The Process of Soil Nutrient Stabilization in Micro-Patches in Alpine Kobresia Meadows

作者：Lin Li, Guangmin Cao, Xiaowei Guo, Qian Li, Dawen Qian, Yangong Du, Junjie Huang, Bo Fan, Bencuo Li, Yuting Lan, Mengke Si · 发表于：Diversity · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.3390/d14080656 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Soil erosion and sediment transport

Micro-patches are the basic unit of grazing ecosystems; the characteristics of these micro-patches are relatively stable in species under different grazing intensities in the same vegetation, but obviously different in terms of the distribution pattern. This leads to differentiation of plant community numerical characteristics under different grazing intensities. Understanding the driving force of soil nutrient variation in micro-patches under grazing disturbances will help us comprehend the regulation strategy and adaptation mechanisms of the ecosystem against over-disturbance. We designed four scales: spatial (three typical micro-patches), temporal serial (6 years), a degradation succession process (four key degradation stages), and recovery treatment (three treatments: the original grazing intensity based on herder preferences, half of the original grazing intensity, and zero grazing). The soil nutrient characteristics used to estimate stabilization were the typical soil total nutrient content (soil organic matter [SOM], total nitrogen [TN], total carbon [TC], inorganic carbon [IC], total phosphorus [STP], total potassium [TK], and pH), and available soil nutrients (NH4+, NO3−, phosphorous [avP], and potassium [avK]). Variations in the SOM, TC, IC, TN, STP, avK, and NO3− levels in the main root distribution layers (0–20 cm) on the spatial scale were 69.8–79.7%, 61.4–80.35%, 49.8–79.58%, 60.52–76.34%, 46.44–89.89%, 45.5–71.36%, and 59.21–65.38%, respectively, which accounte...