Responses of carbon dynamics to grazing exclusion in alpine grassland
ecosystems on the Qingzang Plateau
Abstract
In the context of “Carbon Emissions Peak” and “Carbon Neutrality”,
grazing exclusion (GE) has been applied widely to rehabilitate degraded
grasslands and increase carbon sequestration. However, on the Qingzang
Plateau (QP), the impacts of GE on carbon dynamics of alpine grasslands
are poorly understood, particularly at regional scale. Here, we
evaluated the responses of carbon sequestration to GE in different
alpine grasslands across QP to fill this knowledge gap by using
meta-analysis. Overall, the effects of GE on ecosystem carbon fractions
were dependent on GE duration, grassland types and climate factors. GE
had more obviously positive effects on carbon stock across alpine meadow
than alpine steppe. Longer duration of GE was more effective for
ecosystem carbon sequestration in alpine steppe. Annual mean
precipitation (AMP) and temperature (AMT) began to dominate ecosystem
carbon sequestration after three years of GE duration across alpine
meadow; and AMP was important climate factor limiting ecosystem carbon
sequestration in the alpine steppe. In terms of plant carbon fraction,
GE generated continuous positive effects on aboveground biomass (AGB)
with increased GE duration in alpine meadow, while the continuous
beneficial effects for AGB of alpine steppe disappeared at the 8th year
of GE duration. And no positive effects were found on belowground
biomass at the 11th year in both alpine meadow and alpine steppe. For
soil organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon, there were no obvious
trends in response to GE duration. In general, we highlighted that the
responses of different carbon fractions (plant -soil - microbe) to GE
were nonuniform at spatial and temporal scales, thereby we should adopt
different carbon management practices for sustainable development of
different grasslands.