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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (2): 212-219.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2020116

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Stocking rate effects on stoichiometric characteristics of the steppe grassland pioneer species Stipabreviflora and its underlying soil

Mei XIONG1(), Ji-rong QIAO1, Yang YANG1, Feng ZHANG1, Jia-hua ZHENG1, Jian-xin WU2, Meng-li ZHAO1()   

  1. 1.College of Grassland,Resource and Environment,Inner Mongolia Agricultural University,Hohhot 010019,China
    2.Inner Mongolia Management Centre of Returning Farm to Forest and Foreign-aimed Project,Hohhot 010010,China
  • Received:2020-03-13 Revised:2020-04-22 Online:2021-02-20 Published:2021-01-19
  • Contact: Meng-li ZHAO

Abstract:

We investigated the effect of stocking rate (Control, CK; Lightly grazed, LG; Moderately grazed, MG and Heavily grazed, HG) on carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and their stoichiometry for the pioneer species Stipa brevifloraSb) and its underlying soil for the 0-20 and 20-40 cm depths in desert steppe grassland. Stocking rate had no significant effect on N, P content and no effect on C∶N∶P stoichiometry in Sb foliage, but C content in Sb foliage significantly increased with increase in stocking rate (P<0.05). Soil N, P and C∶N∶P values for the two soil layers were significantly (P<0.05) affected by stocking rate, except for soil C∶N from 0-20 cm. Those differences between C∶N∶P ratios were mainly caused by the changing of soil N and P content, and these effects for the two soil layers were somewhat random with no consistent pattern across stocking rates. The stoichiometry of Sb foliage was not affected by changes in soil stoichiometry. Grazing decreased the Sb P and soil C content, but this effect was decreased by increased stocking rate. Compared with CK, HG markedly changed the characteristics of soil N, P and C∶N and of Sb foliage C and C∶N. The increasing of soil depth showed greater impact on soil P, N∶P and C∶P under MG.

Key words: desert steppe, stocking rate, Stipa breviflora, soil, stoichiometry