The semi-arid grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China have been degraded by long-term grazing. A series of ecological restoration strategies have been implemented to improve grassland service. However, little is known abo...The semi-arid grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China have been degraded by long-term grazing. A series of ecological restoration strategies have been implemented to improve grassland service. However, little is known about the effect of these ecological restoration practices on soil carbon and nitrogen storage. In this study, characteristics of vegetation and soil properties under continued grazing and exclusion of livestock for six years due to a nationwide conservation program—′Returning Grazing Lands to Grasslands(RGLG)′ were examined in semi-arid Hulun Buir grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. The results show that removal of grazing for six years resulted in a significant recovery in vegetation with higher above and below-ground biomass, but a lower soil bulk density and pH value. After six years of grazing exclusion, soil organic C and total N storage increased by 13.9% and 17.1%, respectively, which could be partly explained by decreased loss and increased input of C and N to soil. The effects of grazing exclusion on soil C and N concentration and storage primarily occurred in the upper soil depths. The results indicate that removal of grazing pressure within the RGLG program was an effective restoration approach to control grassland degradation in this region. However, more comprehensive studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the RGLG program and to improve the management strategies for grassland restoration in this area.展开更多
The cognition and attitudes of resources environment affect environmental behavior of behavior subject,the changes of attitude and behavior become one of the key factors of influencing harmonious and healthy developme...The cognition and attitudes of resources environment affect environmental behavior of behavior subject,the changes of attitude and behavior become one of the key factors of influencing harmonious and healthy development of ecological environment. With PRA survey method for obtaining questionnaire data and based on behavior geography and social psychology theory,farming-pastoral,dry grassland,desert grassland, typical project village alpine grassland of returning fazing land to grasslands as an example,with main body cognitive perspective of the aid of resources,the article analyzed space dissimilation of stakeholders environmental cognitive and behavior preference response in the area of returning grazing land to grasslands from ecological environment from policy environment,ecological environment and family economic environment aspects. The results showed that： stakeholders judgment of Grassland degradation in different ecological function area had obvious regularity,the cognitive proportion of Grassland degradation gradually increase from farming-pastora to alpine savanes. The satisfaction from returning grazing land to grasslands showed a changing tendency of reversed U. stakeholders had more strongly negative cognition in the area of dry steppe and desertsteppe. From farming-pastoral to alpine savanes,the economic environment tend to worse situation. Negative environmental behaviors tend to increase,Positive behavior on the contrary.展开更多
<i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Parthenium hysterophorus</span></i><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> L. is a h...<i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Parthenium hysterophorus</span></i><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> L. is a harmful invasive weed to plant biodiversity and human health. It is native to American tropics and first introduced to Ethiopia in the 1970s. Today, it is widely distributed across the country and severely affecting the biodiversity, crop, and animal production in the country. In the Metekel Zone, there was no report on its distribution and impacts so far. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the distribution and abundance of the plant in the zone. The distribution and abundance data of the weed were recorded at five km intervals following all accessible roads of the zone. The result reveals that </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">P. hysterophorus</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> L. was less distributed in the area with a 4.95% frequency. However, it was found abundantly growing at roadsides, wastelands, around habitation, market place, and around Zeghibridge where it can rapidly spread to most economical lands like the arable and grazing lands. Moreover, it has aggressively invaded a nursery site, which enables the weed to enter agricultural fields directly. This suggests that the weed is on a fast move to agricultural lands in the zone. The regular active development activities such as agricultural investment, construction of roads, and factories are presumed to promote its spread. Therefore, a decisive and timely decision is needed to mitigate the weed when it is still sparse and small.展开更多
Background:Selective grazing creates stable patches of contrasting sward height,thereby providing different growth conditions for the grass sward above and below ground and potentially affecting soil organic carbon(SO...Background:Selective grazing creates stable patches of contrasting sward height,thereby providing different growth conditions for the grass sward above and below ground and potentially affecting soil organic carbon(SOC)stocks.We hypothesized that the presence of patches leads to greater spatial variability in belowground biomass(BGB)and SOC stocks than occurs between pastures managed under different stocking intensities.Methods:A long-term grazing experiment consisting of three stocking intensities was used for this study.We studied BGB,SOC,and soil total nitrogen(Ntot)stocks in the 0-15 cm soil depth.Shannon diversity of plant species,soil bulk density,soil phosphorus,potassium,and magnesium contents were considered.Results:There were no significant effects of patch or stocking intensity on BGB,SOC,and Ntot stocks.Short patches had a greater Shannon diversity than tall patches(p<0.05)and plant-available nutrients in soil correlated positively with sward height(p<0.05).Conclusions:We conclude from the current results and previous studies that higher plant species diversity with lower soil nutrient contents in short-patch areas and higher nutrient contents together with light competition in tall-patch areas might balance each other out with respect to BGB and SOC stocks.展开更多
Herbaceous species contribute to the largest proportion of the fodder.Despite the profound benefits obtained,anthropogenic disturbances are hindering its development.On the other hand,to ensure the sustainability of h...Herbaceous species contribute to the largest proportion of the fodder.Despite the profound benefits obtained,anthropogenic disturbances are hindering its development.On the other hand,to ensure the sustainability of herbaceous species,communities and governments have been putting efforts in managing herbaceous species through the establishment of area exclosure(AE).Thus,the main importance of this research paper is to provide information about the role of AE on the restoration of herbaceous species.The objective of this study was to assess the effect of restoration on the herbaceous species following AE established on communal grazing land(CGL).A total of 124 and 73 quadrats of 1×1m^(2) size were laid down at 50 m intervals along parallel transects at AE and CGL,respectively,and data were analyzed by t-test unequal variances using R-software.AE displayed higher plant species richness and diversity than the CGL and showed a significant difference(p<0.001).Similarly,the AE had significantly(p<0.001)higher forage biomass than the CGL.In general,herbaceous species diversity index and species richness were significantly(p<0.001)higher in the AE compared to the CGL.The study concluded that effective AE has the potential to enhance the restoration of herbaceous species and hence forage productivity.展开更多
Woody species within pastures and savannas are often associated with‘resource islands’characterized by higher fertility under canopies trees.The aims of this study were to evaluate(1)the effects of Prosopis juliflor...Woody species within pastures and savannas are often associated with‘resource islands’characterized by higher fertility under canopies trees.The aims of this study were to evaluate(1)the effects of Prosopis juliflora on some soil physicochemical properties and(2)the impacts of Prosopis invasion on soil salinity.For soil physicochemical analysis,a total of 104 soil samples from Teru and Yalo Districts were collected.The soil samples were collected from soil depths of 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm in Prosopis invaded and non-invaded open grazing lands.Invasion of Prosopis had significantly affected soil pH,exchangeable Na^(+),water soluble Ca^(2+)+Mg^(2+),water soluble Na^(+),and exchangeable sodium percentage in Teru and Yalo Districts(p<0.05).The invasion of Prosopis significantly increased soil pH(1.5%),but decreased exchangeable Na^(+)(24.2%),exchangeable sodium percentage(21.6%),and water soluble Ca^(2+)+Mg^(2+)(39.9%)than non-invaded lands.Clay content of Prosopis invaded lands was higher by 19%than non-invaded lands.However,sand content of soil was higher under non-invaded lands by 5.6%than Prosopis invaded lands.Most results indicated that invasion of Prosopis had positive effects on physicochemical properties and thus conducive for cereal crops and forages.展开更多
Background:Even though increasing population pressure and associated increased demand for food and economic development have led to overexploitation and degradation of wetlands throughout the world,the drivers are mos...Background:Even though increasing population pressure and associated increased demand for food and economic development have led to overexploitation and degradation of wetlands throughout the world,the drivers are most severe in developing countries.For generations,Fogera wetlands in Ethiopia which are parts of Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve have been widely used for grazing of indigenous cattle.Fogera cattle are one of several recognized indigenous breeds of Abyssinian zebu bovine cattle(Bos primigenius indicus)found in Fogera district,Ethiopia.This study was conducted to quantify impacts of rice expansion on cattle population in Fogera wetlands.Data were collected through questionnaire,focus group discussions,interviews,and land use/land cover analysis.Respondents were selected using systematic random sampling.Variance and LEVENES test were used to analyze the livestock unit and to check homogeneity.Results:The study revealed that during the 20-year period preceding 2015,the number of cattle owned decreased from 3509 to 1510 heads.In the same period,rice cultivation increased from 182 to 9499 ha and production from 6701 to 714,013 qt.Grazing lands were reduced from 8550 to 3501 ha,wetlands from 3114 to 1060 ha,and forests from 1542 to 907 ha.Land use/land cover changes showed a negative balance of 40%dry matter requiring cattle feed to be increasingly supplemented through purchases,or reduction in herd number.The study also indicated that the land-use changes brought at the expense of traditional cattle production systems.Conclusion:Hence,proper management is required to maintain these valuable resources and keep their role in socioeconomic development of the area.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.XDA05060103)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41105117)State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology(No.LFSE2013-06)
文摘The semi-arid grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China have been degraded by long-term grazing. A series of ecological restoration strategies have been implemented to improve grassland service. However, little is known about the effect of these ecological restoration practices on soil carbon and nitrogen storage. In this study, characteristics of vegetation and soil properties under continued grazing and exclusion of livestock for six years due to a nationwide conservation program—′Returning Grazing Lands to Grasslands(RGLG)′ were examined in semi-arid Hulun Buir grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. The results show that removal of grazing for six years resulted in a significant recovery in vegetation with higher above and below-ground biomass, but a lower soil bulk density and pH value. After six years of grazing exclusion, soil organic C and total N storage increased by 13.9% and 17.1%, respectively, which could be partly explained by decreased loss and increased input of C and N to soil. The effects of grazing exclusion on soil C and N concentration and storage primarily occurred in the upper soil depths. The results indicate that removal of grazing pressure within the RGLG program was an effective restoration approach to control grassland degradation in this region. However, more comprehensive studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the RGLG program and to improve the management strategies for grassland restoration in this area.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Fund(40971039)Gansu Province Science and Technology Support Program(1011FKCA157)the Fundamental Research Funds Project of Colleges and Universities in Gansu Province
文摘The cognition and attitudes of resources environment affect environmental behavior of behavior subject,the changes of attitude and behavior become one of the key factors of influencing harmonious and healthy development of ecological environment. With PRA survey method for obtaining questionnaire data and based on behavior geography and social psychology theory,farming-pastoral,dry grassland,desert grassland, typical project village alpine grassland of returning fazing land to grasslands as an example,with main body cognitive perspective of the aid of resources,the article analyzed space dissimilation of stakeholders environmental cognitive and behavior preference response in the area of returning grazing land to grasslands from ecological environment from policy environment,ecological environment and family economic environment aspects. The results showed that： stakeholders judgment of Grassland degradation in different ecological function area had obvious regularity,the cognitive proportion of Grassland degradation gradually increase from farming-pastora to alpine savanes. The satisfaction from returning grazing land to grasslands showed a changing tendency of reversed U. stakeholders had more strongly negative cognition in the area of dry steppe and desertsteppe. From farming-pastoral to alpine savanes,the economic environment tend to worse situation. Negative environmental behaviors tend to increase,Positive behavior on the contrary.
文摘<i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Parthenium hysterophorus</span></i><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> L. is a harmful invasive weed to plant biodiversity and human health. It is native to American tropics and first introduced to Ethiopia in the 1970s. Today, it is widely distributed across the country and severely affecting the biodiversity, crop, and animal production in the country. In the Metekel Zone, there was no report on its distribution and impacts so far. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the distribution and abundance of the plant in the zone. The distribution and abundance data of the weed were recorded at five km intervals following all accessible roads of the zone. The result reveals that </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">P. hysterophorus</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> L. was less distributed in the area with a 4.95% frequency. However, it was found abundantly growing at roadsides, wastelands, around habitation, market place, and around Zeghibridge where it can rapidly spread to most economical lands like the arable and grazing lands. Moreover, it has aggressively invaded a nursery site, which enables the weed to enter agricultural fields directly. This suggests that the weed is on a fast move to agricultural lands in the zone. The regular active development activities such as agricultural investment, construction of roads, and factories are presumed to promote its spread. Therefore, a decisive and timely decision is needed to mitigate the weed when it is still sparse and small.
基金ERASMUS+program and 774124-SUPER G(EU Horizon 2020)。
文摘Background:Selective grazing creates stable patches of contrasting sward height,thereby providing different growth conditions for the grass sward above and below ground and potentially affecting soil organic carbon(SOC)stocks.We hypothesized that the presence of patches leads to greater spatial variability in belowground biomass(BGB)and SOC stocks than occurs between pastures managed under different stocking intensities.Methods:A long-term grazing experiment consisting of three stocking intensities was used for this study.We studied BGB,SOC,and soil total nitrogen(Ntot)stocks in the 0-15 cm soil depth.Shannon diversity of plant species,soil bulk density,soil phosphorus,potassium,and magnesium contents were considered.Results:There were no significant effects of patch or stocking intensity on BGB,SOC,and Ntot stocks.Short patches had a greater Shannon diversity than tall patches(p<0.05)and plant-available nutrients in soil correlated positively with sward height(p<0.05).Conclusions:We conclude from the current results and previous studies that higher plant species diversity with lower soil nutrient contents in short-patch areas and higher nutrient contents together with light competition in tall-patch areas might balance each other out with respect to BGB and SOC stocks.
文摘Herbaceous species contribute to the largest proportion of the fodder.Despite the profound benefits obtained,anthropogenic disturbances are hindering its development.On the other hand,to ensure the sustainability of herbaceous species,communities and governments have been putting efforts in managing herbaceous species through the establishment of area exclosure(AE).Thus,the main importance of this research paper is to provide information about the role of AE on the restoration of herbaceous species.The objective of this study was to assess the effect of restoration on the herbaceous species following AE established on communal grazing land(CGL).A total of 124 and 73 quadrats of 1×1m^(2) size were laid down at 50 m intervals along parallel transects at AE and CGL,respectively,and data were analyzed by t-test unequal variances using R-software.AE displayed higher plant species richness and diversity than the CGL and showed a significant difference(p<0.001).Similarly,the AE had significantly(p<0.001)higher forage biomass than the CGL.In general,herbaceous species diversity index and species richness were significantly(p<0.001)higher in the AE compared to the CGL.The study concluded that effective AE has the potential to enhance the restoration of herbaceous species and hence forage productivity.
文摘Woody species within pastures and savannas are often associated with‘resource islands’characterized by higher fertility under canopies trees.The aims of this study were to evaluate(1)the effects of Prosopis juliflora on some soil physicochemical properties and(2)the impacts of Prosopis invasion on soil salinity.For soil physicochemical analysis,a total of 104 soil samples from Teru and Yalo Districts were collected.The soil samples were collected from soil depths of 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm in Prosopis invaded and non-invaded open grazing lands.Invasion of Prosopis had significantly affected soil pH,exchangeable Na^(+),water soluble Ca^(2+)+Mg^(2+),water soluble Na^(+),and exchangeable sodium percentage in Teru and Yalo Districts(p<0.05).The invasion of Prosopis significantly increased soil pH(1.5%),but decreased exchangeable Na^(+)(24.2%),exchangeable sodium percentage(21.6%),and water soluble Ca^(2+)+Mg^(2+)(39.9%)than non-invaded lands.Clay content of Prosopis invaded lands was higher by 19%than non-invaded lands.However,sand content of soil was higher under non-invaded lands by 5.6%than Prosopis invaded lands.Most results indicated that invasion of Prosopis had positive effects on physicochemical properties and thus conducive for cereal crops and forages.
文摘Background:Even though increasing population pressure and associated increased demand for food and economic development have led to overexploitation and degradation of wetlands throughout the world,the drivers are most severe in developing countries.For generations,Fogera wetlands in Ethiopia which are parts of Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve have been widely used for grazing of indigenous cattle.Fogera cattle are one of several recognized indigenous breeds of Abyssinian zebu bovine cattle(Bos primigenius indicus)found in Fogera district,Ethiopia.This study was conducted to quantify impacts of rice expansion on cattle population in Fogera wetlands.Data were collected through questionnaire,focus group discussions,interviews,and land use/land cover analysis.Respondents were selected using systematic random sampling.Variance and LEVENES test were used to analyze the livestock unit and to check homogeneity.Results:The study revealed that during the 20-year period preceding 2015,the number of cattle owned decreased from 3509 to 1510 heads.In the same period,rice cultivation increased from 182 to 9499 ha and production from 6701 to 714,013 qt.Grazing lands were reduced from 8550 to 3501 ha,wetlands from 3114 to 1060 ha,and forests from 1542 to 907 ha.Land use/land cover changes showed a negative balance of 40%dry matter requiring cattle feed to be increasingly supplemented through purchases,or reduction in herd number.The study also indicated that the land-use changes brought at the expense of traditional cattle production systems.Conclusion:Hence,proper management is required to maintain these valuable resources and keep their role in socioeconomic development of the area.
