Productive Overcompensation of Alpine Meadows in Response to Yak Grazing in the Eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the interaction between large herbivores and pasture production, especially with respect to the grazing optimization hypothesis, is critical for pasture management and generating theoretical and testable predictions. However, the optimization hypothesis remains contradictory in alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). In this study, we tested the grazing optimization hypothesis using four yak-grazing intensities (no grazing, light grazing, moderate grazing and heavy grazing) in alpine meadow habitats from 2015 to 2017. The results indicated that species diversity did not differ significantly among grazing regimes during the experimental period. However, the aboveground net primary production (ANPP) under moderate grazing consistently significantly exceeded that in c

SUBMITTER: Mipam TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6640541 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature