Divergent responses of the native grassland soil microbiome to heavy grazing between spring and fall.

ABSTRACT: Grasslands are estimated to cover about 40% of the earth's land area and are primarily used for grazing. Despite their importance globally, there is a paucity of information on long-term grazing effects on the soil microbiome. We used a 68-year-old grazing experiment to determine differences in the soil permanganate-oxidizable C (POXC), microbial biomass C (MBC), the soil prokaryotic (bacterial and archaeal) community composition and enzyme activities between no-grazing, light grazing and heavy grazing, i.e. 0, 1.2 and 2.4 animal unit months (AUM) ha^-1. The grazing effects were determined in spring and fall grazing. Light grazing had little effect on soil MBC and the composition and diversity of prokaryotic communities in either grazing season, but the effects of heavy grazing d

SUBMITTER: Lupwayi NZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11893364 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature