Grazing and Cultivated Grasslands Cause Different Spatial Redistributions of Soil Particles

Jinsheng Li, Jianying Shang, Ding Huang, Shiming Tang, Tianci Zhao, Xiaomeng Yang, Qian Zhang, Kesi Liu and Xinqing Shao
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Jinsheng Li: Department of Grassland Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Jianying Shang: Department of Water and Soil Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Ding Huang: Department of Grassland Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Shiming Tang: Department of Grassland Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Tianci Zhao: Department of Grassland Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Xiaomeng Yang: Department of Grassland Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Qian Zhang: Department of Grassland Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Kesi Liu: Department of Grassland Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Xinqing Shao: Department of Grassland Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-10

Abstract: The distribution of soil particle sizes is closely related to soil health condition. In this study, grasslands under different grazing intensities and different cultivation ages grasslands were selected to evaluate the dynamics of soil particle size redistribution in different soil layers. When the grazing intensity increased, the percentage of 2000~150-μm soil particles in the 0–10-cm soil layer decreased; 150~53-μm soil particles remained relatively stable among the grazing intensities—approximately 28.52%~35.39%. However, the percentage of less than 53-μm soil particles increased. In cultivated grasslands, the larger sizes (>53 μm) of soil particles increased and the smaller sizes (<53 μm) decreased significantly ( p < 0.05) in the 0–10 cm-soil layer with increasing cultivation ages. The increase in small soil particles (<53 μm) in topsoil associated with grazing intensity increased the potential risk of further degradation by wind erosion. The increase in big soil particles (>53 μm) in topsoil associated with cultivation ages decreased the soil capacity of holding water and nutrient. Therefore, to maintain the sustainability of grassland uses, grazing grasslands need to avoid heavy grazing, and cultivated grasslands need to change current cultivation practices.

Keywords: grazing grassland; cultivated grassland; soil particle; sustainability use; desertification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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