Exploration of livestock-poultry-grassland systems: the influence of different land use types on the grassland dominated by Leymus chinensis in northern China

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2024.0093

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims The grassland dominated by Leymus chinensisis one of the most important grassland types in northern China, providing important ecosystem service functions. However, due to long-term irrational utilization, the nutrients in the ecosystem stay in a state where outputs exceed inputs, leading to widespread degradation of the current Leymus chinensis grassland. The degradation affects its ecological and production functions. Previous studies have shown that the coupling of livestock and poultry can promote the restoration of degraded grasslands. This study aims to clarify the impacts of the coupling of livestock and poultry on L. chinensis at the individual, population and community scales.

Methods This study compared the differences in the individual traits, population and community characteristics of L. chinensis in livestock and poultry coupled plots (LP), grass mowing plots (GM), and traditional cattle and sheep grazing plots (CS).

Important findings The results showed that the soil NO- 3-N content in LP was 2.5 to 3 times higher than in GM and CS, and the soil available phosphorus content was more than 2 times that of GM and more than 6 times that of CS. The increase in soil nutrients content significantly improved the individual traits and population characteristics of L. chinensis. The chlorophyll content, specific leaf area, nitrogen content and phosphorus content of L. chinensis leaves in LP were significantly higher than those in GM and CS. The important values of the L. chinensis population in LP significantly increased by 29.7% and 173.2% compared to GM and CS in the first year, respectively. The leaf area index of L. chinensis population in LP reached above 3.4, while GM remained around 1.0 and CS remained around 0.2. The aboveground biomass of L. chinensis population in LP increased to (431.5 ± 45.3) g·m^-2 in the second year, which was 1.6 times that of GM and 9 times that of CS. The development of the L. chinensis population promoted positive communities’ succession, with plant cover in LP reaching over 90%, significantly higher than GM (around 60%) and CS (approximately 40%). The aboveground biomass of the plant community in LP increased to (597.6 ± 61.3) g·m^-2 in the second year, close to twice that of GM and 3 times that of CS. Under the utilization of coupling livestock and poultry, chickens fertilize the degraded grassland with manure during the plant growing seasons, which promotes the individual growth and development of L. chinensis, thereby increasing the important value of the L. chinensis population, as well as enhancing plant community coverage and aboveground biomass, ultimately leading the degraded L. chinensis grasslands toward near-natural recovery.

Key words: livestock-poultry-grassland systems, chicken farming in grassland, Leymus chinensis, community succession, plant population

XU Hong, SU Hua, LI Yong-Geng, SU Ben-Ying, YANG Jing-Cheng, LI Yu-Qiang, WANG Zheng-Wen. Exploration of livestock-poultry-grassland systems: the influence of different land use types on the grassland dominated by Leymus chinensis in northern China[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(1): 211-220.

Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX

URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2024.0093

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2025/V49/I1/211

Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1 Comparison of the chlorophyll a (Chl a) content (A), chlorophyll b (Chl b) content (B), specific leaf area (SLA) (C), carbon (Cleaf) content (D), nitrogen (Nleaf) content (E) and phosphorus (Pleaf) content (F) in the leaves of Leymus chinensis in livestock-poultry-grassland coupling plots (LP), grassland-mowing plots (GM) and cattle and sheep grazing plots (CS) (mean ± SD). Different lowercase letters indicate significant difference among different land use types (p < 0.05).

Table 1 F value and the significance level of differences among the three different land use types (livestock-poultry-grassland coupling plots (LP), grassland-mowing plots (GM), cattle and sheep grazing plots (CS)), two years (2019 and 2020) and their interaction effects

调查项目 Item	指标 Index	处理 Treatment	年份 Year	处理×年份 Treatment × year
羊草植株 Leymus chinensis individual	叶绿素a含量 Chl a content	150.00^*	1.05	4.06
	叶绿素b含量 Chl b content	23.84^*	0.79	1.36
	比叶面积 SLA	8.85^*	2.07	0.09
	叶片碳含量 C_leaf content	1.38	0.86	0.56
	叶片氮含量 N_leaf content	57.36^*	24.81^*	6.11^*
	叶片磷含量 P_leaf content	113.99^*	0.06	5.72^*
羊草种群 L. chinensis population	重要值 IV	147.07^*	17.38^*	12.52^*
	叶面积指数 LAI	153.51^*	45.40^*	11.73^*
	地上生物量 PAB	269.09^*	55.67^*	10.31^*
羊草群落 L. chinensis community	物种数量 Species number	8.19^*	0.89	5.04^*
	盖度 Coverage	197.99^*	4.85^*	2.74
	地上生物量 CAB	368.51^*	49.73^*	2.56
土壤性状 Soil property	pH	2.12	1.17	0.39
	含水量 SWC	0.25	0.06	1.60
	硝态氮含量 NO- 3-N content	49.90^*	0.16	0.32
	铵态氮含量 NH+ 4-N content	5.42^*	17.63^*	3.41
	速效磷含量 SAP content	48.03^*	30.46^*	4.20^*

Fig. 2 Comparison of the important values (IV) (A), leaf area index (LAI) (B) and aboveground biomass (PAB) (C) of Leymus chinensis population in livestock-poultry-grassland coupling plots (LP), grassland-mowing plots (GM) and cattle and sheep grazing plots (CS) (mean ± SD). Different lowercase letters indicate significant difference among different land use types (p < 0.05).

Fig. 3 Comparison of the species richness (A), coverage (B) and aboveground biomass (CAB) (C) of plant communities in livestock-poultry-grassland coupling plots (LP), grassland-mowing plots (GM) and cattle and sheep grazing plots (CS) (mean ± SD). Different lowercase letters indicate significant difference among different land use types (p < 0.05).

Fig. 4 Comparison of soil pH (A) and soil water content (SWC) (B) in livestock-poultry-grassland coupling plots (LP), grassland-mowing plots (GM) and cattle and sheep grazing plots (CS) (mean ± SD). Same lowercase letters indicate non-significant difference among different land use types (p > 0.05).

Fig. 5 Comparison of soil NO3--N content (A), soil NH4+-N content (B) and soil available phosphorus (SAP) content (C) in livestock-poultry-grassland coupling plots (LP), grassland-mowing plots (GM) and cattle and sheep grazing plots (CS) (mean ± SD). Different lowercase letters indicate significant difference among different land use types (p < 0.05).

Table 2 Correlation analysis between plant community characteristics and population characteristics of Leymus chinensis

指标 Index		羊草种群 L. chinensis population
指标 Index		重要值 IV	叶面积指数 LAI	地上生物量 PAB
羊草植物群落 L. chinensis community	物种丰富度 Species richness	-0.54^*	-0.09	-0.16
	盖度 Coverage	0.87^*	0.93^*	0.82^*
	地上生物量 CAB	0.82^*	0.91^*	0.95^*

Table 3 Correlation analysis between population characteristics of Leymus chinensis and soil properties

指标 Index		pH	含水量 SWC	硝态氮含量 NO- 3-N content	铵态氮含量 NH+ 4-N content	速效磷含量 SAP content
羊草种群 L. chinensis population	地上生物量 PAB	-0.22	0.09	0.62^**	-0.02	0.66^**
	叶面积指数 LAI	-0.15	0.13	0.85^**	0.16	0.84^**
	重要值 IV	-0.26	0.16	0.59^**	0.28	0.75^**
羊草植株 L. chinensis individual	叶绿素a含量 Chl a content	-0.19	0.05	0.87^**	0.14	0.85^**
	叶绿素b含量 Chl b content	-0.27	0.18	0.54^*	0.15	0.71^**
	比叶面积 SLA	-0.18	0.15	0.61^**	0.24	0.64^**
	叶片碳含量 C_leaf content	0.27	-0.01	-0.28	0.09	-0.30
	叶片氮含量 N_leaf content	-0.10	0.08	0.81^**	0.08	0.79^**
	叶片磷含量 P_leaf content	-0.22	0.01	0.79^**	0.29	0.90^**

References 27

[1]	Bai X, Cheng JH, Zheng SX, Zhan SX, Bai YF (2014). Ecophysiological responses of Leymus chinensis to nitrogen and phosphorus additions in a typical steppe. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 38, 103-115.
	[白雪, 程军回, 郑淑霞, 詹书侠, 白永飞 (2014). 典型草原建群种羊草对氮磷添加的生理生态响应. 植物生态学报, 38, 103-115.] DOI
[2]	Bai Y, Wu J, Clark CM, Naeem S, Pan Q, Huang J, Zhang L, Han X (2010). Tradeoffs and thresholds in the effects of nitrogen addition on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: evidence from Inner Mongolia Grasslands. Global Change Biology, 16, 358-372.
[3]	Chen HY, Zhang JH, Huang YM, Gong JR (2014). Traits related to carbon sequestration of common plant species in a Stipa grandis steppe in Nei Mongol under different land-uses. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 38, 821-832.
	[陈慧颖, 张景慧, 黄永梅, 龚吉蕊 (2014). 内蒙古大针茅草原常见植物在不同土地利用方式下的固碳相关属性. 植物生态学报, 38, 821-832.] DOI
[4]	Chen SP, Bai YF, Zhang LX, Han XG (2005). Comparing physiological responses of two dominant grass species to nitrogen addition in Xilin River Basin of China. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 53, 65-75.
[5]	Chen WQ, Zhang YJ, Mai XH, Shen Y (2016). Multiple mechanisms contributed to the reduced stability of Inner Mongolia grassland ecosystem following nitrogen enrichment. Plant and Soil, 409, 283-296.
[6]	Chen ZZ (1987). Preliminary analysis of nitrogen cycle in Baiyinxile Pasture ecosystem in Inner Mongolia and its ecological strategy. Rural Eco-Environment, 3(2), 16-20.
	[陈佐忠 (1987). 内蒙古白音锡勒牧场生态系统氮素循环的初步分析与其生态对策的探讨. 农村生态环境, 3(2), 16-20.]
[7]	Cui EQ, Lu RL, Xu XN, Sun HF, Qiao Y, Ping JY, Qiu SY, Lin YH, Bao JH, Yong YT, Zheng ZM, Yan ER, Xia JY (2022). Soil phosphorus drives plant trait variations in a mature subtropical forest. Global Change Biology, 28, 3310-3320. DOI PMID
[8]	Dong M (1996). Survey, Observation and Analysis of Terrestrial Biocommunities. Standards Press of China, Beijing.
	[董鸣 (1996). 陆地生物群落调查观测与分析. 中国标准出版社, 北京.]
[9]	Editorial Committee of Flora of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences (1987). Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae: Tomus 9(3). Science Press, Beijing.
	[中国科学院中国植物志编辑委员会 (1987). 中国植物志: 第九卷第三分册. 科学出版社, 北京.]
[10]	Hou DJ, Lu SZ, Wang J, Guo K (2020). Response of aboveground plant functional traits of Leymus chinensis to litter accumulation in fenced grasslands. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 40, 6522-6531.
	[侯东杰, 陆帅志, 王静, 郭柯(2020). 典型草原围封后羊草地上功能性状对枯落物累积的响应. 生态学报, 40, 6522-6531.]
[11]	Huang J, Yu H, Lin H, Zhang Y, Searle EB, Yuan Z (2016). Phosphorus amendment mitigates nitrogen addition-induced phosphorus limitation in two plant species in a desert steppe, China. Plant and Soil, 399, 221-232.
[12]	Kang L, Han XG, Zhang ZB, Sun OJ (2007). Grassland ecosystems in China: review of current knowledge and research advancement. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 362, 997-1008.
[13]	Li D, Kang S, Zhao MY, Zhang Q, Ren HJ, Ren J, Zhou JM, Wang Z, Wu RJ, Niu JM (2016). Relationships between soil nutrients and plant functional traits in different degradation stages of Leymus chinensis steppe in Nei Mongol, China. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 40, 991-1002.
	[李丹, 康萨如拉, 赵梦颖, 张庆, 任海娟, 任婧, 周俊梅, 王珍, 吴仁吉, 牛建明 (2016). 内蒙古羊草草原不同退化阶段土壤养分与植物功能性状的关系. 植物生态学报, 40, 991-1002.] DOI
[14]	Liu ZL, Wang W, Hao DY, Liang CZ (2002). Probes on the degeneration and recovery succession mechanisms of Inner Mongolia steppe. Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment, 16, 84-91.
	[刘钟龄, 王炜, 郝敦元, 梁存柱 (2002). 内蒙古草原退化与恢复演替机理的探讨. 干旱区资源与环境, 16, 84-91.]
[15]	Pan JJ, Ammerman D, Mitchell RJ (2011a). Nutrient amendments in a temperate grassland have greater negative impacts on early season and exotic plant species. Plant Ecology, 212, 853-864.
[16]	Pan QM, Bai YF, Han XG, Yang JC (2005). Effects of nitrogen additions on Leymus chinensis population in typical steppe of Inner Mongolia. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica, 29, 311-317.
	[潘庆民, 白永飞, 韩兴国, 杨景成 (2005). 氮素对内蒙古典型草原羊草种群的影响. 植物生态学报, 29, 311-317.] DOI
[17]	Pan QM, Bai YF, Wu JG, Han XG (2011b). Hierarchical plant responses and diversity loss after nitrogen addition: testing three functionally-based hypotheses in the Inner Mongolia grassland. PLoS ONE, 6, e20078. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020078.
[18]	Ren WB, Hu NN, Hou XY, Zhang JZ, Guo HQ, Liu ZY, Kong LQ, Wu ZN, Wang H, Li XL (2017). Long-term overgrazing-induced memory decreases photosynthesis of clonal offspring in a perennial grassland plant. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8, 419. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00419.
[19]	Su H, Liu W, Xu H, Yang JC, Su BY, Zhang XJ, Wang RX, Li YG (2018). Introducing chicken farming into traditional ruminant-grazing dominated production systems for promoting ecological restoration of degraded rangeland in Northern China. Land Degradation & Development, 29, 240-249.
[20]	Su H, Su BY, Xu H, Zhang XJ, Li YG (2019). Exploration of livestock-poultry-grassland systems: the influences of chicken farming on plant community in degraded grasslands. Scientia Sinica (Vitae), 49, 761-772.
	[苏华, 苏本营, 许宏, 张秀杰, 李永庚 (2019). 畜禽草耦合模式探索——牧鸡对退化草地植物物种多样性的影响. 中国科学: 生命科学, 49, 761-772.]
[21]	Su H, Xu H, Su BY, Li YG (2020). Effects of nutrient addition on the functional traits of Melilotus officinalis growing in a degraded grassland. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 44, 926-938.
	[苏华, 许宏, 苏本营, 李永庚 (2020). 养分添加对退化草地豆科植物草木犀功能性状的影响. 植物生态学报, 44, 926-938.]
[22]	Su H, Xu H, Su BY, Liu W, Cao YF, Li YG (2023). Macrocyclic lactone residues in cattle dung result in a sharp decline in the population of dung beetles in the rangelands of Northern China. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 356, 108621. DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2023.108621.
[23]	Wu E, Xia QM, Gao W, Xing Q (2006). Problems and solutions of phosphorus nutrition in natural grassland of Inner Mongolia. Inner Mongolia Prataculture, 18(3), 4-7.
	[乌恩, 夏庆梅, 高娃, 邢旗 (2006). 内蒙古天然草地磷素营养问题及其解决途径. 内蒙古草业, 18(3), 4-7.]
[24]	Xu H, Su H, Su BY, Han XG, Biswas DK, Li YG (2014). Restoring the degraded grassland and improving sustainability of grassland ecosystem through chicken farming: a case study in Northern China. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 186, 115-123.
[25]	Yang YT, Chen ZF, Xu BC, Wei JQ, Zhu XX, Yao HB, Wen ZM (2022). Using trait-based methods to study the response of grassland to fertilization in the grassland in semiarid areas in the Loess Plateau of China. Plants, 11, 2045. DOI: 10.3390/plants11152045.
[26]	Yi Y, Shi MC, Wu J, Yang N, Zhang C, Yi XD (2023). Spatio-temporal patterns and driving forces of desertification in Otindag Sandy Land, Inner Mongolia, China, in recent 30 years. Remote Sensing, 15, 279. DOI: 10.3390/rs15010279.
[27]	Zhang JH, Huang YM, Chen HY, Yang HY (2016). Effect of disturbance removal on leaf functional traits of plants in the Inner Mongolia steppe. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 36, 5902-5911.
	[张景慧, 黄永梅, 陈慧颖, 杨涵越 (2016) 去除干扰对内蒙古典型草原植物叶片功能属性的影响. 生态学报, 36, 5902-5911.]