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Journal of Biological Sciences

Year: 2014 | Volume: 14 | Issue: 4 | Page No.: 311-316
DOI: 10.3923/jbs.2014.311.316
Relationship between Soil Physicochemical Properties and Herbage Mass of Alpine Rangelands in Southern Qinghai, China from 2004 to 2012
Sachiko Idota, Jiahua Yang, Manabu Tobisa, Xiaoqin Li, Guomei Li, Rende Song, Haizhu Li, Nobumi Hasegawa, Masahiro Tasumi, Naoyuki Yamamoto, Aya Nishiwaki and Yasuyuki Ishii

Abstract: Yak (Bos grunniens) are commonly grazed on the alpine rangeland (3970 to 4160 m above sea level) of Yushu, southern Qinghai, China. The rangeland, comprising our research site, experiences a typical continental climate with a mean annual temperature of 4.1°C and annual precipitation of 350 mm. Aboveground herbage Dry Matter (DM) was found to vary among sampling locations, ranging from 40 to 744 g m-2 and from 88 to 501 g m-2, in 2004 and 2012, respectively. Over the previous decade from 2004 to 2012, soil pH was observed to decline to near-neutral values (pH 6.5 to 8.2), while available phosphoric acid (Av-P) increased to 36 to 100 mg kg-1. Plant coverage was positively correlated (p<0.05) with soil Total Nitrogen (TN) and cation content in 2012. Soil fertility of the site remained constant over the 2004-2012 period in terms of soil pH, electric conductivity, Av-P, TN and total carbon. It is, thus, concluded that the soil fertility of the research site has not been negatively affected by extensive yak-grazing over the previous decade.

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How to cite this article
Sachiko Idota, Jiahua Yang, Manabu Tobisa, Xiaoqin Li, Guomei Li, Rende Song, Haizhu Li, Nobumi Hasegawa, Masahiro Tasumi, Naoyuki Yamamoto, Aya Nishiwaki and Yasuyuki Ishii, 2014. Relationship between Soil Physicochemical Properties and Herbage Mass of Alpine Rangelands in Southern Qinghai, China from 2004 to 2012. Journal of Biological Sciences, 14: 311-316.

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