Potential Soil N Mineralization in Rangeland Ecosystems with Long-Term Free Grazing and Ungrazing Regimes in Different Climates

摘要

Mountainous landscapes in Central Zagros are mainly used as grazing rangelands to feed animals and are heavily degraded. Overgrazing may impose a negative effect on rangeland productivity and sustainability through significant changes in soil properties. Soil nitrogen (N) mineralization is one of the key biological processes that might be affected by biotic and abiotic factors including range grazing regime or intensity. The primary objective of this study was to assess the effects of rangeland management (grazing and ungrazing regimes) on soil N mineralization in natural rangelands of Chaharmahal VA Bakhtiyari province. Three range management regimes including a) long-term ungrazed, b) controlled grazed and c) freely- (over)-grazed plots in a close vicinity were selected in three regions consisting of SabzKouh (protected from grazing for 18 years), Boroujen (protected from grazing for 23 years) and Sheida (protected from grazing for 2 years), and soil samples were collected from 0-15 cm depth for some physical and chemical properties. Soil N mineralization was measured under standard laboratory conditions. At SabzKouh, the effect of range management on the cumulative N mineralization and the proportion of N mineralized (%) was significant (P Scientific Publications Commission - Health Ministry Scientific Publications Commission - Science Ministry Yektaweb Company Site Keywords ?????, Academic Journal, Scientific Article, ???? ????? ??, ???? ????? ??, ???? ????? ??, ???? ????? ??, ???? ????? ??, ???? ????? ??, ???? ?? Vote ? 2015 All Rights Reserved | JWSS - Isfahan University of Technology