Grazing lowers soil multifunctionality but boosts soil microbial network complexity and stability in a subtropical grassland of China.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Long-term grazing profoundly affects grassland ecosystems, whereas how the soil microbiome and multiple soil ecosystem functions alter in response to two-decades of grazing, especially how soil microbiome (diversity, composition, network complexity, and stability) forms soil multifunctionality is rarely addressed.

Methods

We used a long-term buffalo grazing grassland to measure the responses of soil physicochemical attributes, stoichiometry, enzyme activities, soil microbial niche width, structure, functions, and networks to grazing in a subtropical grassland of Guizhou Plateau, China.

Results

The evidence from this work suggested that grazing elevated the soil hardness, available calcium content, and available magnesium content by 6.5, 1.9, and 1.9 times

SUBMITTER: Ding L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9849757 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature