Journal of Plant Ecology ›› 2025, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (3): 1-12.DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtaf036

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适应性放牧促进半干旱草原土壤种子库的丰富度和密度

  

  • 收稿日期:2024-10-16 接受日期:2025-03-19 出版日期:2025-06-01 发布日期:2025-06-25

Adaptive grazing by three livestock species promotes plant species richness and density in the soil seed bank in a semi-arid grassland

Yanlong Li1,2,3,†, Hao Wang1,2,†, Yadong Wang1, Lin Wu1, Ziyuan Ma1, Dongjun Liu3 and Frank Yonghong Li1,2,*,   

  1. 1Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
    2Collaborative Innovation Center for Grassland Ecological Security, Ministry of Education of China and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
    3School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China

    *Corresponding author. E-mail: lifyhong@126.com
    These authors contributed equally to this study.
  • Received:2024-10-16 Accepted:2025-03-19 Online:2025-06-01 Published:2025-06-25
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (3221101980) and by Inner Mongolia Department of Science and Technology (2021ZD0011), and Inner Mongolia Department of Education.

摘要: 土壤种子库在生态系统恢复与更新过程中发挥着重要作用。尽管已有大量研究探讨放牧对土壤种子库密度、多样性和组成的影响,但不同家畜类型放牧对半干旱草原土壤种子库的影响仍不清楚。本研究探讨了适应性放牧管理情景下,3种家畜放牧对土壤种子库和地上植被多样性、密度和群落结构的影响。结果表明:(1) 3种家畜放牧均提高了种子库和植被密度和丰富度,其中牛放牧的促进作用最强。(2)放牧显著增加了一年生和两年生植物的种子密度,但降低了0–5 cm土层中多年生植物种子密度。此外,放牧增加了种子埋藏深度,其中牛和山羊放牧显著增加了5–10 cm土层中一年生和两年生植物的种子密度,以及0–10 cm土层中多年生杂草的种子密度。(3)虽然地上植被与土壤种子库物种组成存在差异,但牛放牧显著提高了二者的相似性。上述研究结果揭示了土壤种子库对不同畜种放牧的响应特征,表明适应性放牧管理(即维持牧草留茬高度在一定水平以上)有利于土壤种子库的形成和植被的更新。

关键词: 适应性放牧, 半干旱草原, 土壤种子库, 群落组成, 物种多样性

Abstract: Soil seed banks (SSBs) play an important role in the recovery and renewal of plant ecosystems. Numerous studies have explored the effects of grazing on the density, diversity, and composition of SSBs in grasslands. However, information on how different livestock species affect SSBs in semi-arid grasslands remains limited. Here we examined shift in species diversity, plant density, and community structure in both SSBs and aboveground vegetation in grasslands grazed by three livestock species under adaptive grazing management. We found that (i) Grazing by three livestock species increased plant density and species richness in both SSB and aboveground vegetation, with cattle grazing increased the most. (ii) Grazing leads to a notable increase in the seed density of annual and biennial plants while decreasing that of perennial plants in the upper 5 cm of soil; grazing also increases burial depth of seeds, with cattle and goat grazing significantly increasing the seed density of annual and biennial plants in the 5-10 cm soil layer, as well as that of perennial forbs in the 0-10 cm layer. (iii) The species composition of aboveground vegetation and SSB differed, but cattle grazing significantly increased the similarity between the two. Our results provide significant insights into SSB responses to three livestock species, and indicate that adaptive grazing management, which maintains grassland residual height above a certain level, may benefit the SSB and support vegetation regeneration.

Key words: adaptive grazing,  semi-arid steppe, soil seed bank, community composition, species diversity