Changes in vegetation characteristics and soil enzyme activities under different treatments in semi-arid meadow grassland

doi:10.11686/cyxb2022084

Abstract

Abstract:

Different grassland development methods， for example， burning， fencing enclosure， and grazing， have different effects on vegetation and soil. To explore the influence of different grassland treatment methods on meadow grassland， several sites within Horqin meadow grassland were selected for study. Four grassland treatments were applied： Enclosure （UNM）， enclosure+mowing （M）， enclosure+burning （F）， and grazing （G）. The activities of soil urease， soil alkaline phosphatase， and soil sucrase as well as vegetation characteristics in the growing season were analyzed to explore the best treatment method for meadow grassland. It was found that： 1） Soil enzyme activity decreased with increasing soil depth， and the differences among different treatments gradually decreased as the soil depth increased. 2） Compared with UNM， G resulted in decreased vegetation height， coverage， aboveground biomass， and soil enzyme activity at different points， but a higher richness index. 3） Compared with UNM， M resulted in different compensatory abilities of species in a range of functional groups. In M， the compensatory ability of Poaceae was greater than that of Compositae. 4） Compared with UNM， F resulted in increased vegetation height， coverage， aboveground biomass， richness index， and activities of the three soil hydrolases at different points. 5） Compared with G， M resulted in increased vegetation height， coverage， aboveground biomass， richness index， and soil urease activity， but decreased sucrase and alkaline phosphatase activities. In conclusion， our results show that controlled burning is the best development treatment for meadow grassland in semi-arid areas.

Key words: soil enzyme activity, seasonal dynamics, different grass treatments, meadow grassland

Zhi-ting WANG, Ting-xi LIU, Xin TONG, Li-min DUAN, Dong-fang LI, Xiao-yong LIU. Changes in vegetation characteristics and soil enzyme activities under different treatments in semi-arid meadow grassland[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2023, 32(3): 41-55.

Figures/Tables 10

Fig.1 Layout of test points and grassland treatment mode in the study area

Table 1 Different ways of dealing with grass

草甸草地点 Meadow grassland site	草地处理方式 Grassland treatment
C₂	UNM、M₁、F、G
C₃	UNM、M₁、G
D₁	UNM、F、G
C₄	M_L、G
E₂	M_L、G

Fig.2 Schematic diagram of different grassland treatments in meadow grassland

Fig.3 Monthly variation of vegetation community characteristics in different treatments of grassland in different experimental sites

Fig.4 Monthly variation of soil temperature in growing season of grassland under different treatments

Fig.5 Monthly changes of soil moisture content in growing season of grassland under different treatments

Fig.6 Monthly changes of S-UE activity in growing season of grassland under different treatments

Fig.7 Monthly changes of S-SC activity in growing season of grassland under different treatments

Fig.8 Monthly changes of S-AKP activity in growing season of grassland under different treatments

Fig.9 Correlation between vegetation characteristics and soil enzyme activities

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