Management of re-established artificial grasslands via grazing or fencing: Effects on plant and soil properties

Abstract

Background: Revegetation is widely used in degraded grassland restoration. However, the responses of grassland plant and soil properties to fencing (FC) and grazing (GZ) remain poorly understood, especially the vegetation–soil coupling coordination (Cd) mechanism. This study explored single and interactive responses of vegetation and soil properties under FC and GZ after revegetation. Methods: A field experiment with FC and GZ treatments was conducted in Loess Plateau reconstructed grassland, with degraded grassland as the control (CK). Plant and soil properties and Cd were analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and principal component analysis (PCA). Results: The order of soil comprehensive evaluation (SCE) was GZ > FC > CK, while that of vegetation comprehensive evaluation (VCE) was FC > GZ > CK. The Cd of CK was 0.39 (mild imbalance), while the values of FC and GZ were 0.57 and 0.54, respectively (little coordination). The VCE/SCE of FC was 1.48 (soil lag type), and the values of GZ and CK were 0.69 and 0.35, respectively (vegetation lag and vegetation loss type, respectively). Conclusions: Both GZ and FC improved Cd and facilitated recovery. However, degraded grasslands should be restored via moderate grazing for sustainable ecological and economic development.