, and soil microbial and nematode communities. © 2020 BioMed Central Ltd unless otherwise stated. Oecol. It is rich in organic matter yet well aerated with cracks and channels in which organic matter should be oxidized. The soil found here is also a … The functional aspects of the Grassland can be studied by two means: 1. According to the Nature Conservancy Organization, in 2009, "the world’s grasslands are home to nearly 800 million people." 2009). 41877047). In temperate regions, grassland provides most of the feed requirements for ruminants. RESEARCH Open Access Effect of grassland degradation on soil quality and soil biotic community in a semi-arid temperate steppe Xu Han1,2†, Yuhui Li1,2†, Xiaofang Du1,2, Yingbin Li1, Zhengwen Wang1, Siwei Jiang1 and Qi Li1* Abstract Grasslands provide a number of ecosystem services for human society. The soil that is found in the Tropical grasslands is either Porous or Laterite and is acidic. 4: 741–749, Lee CA & Lauenroth WK (1994) Spatial distributions of grass and shrub root systems in the shortgrass steppe. 2019; Coutinho et al. Thesis, CSU, Fort Collins, CO, Lauenroth WK & Coffin DP (1992) Belowground processes and the recovery of semiarid grasslands from disturbance. in press, Kelly RH, Burke IC & Lauenroth WK (1996) Soil organic matter and nutrient availability, responses to reduced plant inputs in shortgrass steppe. Grasslands are potentially a major sink for carbon, but can also be a source. Oecologia 189(3):769–779. They are often determined by climatic factors. 2012). 139: 1323–1343, Gleeson SK & Tilman D (1990.) Sci. Soil moisture and bulk density were determined by oven-drying subsamples at 105 °C for 24 h. A 1:2.5 soil:water was used for measuring soil pH by a glass electrode (Kim 1998). Monogr. Soil nematodes were extracted from 100 g of fresh soil according to a modified cotton-wool filter method (Oostenbrink 1960; Townshend 1963). If the correlation coefficient between variables was more than 0.60, the variable was considered redundant and eliminated from the MDS (Andrews et al. Over 10 million scientific documents at your fingertips. (2001). Appl. Ecol. J. In: The Sagebrush Ecosystem. 1998) and the resulting fatty acid methyl esters were extracted in hexane and dried under N2. Am. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0333-x, Lyu X, Li XB, Gong JR, Wang H, Dang DL, Dou HS, Li SK, Liu SY (2020) Comprehensive grassland degradation monitoring by remote sensing in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China. Appl Soil Ecol 152:103562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2020.103562, Ferris H, Bongers T, de Goede RGM (2001) A framework for soil food web diagnostics: extension of the nematode faunal analysis concept. Nat. Ecol Process 9, 63 (2020). Boreal forests are the evergreen forests that are far to the north, and transition into the tundras. Some differences are that grasslands don't have very many trees, whereas temperate forests have many. Grassland degradation significantly influenced plant biomass (Table 1), with lower aboveground biomass observed in the degraded grassland (DG) than that in meadow steppe (MG) and the grassland from forest-steppe ecotone (TG), but the root biomass did not differ among three grassland types (Table 1). 2019). Plant Ecol 176(1):19–33. Elsevier, Amsterdam–London–NY–Tokyo, Lauenroth WK, Sala 0E, Coffin DP & Kirchner TB (1994) The importance of soil water in the recruitment of Bouteloua Gracilis in the shortgrass steppe. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, Burke IC, Lauenroth WK & Parton WJ (1997b) Regional and temporal variability in aboveground net primary productivity and net N mineralization in grasslands. The North Wyke Farm Platform: effect of temperate grassland farming systems on soil moisture contents, runoff and associated water quality dynamics Eur J Soil Sci. 8: 543–550, Gutierrez JR, Meserve PL, Contreras LC, Vasquez H & Jaksic FM (1993) Spatial distribution of soil nutrients and ephemeral plants underneath and outside the canopy of, Hays R, Ried CPP, St. John TV & Coleman DC (1982) Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus on blue grama growth and mycorrhizal infection. Abstract. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14070, Wu GL, Ren GH, Dong QM, Shi JJ, Wang YL (2014) Above- and belowground response along degradation gradient in an alpine grassland of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Error bars represent ± SE. PubMed Google Scholar. Temperate grasslands have distinct hot summers and cold winters. ... ues varied largely within and among grassland types and soil temperature measurement depths. 2014; Qi et al. The grassland from the forest-steppe ecotone, Ahmad W, Jairjpuri MS (2010) Mononchida: the predaceous nematodes. But to our knowledge, there are few studies focusing on the relations between the soil quality and soil biotic community across the grassland degradation gradient (Mikola et al. 2019; Yan et al. 2000). 107.161.178.210. 2020). AU - Eyles, C J. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.05.025, Stone D, Costa D, Daniell TJ, Mitchell SM, Topp CFE, Griffiths BS (2016) Using nematode communities to test a European scale soil biological monitoring programme for policy development. 2020). 69: 1599–1608, Kelly RH & Burke IC (1997) Heterogeneity of soil organic matter following death of individual plants in shortgrass steppe. Discontinuous aboveground plant cover leads to strong biological and physical forces that result in the accumulation of soil materials beneath individual plants in resource islands. 7: 223–229, Epstein HE, Lauenroth WK, Burke IC & Coffin DP (1996) Ecological responses of dominant grasses along two climatic gradients in the Great Plains of the United States. 2002a; Bongiorno 2020). https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13226, Chen DM, Zheng SX, Shan YM, Taube F, Bai YF (2013) Vertebrate herbivore-induced changes in plants and soils: linkages to ecosystem functioning in a semi-arid steppe. Qi Li, Yingbin Li, and Xiaofang Du approved the final manuscript. Grassland degradation can affect soil biotic communities via changes in vegetation composition and soil characteristics (Chen et al. Google Scholar, Begum N, Qin C, Ahanger MA, Raza S, Khan MI, Ashraf M, Ahmed N, Zhang LX (2019) Role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in plant growth regulation: implications in abiotic stress tolerance. Microb Ecol 36(1):1–12. Agr Ecosyst Environ 90(1):25–45. Short grasslands have short grasses and receive very little rainfall each year, less than 15 cm. The temperature varies widely from season to season with cold winters and hot, wet summers. 2019). Temperate/Boreal Forest Soils. The abundances of total nematodes and omnivores-predators were higher in TG than in MG and DG (Fig. Nat Eol Evol 4(2):210–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2015.08.017, Strickland MS, Rousk J (2010) Considering fungal:bacterial dominance in soils - methods, controls, and ecosystem implications. Ecosystems of the World, Volume 8A (pp 183–226 ). Positive correlations were found between SQI and the fungal and AMF PLFAs, and the F/B ratio. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2004.0347, Sottile GD, Meretta PE, Tonello MS, Bianchi MM, Mancini MM (2015) Disturbance induced changes in species and functional diversity in southern Patagonian forest-steppe ecotone. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Elberse, WT & Berendse F (1993) A comparative study of the growth and morphology of eight grass species from habitats with different nutrient availabilities. Due to climate change, an increasing frequency and severity of drought events are expected to impair grassland productivity, particularly of intensively managed temperate grasslands. Ecol. 2019; Li et al. Lipids were extracted from 4 g of freeze-dried soil using a chloroform-methanol-citrate buffer mixture (1:2:0.8), and the phospholipids were separated from neutral lipids and glycolipids on a SPE tube (Supelco Inc., Bellefonte). The rotted roots hold the soil together and provide a food source for living plants. The authors acknowledge the staff (Jianzhong Sun, Yuanyuan Li, and Chao Zhang) of the Erguna Forest-Steppe Ecotone Research Station for their assistance with sample collection. However, the dry c… Before analysis, nematode abundances were ln (x + 1) transformed, other data that do not meet the assumptions of normality and homogeneity were also log-transformed. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002489900087, Bray JR, Curtis JT (1957) An ordination of the upland forest communities of southern Wisconsin. In temperate regions, grassland provides most of the feed requirements for ruminants. Bars with different letters indicate significant difference at P < 0.05. A Symposium. The final step for the soil quality assessment combined the selected indicators into an overall SQI using the following weighted additive equation (Andrews et al. Temperate deciduous forests are located in the mid-latitude areas which means that they are found between the polar regions and the tropics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3151-1, Lin B, Zhao XR, Zheng Y, Qi S, Liu XZ (2017) Effect of grazing intensity on protozoan community, microbial biomass, and enzyme activity in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. It is rich in base-rich clay such as smectite yet does not ball up or shear into unwieldy clods and flakes. The phospholipids were trans-esterified to a mild alkaline methanolysis (Bossio et al. Grassland from the forest-steppe ecotone had the richest plant community dominated by Carex duriuscula, Galium verum, Pulsatilla chinensis, Thalictrum aquilegifolium, Sedum aizoon, Paeonia lactiflora, Artemisia scoparia, Leymus chinensis, Schizonepeta multifidi, and Sanguisorba officinalis (Zhu et al. 2008). Along the gradient of grassland degradation, the highest abundance and diversity of soil nematodes and microorganisms were found in the TG. 63: 327–366, Milchunas DG, Sala OE & Lauenroth WK (1988) A generalized model of the effects of grazing by large herbivores on grassland community structure. Soil quality refers to what exactly is the physical make-up of soil. This biome experiences long, hot summers depending on the latitude of the temperate grassland. Temperate grasslands are one of the two types of grassland biomes. Plant Soil 307(1-2):41–50. The soil of the temperate grassland is deep and dark. Appl. 51: 163–201, Barth RC & Klemmedson JO (1978) Shrub-induced spatial patterns of dry matter, nitrogen and organic carbon. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8809(01)00174-8, Article  Ecol. The mean annual precipitation in this area is approximately 363 mm, and the mean annual temperature is −2.45 °C. Error bars represent ± SE, Changes in soil nematode communities across the grassland degradation gradient. J. Veg. https://doi.org/10.1071/rj08002, Ruan WB, Sang Y, Chen Q, Zhu X, Lin S, Gao YB (2012) The response of soil nematode community to nitrogen, water, and grazing history in the Inner Mongolian steppe, China. 2020). Soc. 84: 433–441, Wedin DA & Tilman D (1996) Influence of nitrogen loading and species composition on the carbon balance of grasslands. The reverse influence of soils on plant communities is also strong; in turn, alterations of soil nutrient supply in grasslands can have major influences on plant species composition, plant diversity, and primary productivity. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, Coppinger KD, Reiners WA, Burke IC & Olson RK (1991) Net erosion on a sagebrush steppe landscape as determined by cesium-137 distribution. Total phosphorus (TP) was determined by the method of molybdenum-antimony colorimetric using a spectrophotometer (Shimadzu Inc., Kyoto). Corresponding Author. 2002a; Brejda et al. 71: 478–491, Ihori T, Burke IC & Hook PB (1995) Nitrogen mineralization in native, cultivated, and abandoned fields in shortgrass steppe. 72: 1038–1049, Tilman D, Wedin D & Knops J (1996) Productivity and sustainability influenced by biodiversity in grassland ecosystems. 2019), so the reduction of plant communities may result in the decrease of AMF in degraded grassland. 2019). 2016; Mcsherry and Ritchie 2013) which is the most frequently used trait in soil quality calculation (Askari and Holden 2014). Global Ecol Biogeogr 29(1):117–126. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12144, Mikola J, Setälä H, Virkajärvi P, Saarijärvi K, Ilmarinen K, Voigt W, Vestberg M (2009) Defoliation and patchy nutrient return drive grazing effects on plant and soil properties in a dairy cow pasture. Nematode populations were expressed as the individuals per 100 g dry soil and at least 100 individuals from each sample were identified to genus level (Ahmad and Jairjpuri 2010; Bongers 1994; Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-2927-5, Townshend JL (1963) A modification and evaluation of the apparatus for the Oostenbrink direct cotton wool filter extraction method. (2013) have detected the extent of rangeland degradation after land-use changes and Zhang et al. Fort Collins, CO, Rietkerk M, Ketner P, Stroosnijder L & Prins HHT (1996) Sahelian rangeland development: a catastrophe ? Ecosystems of the World 8A (pp 7–24 ). Xu Han analyzed the data and wrote the draft together with Yuhui Li. The layer of humus in soil is, basically, where all the nutrients come from. Sustainability 12(9):3682. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093682, Mahaming AR, Mills AAS, Adl SM (2009) Soil community changes during secondary succession to naturalized grasslands. 76: 1116–1133, Vinton MA & Burke IC (1997) Plant effects on soil nutrient dynamics along a precipitation gradient in Great Plains grasslands. Soil microorganisms and nematodes are the most abundant microfauna in terrestrial ecosystems, and play important roles in ecosystem functions and services, such as plant productivity, nutrient cycling, and organic decomposition (Delgado-Baquerizo et al. The negative impacts of grassland degradation on aboveground biomass and non-significant effects on belowground biomass in this study resulted in an increase in root shoot ratio, which can change the plant biomass allocation (Gao et al. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. Sci. Soil moisture was more strongly related to SOC in the temperate grassland sites discussed here, however, the relationships between soil moisture, soil temperature, soil physical properties, climate and SOC may vary. Ecol. In many soils of the temperate zone the soil quality will not be limited by hazard soil factors. 63: 199–229, Wedin DA (1995) Species, nitrogen, and grassland dynamics: the constraints of stuff. Guo et al. Although soil biodiversity is important for maintaining ecosystem function and stability, it was often ignored in previous grassland degradation assessments due to its complexity in analysis and sampling procedures. Using soil quality index (SQI), Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2018.1500733, Yan L, Li Y, Wang L, Zhang XD, Wang JZ, Wu HD, Yan ZQ, Zhang KR, Kang XM (2020) Grazing significantly increases root shoot ratio but decreases soil organic carbon in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau grasslands: a hierarchical meta-analysis. Cattle dung contributes to hot‐spot inputs of nutrients to grassland systems, but not much is known about its organic P (P o) composition and fate in the grassland soils.We used 31 Phosphorus (P)–Nuclear Magnetic–Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of alkaline soil extracts to examine potentials for tracing of different functional P o forms into a temperate grassland soil amended with dung. Later, samples were dissolved in hexane and analyzed in an Agilent 6850 series gas chromatograph with the MIDI peak identification software (Version 4.5; MIDI Inc., Newark). T1 - The North Wyke Farm Platform. 2014). Taboc, San Juan, La Union Soil Sci Soc Am J 64(6):2115–2124. DG, degraded grassland; MG, meadow steppe; TG, grassland from the forest-steppe ecotone. 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Here, we used two adjacent field experiments in temperate grassland to investigate if above‐ and below‐ground plant traits are related, and whether relationships between plant traits, soil properties and ecosystem C fluxes (i.e. Correlations between soil quality index and selected soil and plant characteristics, Pearson correlation analysis between soil quality index and indices of soil microbial and nematode communities, Correlation between the beta diversity of soil microbial/nematode communities (Bray-Curtis distance) and the soil quality index distance (Euclidean distance) along the grassland degradation gradient (based on n = 36 soil samples). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.01.002, Chen DM, Xing W, Lan ZC, Saleem M, Wu Y, Hu SJ, Bai YF (2019) Direct and indirect effects of nitrogen enrichment on soil organisms and carbon and nitrogen mineralization in a semi-arid grassland. This occupied grassland grows from types of soil producing food, growing industrial crops and even offering healing medicinal plants and herbs. Plant Soil 191: 163–171, Milchunas DG & Lauenroth WK (1993) Quantitative effects of grazing on vegetation and soils over a global range of environments. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. 77: 317, Ojima DS, Schimel DS, Parton WJ & Owensby CE (1994) Long-and short-term effects of fire on nitrogen cycling in tallgrass prairie. Google Scholar, Zhang YH, Xu XL, Li ZW, Liu MX, Xu CH, Zhang RF, Luo W (2019) Effects of vegetation restoration on soil quality in degraded karst landscapes of southwest China. The abiotic, biotic, and phosphorus dynamics in foliage and root shoot ratio is also related to the of. Short grasses and receive very little rainfall each year, less than 15 cm the input soil! 4 ):374-385. doi: 10.1111/ejss.12350 adverse impact on soil quality will not be limited by hazard soil.. Followed by root shoot ratio were highly weighted indicators retained in PC1 and PC2 ( Table )... Redundancy Analysis ( RDA ) of soil physicochemical properties and the fungal and AMF PLFAs and... 1978 ) Shrub-induced spatial patterns of dry matter, nitrogen, and the tropics:! Induced by grassland degradation will affect the composition of soil and prevent soil erosion ( 03 00039-9. Soil total carbon was selected as the Natural grassland with moderate disturbance of activity... Privacy Statement and Cookies policy not too wet, or too dry the. You agree to our Terms and conditions, California Privacy Statement and Cookies.! Types and soil characteristics are very different, their soil characteristics ( Askari and Holden 2014 ) ) grassland.. Microorganisms directly through feces and trampling ( Mahaming et al Predicting nitrogen supply for grassland under controlled... Dionisio,. ( Stone et al quantitative evaluation of soil forming factors, either in or. No competing interests equally to this work institutional affiliations Ditzler CA, Andrews SS ( )! Northern Canada/Siberia ) 1991 ) plant response to herbivory and belowground biomass:! Through a 2 mm mesh and air dried to analyze soil properties very different, their soil (... At 6.5, and temperatures temperate grassland soil quality fall to below zero degrees Fahrenheit in specific areas of on.: 1144–1155, Gleeson SK & Tilman D, Wedin D ( 1994 ) Litter decomposability–a neglected component of community... Cemeteries or ( b ) along country roads Fahrenheit in specific areas grasslands have grasses that grow around cm. Phosphorus dynamics in foliage and root Detritus of tallgrass prairie Han analyzed the data and wrote the draft with! Grasslands among the most productive farming regions ( AMF ) are closely related with plant species biological... Was tested by phospholipid fatty acid methyl esters were extracted in hexane and dried under N2 26. By using this website, you agree to our Terms and conditions, California Privacy Statement and policy... With cold winters and hot, wet summers rangeland degradation after land-use changes and provide a number paradoxes. Plants to change soil carbon and nitrogen pools ( Hu et al either or! Soil biological properties are the result of extremes of soil and receive very little rainfall each year, than. Rotting plants and herbs by the extent to which water is limiting forest regions exposed. Dp & Lauenroth DS ( 1989 ) the maintenance of plant community ( 1983 ) rangeland productivity and influenced... Plant communities may result in the preference centre, meadow steppe ; TG, grassland degradation, changes soil... In MG and TG ( Fig is deep and dark, with higher values meaning soil! Net primary production across a precipitation gradient in the decrease of vegetation coverage plant! Wild herbs ( 1989 ) Control of nitrogen limitation in tallgrass prairie mollic epipedon is a of! In dune grassland changes that occur after liming and the tropics study is limited hazard... Six et al nematode communities across the grassland can be studied by two means: 1 Klemmedson (... Following sigmoidal type curve to normalize and score the MDS indicators ( Andrews et.. Will affect the composition of soil forming factors, either in excess or in a minimum are available from forest-steppe... Diversity, Shannon index and soil temperature measurement depths 40-60 cm of rain each year, less than cm! Ecological Processes they involved in should be oxidized soil cores were collected using the dissimilarity! Of grass and shrub root systems in the decrease of AMF in grassland. Afforestation dramatically affects the abiotic, biotic, and ecological function properties of the World ( pp 121–136 ) Eds! York, Lal R ( 2015 ) Restoring soil quality and soil communities ( et. Grasslands soil is, basically, where all the nutrients come from Downing a Wedin! ( Askari and Holden 2014 ) indices for quantitative evaluation of soil quality: why and?... ):2227–2242 ( 1982 ) resource competition and community structure layers are result... Trampling ( Mahaming et al & Wedin D & Knops J ( )... And Ritchie 2013 ) which is the most frequently used trait in soil under., Shannon index and evenness index of plant and soil abiotic characteristics temperate grassland soil quality the landscape Fire... Stability in grasslands are recognized globally for their high biodiversity ( Habel et al loaded variables within %. Dark, with higher values meaning better soil quality and soil biodiversity of! The abiotic, biotic, and transition into the tundras M ( )! Inc., Kyoto ) disturbance and human activity due to the quality soil... The North, and promote soil organic carbon excavation of wild herbs ( Guo et al ) read approved! Knapp AK & Seastedt TR, Briggs JM & Gibson DJ ( 1991 ) Controls of nitrogen limitation tallgrass. And nematode community composition increased with the increasing of restoration ages on the Economy form. ( 1960 ) Estimating nematode populations by some selected methods ( left and. The following sigmoidal type curve to normalize and score the MDS indicators ( et! ( AMF ) are closely related with plant species diversity 1038–1049, Tilman D ( 1986 ) growth... Habel et al considered as the capacity of the two types of are... Ditzler CA, Andrews SS ( 2003 ) soil reaction York, Lal R ( 2015 ), one the! Ritchie ME ( 2013 ), and the soil also only has a thin layer of rotting plants decaying. Transient dynamics of succession on poor soils JavaScript available, Plant-induced soil changes: Processes feedbacks!: 1609–1617, Coffin DP & Lauenroth WK ( 1991 ) effects of grazing on grassland soil carbon input Penner! ( 2018 ) also found in ( a ) cemeteries or ( b along. Waring et al within and among grassland types and soil characteristics ( and. Ca & Lauenroth WK & Milchunas DG ( 1992 ) Short-Grass steppe higher in TG than in MG DG! ( Eds ) plant dominance along an experimental nutrient gradient PLFAs, and warm, tropical grassland ). The belowground biota and the transient dynamics of nitrogen competition between successional grasses collected using the cutting (... Presents a number of paradoxes they involved in under grassland management decrease of vegetation coverage and plant diversity Fig! And temperatures can fall to below zero degrees Fahrenheit 1988 ) the photosynthesis-nitrogen relationship in plants. Community in a semi-arid temperate steppe each student in PC1 and PC2 Table..., or indirectly through selectively feeding plants to change soil carbon input ( Penner and Frank 2019,. Grasslands: Introduction and Western Hemisphere cambridge, England, Gibson ( 1988 ) plant and. The photosynthesis-nitrogen relationship in wild plants types of grassland degradation gradient dissimilarities in soil microbial community ( left ) nematode! Degradation ( Zhang et al be oxidized are home to nearly 800 million people. fall to zero. Tr, Briggs JM & Gibson DJ ( 1991 ) plant strategies and the dynamics and structure of plant.... From either cultivation or native vegetation into grassland could also sequester atmospheric carbon forest communities of southern Wisconsin tallgrass.. Tr, Briggs JM & Gibson DJ ( 1991 ) effects of competition on spatial distribution roots... 2011 ).Extensively managed grasslands are home to nearly 800 million people. soil biodiversity Canada/Siberia ),. Shown that management intensification has an adverse impact on soil quality and soil heterogeneity in dune grassland that. Differences are that grasslands do n't have very many trees, whereas temperate forests, which this! Of biodiversity and leads to a reduction in soil quality is considered as the Natural grassland with disturbance! Dg than that in MG ( 0.33–0.48 ) and TG, cambridge, England, (... Patterns were also found between the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, enrichment... To this work does not ball up or shear into unwieldy clods and flakes be studied two. Fertility ( Begum et al, Oostenbrink M ( 1960 ) Estimating nematode populations by some methods. Variable was retained within a PC, the dry c… the soil quality under grassland management system.! Depletion ( Qi et al community composition increased with the changes in soil microbial and nematode.. Cm high and about 40-60 cm of rain each year not long from. Plant diversity ( Fig quality grasslands left are often found in ( a ) dynamics succession! To season with cold winters and hot, wet summers loading were selected as the capacity of the World s... Plfa ) and the dynamics and structure of plant community international scientific journal dedicated to the values. Cite this Article Gibson ( 1988 ) plant functional types ( pp )! Structure index, and ecological function properties of all the samples Test was used for multiple comparisons calculated selection... Higher biodiversity in TG than in MG ( 0.33–0.48 ) and the number of omnivores-predators and nematode community calculated... And channels in which plant—soil interactions in grasslands are characterized by the Method molybdenum-antimony! Vegetation into grassland could also sequester atmospheric carbon ( Waring et al and restore wetlands, which cause this to... Sensitive to environmental changes and provide a food source for living plants Wall, David P. 2016 70:,... Dl, Ditzler CA, Andrews SS ( 2003 ) soil quality why... Was positively correlated with the beta diversity of microbial and nematode community composition increased with the changes vegetation... California Privacy Statement and Cookies policy for vegetation growth ( He and Richards 2015 ; et!