Contribution of Sheep Grazing to Plant Diversity in Natural Grasslands
Global climate change and overgrazing have led to the degradation of natural grasslands and seriously threaten the diversity of grassland plant species, as plant species richness is very sensitive to natural grassland degradation. Therefore, we conducted a sheep grazing experiment in Zinniquan pastu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/6/446 |
| _version_ | 1797488173301891072 |
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| author | Jiantao Zhao Jiamin Cao Zhaobi Che Yaya Guo Chunhui Ma Qianbing Zhang |
| author_facet | Jiantao Zhao Jiamin Cao Zhaobi Che Yaya Guo Chunhui Ma Qianbing Zhang |
| author_sort | Jiantao Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Global climate change and overgrazing have led to the degradation of natural grasslands and seriously threaten the diversity of grassland plant species, as plant species richness is very sensitive to natural grassland degradation. Therefore, we conducted a sheep grazing experiment in Zinniquan pasture on the northern slope of Xinjiang Tianshan Mountains to test the effects of grazing on plant species diversity in natural grasslands through the spatial and temporal characteristics of the foraging behavior of grazing sheep and the plant species composition on the grazing trajectories. Data on sheep grazing tracks were collected based on GPS, vegetation composition around the tracks was investigated and seeds were collected from sheep manure to determine germination rates by simulating rumen fistula uptake tests in sheep. We found that sheep grazing can bring seeds from agricultural fields to grow on natural grasslands, causing changes in plant species diversity and community structure. The results of this study provide new insights into natural grassland species restoration and offer a range of new strategies that can be applied to the management of natural grassland plant ecological restoration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:58:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5a6ab706d2f74df0b83d0364d105e896 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:58:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-5a6ab706d2f74df0b83d0364d105e8962023-11-23T16:20:12ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-06-0114644610.3390/d14060446Contribution of Sheep Grazing to Plant Diversity in Natural GrasslandsJiantao Zhao0Jiamin Cao1Zhaobi Che2Yaya Guo3Chunhui Ma4Qianbing Zhang5College of Animal Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, ChinaGlobal climate change and overgrazing have led to the degradation of natural grasslands and seriously threaten the diversity of grassland plant species, as plant species richness is very sensitive to natural grassland degradation. Therefore, we conducted a sheep grazing experiment in Zinniquan pasture on the northern slope of Xinjiang Tianshan Mountains to test the effects of grazing on plant species diversity in natural grasslands through the spatial and temporal characteristics of the foraging behavior of grazing sheep and the plant species composition on the grazing trajectories. Data on sheep grazing tracks were collected based on GPS, vegetation composition around the tracks was investigated and seeds were collected from sheep manure to determine germination rates by simulating rumen fistula uptake tests in sheep. We found that sheep grazing can bring seeds from agricultural fields to grow on natural grasslands, causing changes in plant species diversity and community structure. The results of this study provide new insights into natural grassland species restoration and offer a range of new strategies that can be applied to the management of natural grassland plant ecological restoration.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/6/446grazing itinerariesplant diversitysheep endozoochoryseed germination |
| spellingShingle | Jiantao Zhao Jiamin Cao Zhaobi Che Yaya Guo Chunhui Ma Qianbing Zhang Contribution of Sheep Grazing to Plant Diversity in Natural Grasslands Diversity grazing itineraries plant diversity sheep endozoochory seed germination |
| title | Contribution of Sheep Grazing to Plant Diversity in Natural Grasslands |
| title_full | Contribution of Sheep Grazing to Plant Diversity in Natural Grasslands |
| title_fullStr | Contribution of Sheep Grazing to Plant Diversity in Natural Grasslands |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contribution of Sheep Grazing to Plant Diversity in Natural Grasslands |
| title_short | Contribution of Sheep Grazing to Plant Diversity in Natural Grasslands |
| title_sort | contribution of sheep grazing to plant diversity in natural grasslands |
| topic | grazing itineraries plant diversity sheep endozoochory seed germination |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/6/446 |
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