Light grazing promotes the accumulation of soil microbial necromass carbon in a desert steppe.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Grazing, as one of the most important methods of utilizing natural grasslands, can significantly impact the accumulation and stabilization of soil organic carbon within grassland ecosystems. Soil microbial necromass carbon (MNC), including fungal necromass carbon (FNC) and bacterial necromass carbon (BNC), is an important source of soil organic carbon (SOC) and plays a critical role in the formation and stabilization of SOC. However, the effects of grazing intensity on soil MNC and its underlying drivers remain unclear.

Methods

We investigated differences in soil MNC, FNC, BNC, plant and soil factors following a grazing experiment with four grazing intensities (control, 0 sheep units ha^-1 a^-1; light grazing, 0.91 sheep units ha^-1 a

SUBMITTER: Ju X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12400626 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature