Grazing decreases net ecosystem carbon exchange by decreasing shrub and semi-shrub biomass in a desert steppe.

ABSTRACT: Livestock grazing can strongly determine how grasslands function and their role in the carbon cycle. However, how ecosystem carbon exchange responds to grazing and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We measured ecosystem carbon fluxes to explore the changes in carbon exchange and their driving mechanisms under different grazing intensities (CK, control; HG, heavy grazing; LG, light grazing; MG, moderate grazing) based on a 16-year long-term grazing experimental platform in a desert steppe. We found that grazing intensity influenced aboveground biomass during the peak growing season, primarily by decreasing shrubs and semi-shrubs and perennial forbs. Furthermore, grazing decreased net ecosystem carbon exchange by decreasing aboveground biomass, especially the functional group of shru

SUBMITTER: Ju X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11199334 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature