New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts
Influences of grazing and exclosure on carbon sequestration in degraded
sandy grassland, Inner Mongolia, north China
Yong Zhong Su
Ha Lin Zhao*
Tong Hui Zhang
Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute
Chinese Academy of Sciences
260 Donggang West Road
Lanzhou 730000, PR China
*Author for correspondence
Abstract Livestock grazing is recognised as one of the
main causes of vegetation and soil degradation/desertification in the semi-arid
Horqin sandy steppe of northern China. In this paper, soil-plant system carbon
(C) in a representative degraded sandy grassland in the Horqin sandy steppe
(42°58' N, 120°42'E altitude c. 360 m a.s.l.) was measured. Three
situations: long-term continuous grazing (CG), exclosure for 5 years (5EX),
and exclosure for 10 years (10EX), were compared to assess the effect of
grazing management on C sequestration. Ground cover increased from the CG
(35%) to the 5EX (63%) and to the 10EX (81%), and accordingly soil organic
C at 0-15 cm depth and total plant components C increased from the CG (492
and 98 g m-2) to the 5EX (524 and 134 g m-2) and to
the 10EX (584 and 317 g m-2). The results suggested that continuous
grazing in the erosion-prone sandy grassland is very detrimental to vegetation
and soil. Under exclosure conditions, vegetation restoration and litter accumulation
significantly increased plant-soil system C storage, and thus sequestration
of atmospheric C. It was concluded that the degraded sandy grassland could
contribute to significant C sequestration with the implementation of protective
practices.
Keywords carbon sequestration; grazing; exclosure; sandy
grassland; north China
A02064 Received 22 October 2002; accepted 18 May 2003; online publication
date 5 November 2003
New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 2003, Vol. 46: 321-328
0028-8233/03/4604-0321 $7.00/0 © The Royal Society of New Zealand
2003
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