Effects of different livestock types on plant diversity and community structure of a typical steppe in Nei Mongol, China

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2022.0017

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Livestock grazing is one of the most important factors affecting grassland plant diversity. However, the information on the effects of different livestock types and their grazing behaviors on grassland plant diversity and community composition are less available. A better understanding of the changes in plant diversity and community composition in response to the grazing of various livestock types is essential to the management and preservation of grassland biodiversity.

Methods We conducted a grazing experiment in a typical steppe of Nei Mongol to examine the effects of different livestock species (cattle, goat, sheep) and their behaviors (forage selection and grazing aggregation) on plant diversity (i.e., α, β and γ diversity) and community composition.

Important findings Our results showed that: (1) cattle, goat, and sheep grazing all increased plant α, β, and γ diversity at moderate grazing intensity, and the increase was the largest and significant under cattle grazing. (2) Three livestock species all changed community structure; sheep grazing reduced the relative abundance of dominant short grass Cleistogenes squarrosa, which is in contrary to the changes in community structure induced by cattle and goat grazing. (3) Cattle and goat grazing significantly reduced the aboveground biomass of dominant species, including tall grasses Leymus chinensis and Stipa grandis and short grass C. squarrosa, while sheep grazing only decreased that of short grass C. squarrosa. Cattle grazing also had a lower spatial aggregation than that of goat and sheep. (4) Plant diversity decreased with the increase of the aboveground biomass of either tall or short dominant species, indicating that livestock grazing promoted plant species diversity by reducing plant aboveground biomass of dominant species. (5) Plant diversity decreased with the increase in spatial aggregation of livestock grazing, indicating a lower aggregation benefiting plant diversity maintenance. Overall, our study suggests that grazing animal types should be considered along with grazing intensity in the development of grazing management regime for better conservation and sustainable use of the grassland resources.

Key words: plant diversity, species composition, selective foraging, spatial aggregation, livestock tracking

WANG Shu-Wen, LI Wen-Huai, LI Yan-Long, YAN Hui, LI Yong-Hong. Effects of different livestock types on plant diversity and community structure of a typical steppe in Nei Mongol, China[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2022, 46(8): 941-950.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2022.0017

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2022/V46/I8/941

Figures/Tables 7

Table 1 Different livestock behaviors distinguished using their moving speed as thresholds in a typical steppe in Nei Mongol

家畜类型 Livestock type	休息 Resting (m·s^-1)	采食 Feeding (m·s^-1)	游走 Wandering (m·s^-1)
牛 Cattle	0-0.05	0.05-0.26	>0.26
山羊 Goat	0-0.03	0.03-0.16	>0.16
绵羊 Sheep	0-0.05	0.05-0.20	>0.20

Fig. 1 Plant species diversity under moderate grazing of different livestock species in a typical steppe in Nei Mongol (mean ± SE). *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01.

Fig. 2 Ordination of plant communities in a typical steppe in Nei Mongol under different livestock grazing treatments by non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), with an elliptical confidence interval of 95%. The relative abundance of different species is significantly related to the axis 1 and axis 2 scores (p < 0.05). The numbers in parentheses indicate the correlation coefficients.

Table 2 Selective index of different livestock types to four dominant plant species in a typical steppe in Nei Mongol

家畜类型 Livestock type	上层优势种 Tall dominant species	下层优势种 Short dominant species	羊草 Leymus chinensis	大针茅 Stipa grandis	糙隐子草 Cleistogenes squarrosa	黄囊薹草 Carex korshinskyi
牛 Cattle	1.148	0.713	1.113	1.253	0.918	1.673
山羊 Goat	1.224	0.652	0.881	1.592	0.950	2.585
绵羊 Sheep	0.277	3.029	1.072	0.576	3.583	3.309

Fig. 3 Plant aboveground biomass under the grazing of different livestock types at moderate intensity (mean ± SE). A, Tall dominant species. B, Leymus chinensis. C, Stipa grandis. D, Short dominant species. E, Cleistogenes squarrosa. F, Carex korshinskyi. *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001.

Fig. 4 Relationship between the aboveground biomass of tall and short dominant species in typical steppe in Nei Mongol and plant diversity under the grazing of different livestock types at moderate intensity.

Fig. 5 Aggregation degrees of the feeding behavior of different livestock species (mean ± SE) and their relationships with plant diversity. **, p < 0.01.

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