13C pulse labeling reveals the effects of grazing on partitioning of assimilated carbon in an alpine meadow

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2019.0009

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims In this study, we aim to understand how grazing would influence the partitioning of assimilated carbon in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.
Methods Measurements on carbon partitioning were made in a long-term grazing experiment consisting of light winter grazing and enclosure treatments. The ¹³C tracer method was used to determine the partitioning and transportation of assimilated carbon into different carbon pools.
Important findings On the 30th day following the labeling, shoots retained 32% of the initial ¹³C, and roots and soil together retained 22%; about 30% of the initial ¹³C were lost through shoot respiration. There were significant differences in the retention in soil, and the respiratory emission from soil, of assimilated carbon between the light grazing and enclosure treatments. Under light grazing, plants invested more assimilated carbon into the root and soil carbon pools. The rate of ¹³C transportation from shoots to soil and the rate of respiratory ¹³C release from soil were both greater, and the retention of ¹³C in and respiratory release from shoots were lower, under light grazing than under enclosure. Our results suggest that grazing is an important mechanism for maintenance of grassland. Grazing may cause changes in the structure and functioning of ecosystems, and induce large variations in soil carbon storage. Alpine meadow in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is amongst the grasslands with highest elevation in the world, and has large soil carbon storage due to low temperatures. We found no difference in soil C stocks between light grazing and enclosure treatments, indicating that light grazing would have no significant impact on soil carbon stocks.

http://jtp.cnki.net/bilingual/detail/html/ZWSB201907003

Key words: grazing, ¹³C isotope labeling, alpine meadow, partitioning of assimilated carbon

CHEN Jin, SONG Ming-Hua, LI Yi-Kang. ¹³C pulse labeling reveals the effects of grazing on partitioning of assimilated carbon in an alpine meadow[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2019, 43(7): 576-584.

Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX

URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2019.0009

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2019/V43/I7/576

Figures/Tables 5

Fig. 1 Carbon (C) stock in soil (A) and plants (B) in light winter grazed (LWG) and fence-enclosed (Encl) alpine meadows and in plant shoot (C) and root (D) (mean ± SE). * indicates significant difference between grazed and ungrazed plots (p < 0.05).

Fig. 2 Cumulative soil CO2-C efflux over 30 days following 13C labelling in light winter grazed (LWG) and fence-enclosed (Encl) alpine meadows(mean ± SE). * indicates significant difference between grazed and ungrazed plots (p < 0.05).

Fig. 3 13C dynamics in shoots and roots and 13C losses by shoot respiration during a 30 day period following 13C labelling in light winter grazed (LWG) and fence-enclosed (Encl) alpine meadows (mean ± SE). * indicates significant difference between grazed and ungrazed plots (p < 0.05).

Fig. 4 13C dynamics in roots and soil during a 30 day period following 13C labelling in light winter grazed (LWG) and fence- enclosed (Encl) alpine meadows (mean ± SE). * indicates significant difference between grazed and ungrazed plots (p < 0.05).

Fig. 5 13CO2-C efflux rate in soil of light winter grazed (LWG) and fence-enclosed (Encl) alpine meadows during a 30 day period following 13C labelling (mean ± SE). * indicates significant difference between grazed and ungrazed plots (p < 0.05).

References 42

[1]	Burenbayin ( 2012). Effect of Different Grazing Seasons on the Plant Diversity and Productivity in Kobresia Alpine Meadow. Master degree dissertation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing.
	[ 布仁巴音 ( 2012). 不同季节放牧对高寒草甸植物群落多样性和生产力的影响. 硕士学位论文, 中国科学院研究生院, 北京.]
[2]	Cao GM, Tang YH, Mo WH, Wang YS, Li YN, Zhao XQ ( 2004). Grazing intensity alters soil respiration in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 36, 237-243. DOI URL PMID
[3]	Chinese Soil Taxonomy Research Group ( 1995). Chinese Soil Taxonomy. Science Press, Beijing. 58-147.
	[ 中国土壤分类学研究组 ( 1995). 中国土壤分类. 科学出版社, 北京. 58-147.]
[4]	Cingolani AM, Noy-Meir I, Díaz S ( 2005). Grazing effects on rangeland diversity: A synthesis of contemporary models. Ecological Applications, 15, 757-773. DOI URL
[5]	Doescher PS, Svejcar TJ, Jaindl RG ( 1997). Gas exchange of Idaho fescue in response to defoliation and grazing history. Journal of Range Management, 50, 285-289. DOI URL
[6]	Gao YH, Zeng XY, Schumann M, Chen H ( 2011). Effectiveness of exclosures on restoration of degraded alpine meadow in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Arid Land Research and Management, 25, 164-175. DOI URL
[7]	Gao YZ, Giese M, Lin S, Sattelmacher B, Zhao Y, Brueck H ( 2008). Belowground net primary productivity and biomass allocation of a grassland in Inner Mongolia is affected by grazing intensity. Plant and Soil, 307, 41-50. DOI URL
[8]	Haferkamp MR, MacNeil MD ( 2004). Grazing effects on carbon dynamics in the northern mixed-grass prairie. Environmental Management, 3(S1), S462-S474.
[9]	Hafner S, Unteregelsbacher S, Seeber E, Lena B, Xu XL, Li XG, Guggenberger G, Miehe G, Kuzyakov Y ( 2012). Effect of grazing on carbon stocks and assimilate partitioning in a Tibetan montane pasture revealed by ¹³CO₂ pulse labeling . Global Change Biology, 18, 528-538. DOI URL
[10]	Hamblin A, Tennant D, Perry MW ( 1990). The cost of stress: Dry matter partitioning changes with seasonal supply of water and nitrogen to dryland wheat. Plant and Soil, 122, 47-58.
[11]	Herzschuh U, Birks HJB, Ni J, Zhao Y, Liu H, Liu X, Grosse G ( 2010). Holocene land-cover changes on the Tibetan Plateau. The Holocene, 20(1), 91-104. DOI URL
[12]	IPCC ( Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) ( 2001). Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Cambridge University Press, New York, USA. 881.
[13]	Klumpp K, Soussana JF ( 2009). Using functional traits to predict grassland ecosystem change: A mathematical test of the response-and-effect trait approach. Global Change Biology, 15, 2921-2934. DOI URL
[14]	Kuzyakov Y, Domanski G ( 2000). Carbon input by plants into the soil. Review. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 163, 421-431. DOI URL PMID
[15]	Lettens S, Orshoven J, Wesemael B, Muys B, Perrin D ( 2005). Soil organic carbon changes in landscape units of Belgium between 1960 and 2000 with reference to 1990. Global Change Biology, 11, 2128-2140. DOI URL
[16]	McNaughton SJ ( 1979). Grazing as an optimization process: Grass-ungulate relationships in the Serengeti. The American Naturalist, 113, 691-703. DOI URL
[17]	McNaughton SJ ( 1985). Ecology of a grazing ecosystem: The Serengeti. Ecological Monographs, 55, 259-294. DOI URL PMID
[18]	McNaughton SJ ( 1993). Grasses and grazers, science and management. Ecological Applications, 3, 17-20. DOI URL PMID
[19]	McNaughton SJ, Ruess RW, Seagle SW ( 1988). Large mammals and process dynamics in African ecosystems. BioScience, 38, 794-800. DOI URL PMID
[20]	Menke J, Bradford GE ( 1992). Rangelands. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 42, 141-163. DOI URL PMID
[21]	Milchunas DG, Lauenroth WK ( 1993). Quantitative effects of grazing on vegetation and soils over a global range of environments. Ecological Monographs, 63, 327-366. DOI URL
[22]	Morris JT, Jensen A ( 1998). The carbon balance of grazed and non-grazed Spartina anglica saltmarshes at Skallingen, Denmark. Journal of Ecology, 86, 229-242. DOI URL
[23]	Ni J ( 2002). Carbon storage in grasslands of China. Journal of Arid Environments, 50, 205-218. DOI URL PMID
[24]	Oesterheld M, Loreti J, Semmartin M, Paruelo JM ( 1999). Grazing, fire, and climate effects on primary productivity of grasslands and savannas. In: Walker LR ed. Ecosystems of Disturbed Ground. Elsevier, New York, USA. 287-306.
[25]	Rangel-Castro JI, Prosser JI, Scrimgeour CM, Smith P, Ostle N, Ineson P, Meharg A, Killham K ( 2004). Carbon flow in an upland grassland: Effect of liming on the flux of recently photosynthesized carbon to rhizosphere soil. Global Change Biology, 10, 2100-2108. DOI URL
[26]	Rogiers N, Eugster W, Furger M, Siegwolf R ( 2005). Effect of land management on ecosystem carbon fluxes at a subalpine grassland site in the Swiss Alps. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 80, 187-203. DOI URL
[27]	Scurlock JMO, Hall DO ( 1998). The global carbon sink: A grassland perspective. Global Change Biology, 4, 229-233. DOI URL PMID
[28]	Song M, Guo Y, Yu F, Zhang X, Cao G, Cornelissen JHC ( 2018). Shifts in priming partly explain impacts of long-term nitrogen input in different chemical forms on soil organic carbon storage. Global Change Biology, 24, 4160-4172. DOI URL PMID
[29]	Song MH, Yu FH, Ouyang H, Cao GM, Xu XL, Cornelissen JHC ( 2012). Different inter-annual responses to availability and form of nitrogen explain species coexistence in an alpine meadow community after release from grazing. Global Change Biology, 18, 3100-3111. DOI URL PMID
[30]	Sun Y, Xu XL, Kuzyakov Y ( 2014). Mechanisms of rhizosphere priming effects and their ecological significance . Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 38, 62-75. DOI URL
	[ 孙悦, 徐兴良, KUZYAKOV Yakov ( 2014). 根际激发效应的发生机制及其生态重要性. 植物生态学报, 38, 62-75.] DOI URL
[31]	Thomas AD ( 2012). Impact of grazing intensity on seasonal variations in soil organic carbon and soil CO₂ efflux in two semiarid grasslands in southern Botswana. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 367, 3076-3086. DOI URL PMID
[32]	UNEP ( 1993). Agenda 21 Rio Declaration. United Nations, New York, USA.
[33]	Walkley A, Black IA ( 1934). An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science, 37, 29-38. DOI URL
[34]	Ward SE, Bardgett RD, McNamara NP, Adamson JK, Ostle NJ ( 2007). Long-term consequences of grazing and burning on northern peatland carbon dynamics. Ecosystems, 10, 1069-1083. DOI URL
[35]	White RP, Murray S, Rohweder M ( 2000). Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems: Grassland Ecosystems. World Resources Institute, Washington DC.
[36]	Wilsey BJ, Parent G, Roulet NT, Moore TR, Potvin C ( 2002). Tropical pasture carbon cycling: Relationships between C source/sink strength, above-ground biomass and grazing. Ecology Letters, 5, 367-376. DOI URL
[37]	Wu GL, Liu ZH, Zhang L, Chen JM, Hu TM ( 2010). Long-term fencing improved soil properties and soil organic carbon storage in an alpine swamp meadow of western China. Plant and Soil, 332, 331-337. DOI URL
[38]	Xie XL, Sun B, Zhou HZ, Li ZP, Li AB ( 2004). Organic carbon density and storage in soils of China and spatial analysis. Acta Pedologica Sinica, 41, 35-43.
	[ 解宪丽, 孙波, 周慧珍, 李忠佩, 李安波 ( 2004). 中国土壤有机碳密度和储量的估算与空间分布分析. 土壤学报, 41, 35-43.]
[39]	Yang YH, Mohammat A, Feng JM, Zhou R, Fang JY ( 2007). Storage, patterns and environmental controls of soil organic carbon in China. Biogeochemistry, 84, 131-141. DOI URL PMID
[40]	Zheng D, Zhang QS, Wu SH ( 2000). Mountain Geoecology and Sustainable Development of the Tibetan Plateau. Springer, Dordrecht. 15-16.
[41]	Zhou XM, Wang QJ, Zhao XQ ( 2001). Chinese Kobresia Meadows. Science Press, Beijing.
	[ 周兴民, 王启基, 赵新全 ( 2001). 中国嵩草草甸. 科学出版社, 北京.]
[42]	Zibilske LM ( 1994). Carbon mineralization. In Weaver RW, Angle S, Bottomley P, Bezdicek D, Smith S, Tabatabai A, Wollum A eds. Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2—‌Microbiological and Biochemical Properties. Soil Science Society of America, Wisconsin, USA. 835-863. DOI URL PMID

¹³C pulse labeling reveals the effects of grazing on partitioning of assimilated carbon in an alpine meadow

FullText

PDF (PC)

Knowledge

Cited

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

Figures/Tables 5

References 42

Related Articles 15

Recommended Articles

Metrics

Comments

[1]	Li Yi, Huang Huan, Chao ZHAO Yan, CHEN Li-Tong. Effects of nutrient addition on community diversity and composition of alpine meadows across elevations [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2026, 50(预发表): 0-.
[2]	JIANG Kang-Wei, LÜ Cheng, WANG Ya-Fei, LI Hong, ZHANG Zhi-Qing, WANG Yu, ZHANG Qing-Qing, Tuerxunnayi REYIMU. Effects of soil arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities on soil multifunctionality under grazing disturbance [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2026, 50(3): 685-699.
[3]	ZHENG Zi-Yi, CHEN Jiang-Hui, LIU Hui-Ying. Climate warming increases root exudation rates of dominant species in alpine meadow on the Qingzang Plateau [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(9): 1363-1373.
[4]	LÜ Wei-Dong, DONG Quan-Min, SUN Cai-Cai, LIU Wen-Ting, LIU Yu-Zhen, ZHANG Zhen-Xiang, LI Meng-Qi, YANG Xiao-Xia. Effects of yak and Tibetan sheep grazing on plant and microbial carbon and nitrogen pools in alpine grassland [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(9): 1424-1433.
[5]	ZHANG Fa-Wei, LI Hong-Qin, ZHU Jing-Bin, FAN Bo, ZHOU Hua-Kun, LI Ying-Nian, LIANG Nai-Shen. Response of aboveground and belowground carbon storage to nitrogen addition and precipitation change in an alpine meadow ecosystem [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(9): 1399-1409.
[6]	CUI Dong-Qing, TIAN Chen, SONG Hui-Min, LU Xiao-Ming, SA Qi-Ri, XU Guo-Qing, YANG Pei-Zhi, BAI Yong-Fei, TIAN Jian-Qing. Response mechanisms of rhizosphere bacterial community diversity and functional group composition of dominant plants in typical grasslands to long-term grazing [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(7): 1163-1176.
[7]	MA Teng-Fei, HAO Jie, DIAO Hua-Jie, NING Ya-Nan, $\boxed{\hbox{WANG Chang-Hui}}$ , DONG Kuan-Hu. Seasonal variations of soil inorganic nitrogen contents and their responses to changing grazing intensity in grasslands of an agro-pastoral ecotone in northern Shanxi, China [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(6): 965-974.
[8]	WANG Juan, ZHANG Deng-Shan, XIAO Yuan-Ming, PEI Quan-Bang, WANG Bo, FAN Bo, ZHOU Guo-Ying. Relationships between the characteristics of root exudate and environmental factors in the alpine steppe following long-term grazing exclusion [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(4): 596-609.
[9]	GE Xiao-Cai, LI Jing-Long, SUN Jun, WU Pan-Pan, HU Dan-Dan, CHENG Dong-Liang, ZHONG Quan-Lin. Characteristics of soil respiration components and influencing factors in the subalpine meadows of Wuyi Mountain [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(3): 502-512.
[10]	LIU Yang, LIU Ao, SONG Xuan-Zi, YANG Yun, AN Bai-Heng, HAN Meng-Jiao, Banma-Caigeer , Migmar-Wangdwei. Effects of plateau pika disturbance on the niche and interspecific associations of major plant species in alpine rangelands [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(12): 2054-2068.
[11]	XU Jia-Xin, XIAO Yuan-Ming, WANG Xiao-Yun, WANG Wen-Ying, MA Yu-Hua, LI Qiang-Feng, ZHOU Guo-Ying. Effects of microbial fertilizer and nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer backfilling on soil physicochemical properties and enzyme activities in degraded alpine meadows [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(1): 159-172.
[12]	LI Tian-Qi, CAO Ji-Rong, LIU Xiao-Ni, TIAN Si-Hui, LAN Bo-Lan, QIU Ying, XUE Jian-Guo, ZHANG Qian, CHU Jian-Min, ZHANG Shu-Min, HUANG Jian-Hui, LI Ling-Hao, WANG Qi-Bing. Response of soil enzyme stoichiometry to grazing and identification of soil limiting nutrients in typical steppe of Nei Mongol, China [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(1): 19-29.
[13]	WANG Wen-Ying, XIAO Yuan-Ming, WANG Xiao-Yun, XU Jia-Xin, MA Yu-Hua, LI Qiang-Feng, ZHOU Guo-Ying. Relationship between plant diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality in degraded alpine meadows under multifunctional group species combination models [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(1): 103-117.
[14]	ZHANG Hui, ZHAO Yun-Peng, LIU Xiao-Chen, GUO Zeng-Peng, HU Guo-Rui, FENG Yan-Hao, MA Miao-Jun. Dynamics of soil seed bank and its role in plant community regeneration during alpine meadow degradation [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(1): 74-82.
[15]	MA Dong-Feng, JIA Cun-Zhi, WANG Xue-Peng, ZHAO Peng-Peng, HU Xiao-Wen. Effect of multi-species grouping on restoration of alpine degraded meadows in Gannan, China [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(1): 93-102.