A Meta-Analysis of Soil Organic Carbon Response to Livestock Grazing in Grassland of the Tibetan Plateau

Zhiwen Ma, Wenping Qin, Zhaoqi Wang, Chenglong Han, Xiang Liu () and Xiaotao Huang ()
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Zhiwen Ma: State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Wenping Qin: State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Zhaoqi Wang: State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Chenglong Han: State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Xiang Liu: State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Xiaotao Huang: Key Laboratory of Restoration Ecology for Cold Regions Laboratory in Qinghai, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 21, 1-14

Abstract: Known as the “roof of the world”, the Tibetan Plateau hosts the largest pastoral alpine ecosystem in the world. Nevertheless, there is currently no consensus on how soil organic carbon (SOC) stock changes after livestock grazing on the grassland of this region. Here, a meta-analysis was performed based on 55 published studies to quantify the livestock grazing-induced changes in SOC stock (0–30 cm) in grassland on the Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that livestock grazing significantly increased bulk density by an average of 11.5%, indicating that significant soil compaction was caused by livestock grazing. In contrast, SOC content and stock significantly decreased by 14.4% and 11.9% after livestock grazing, respectively. The decline rate of SOC stock was higher in alpine meadow (−12.4%) than that in alpine steppe (−8.8%), but there was no significant difference between the two rates. The SOC stocks decreased by 10.1%, 6.2% and 20.1% under light grazing, moderate grazing and heavy grazing, respectively. The decline rate of SOC stock under moderate grazing was significantly lower than that under heavy grazing. For different livestock types, it was observed that yak grazing significantly decreased SOC stock by 15.3%. Although the decline rate induced by yak grazing was higher than those induced by Tibetan sheep grazing and mixed grazing, no significant difference was detected among them. Similarly, the grazing-induced SOC declines also did not differ significantly among subgroups of grazing season. The positive relationships between SOC stock and plant biomass indicated that the decreased plant biomass was a likely reason for the declined SOC stock under grazing condition. The findings suggested that moderate grazing with Tibetan sheep in the warm season may minimize SOC losses from grazing activities in alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau.

Keywords: livestock grazing; soil organic carbon; alpine region; meta-analysis; grassland management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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