Articles | Volume 7, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-7-55-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-7-55-2016
Research article
 | 
15 Jan 2016
Research article |  | 15 Jan 2016

Grazing effects on soil characteristics and vegetation of grassland in northern China

Z. Wang, D. A. Johnson, Y. Rong, and K. Wang

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Short summary
Grazing increased diversity, but heavy grazing decreased aboveground biomass and increased the non-grass component. Overgrazing homogenized soil characteristics at a 10m scale. Therefore, moderate grazing was recommended as the preferred management alternative for grasslands in northern China because of increased plant diversity without negative consequences related to decreased forage quality forage quantity and soil heterogeneity in northern China's grasslands.