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Journal of Arid Land
Journal of Arid Land  2026, Vol. 18 Issue (2): 322-338    DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridl.2026.02.006    
Research article     
Influence of grazing patterns on the stability of soil aggregates in semi-arid grasslands
LI Haonian1,2, MENG Ruibing1, MENG Zhongju1,2, GE Rile1,2,*(), WU Xiaolong1
1 College of Desert Control Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
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Abstract  

Global grassland degradation necessitates the identification of sustainable grazing management strategies. In semi-arid regions, grazing exclusion (GE), cold-season grazing (CG), and free grazing (FG) represent common practices in grassland ecosystems, yet the long-term ecological consequences of these patterns on plant community structure and soil aggregate stability remain inadequately elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the effects of GE, CG, and FG on soil organic carbon, soil water content, soil bulk density, soil aggregates, and vegetation indicators in Xilamuren steppe, a semi-arid grassland in northern China through field sampling and laboratory analyses in 2024. Our findings revealed that, compared to CG and FG, GE significantly enhanced aboveground and belowground biomass, species diversity, and soil physical-chemical properties in the 0-30 cm layer. The dominant plant species in GE and CG sites were Stipa krylovii, Leymus chinensis, and Agropyron cristatum, whereas Stipa krylovii, Artemisia frigida, and Leymus chinensis were predominant in FG site. Different grazing patterns led to distinct soil aggregate distributions, with >2.00 and <0.25 mm aggregates exhibiting the highest content in different soil layers depending on the grazing patterns. All grazing management strategies significantly improved soil aggregate stability, with the overall stability following the order: GE>CG>FG. Furthermore, random forest modeling identified plant species diversity, plant growth traits, and grazing patterns as the primary determinants of soil aggregate stability. Collectively, these results offer valuable insights into the sustainable management and ecological restoration of semi-arid grasslands under different grazing pressures.

Key words： soil aggregate stability      grazing patterns      grazing exclusion      species diversity      soil physical-chemical properties      semi-arid grasslands     
Received: 01 July 2025      Published: 28 February 2026
Corresponding Authors: *GE Rile (E-mail: gerile197081@126.com)
About author: First author contact:

The first and second authors contributed equally to this work.
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LI Haonian
MENG Ruibing
MENG Zhongju
GE Rile
WU Xiaolong
Cite this article:

LI Haonian, MENG Ruibing, MENG Zhongju, GE Rile, WU Xiaolong. Influence of grazing patterns on the stability of soil aggregates in semi-arid grasslands. Journal of Arid Land, 2026, 18(2): 322-338.

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http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1016/j.jaridl.2026.02.006     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2026/V18/I2/322

Fig. 1 Overview of the selected three grazing pattern sites (a-c). GE, CG, and FG represent grazing exclusion, cold-season grazing, and free grazing, respectively. The abbreviations are the same in the following figures.
Fig. 2 Vegetation density (VD; a), vegetation height (VH; b), and vegetation cover (VC; c) under different grazing patterns. Note that * and NS indicate significant relationships (P<0.05) and insignificant relationships (P>0.05) between different grazing patterns, respectively. The upper and lower boundaries of the box represent the first and third quartiles, respectively. The line in the middle of the box indicates the median of the data. The upper and lower whiskers represent the first quartile plus 1.5 times the interquartile range and the third quartile minus 1.5 times the interquartile range, respectively. Bars represent standard deviations. The abbreviations are the same in the following figures.
Fig. 3 Distribution characteristics of Shannon-Wiener index (W′; a), Simpson index (S′; b), Pielou index (E′; c), aboveground biomass (AGB; d), and belowground biomass (BGB; e) under different grazing patterns. Note that * and NS indicate significant relationships (P<0.05) and insignificant relationships (P>0.05) between different grazing patterns, respectively. The upper and lower boundaries of the box represent the first and third quartiles, respectively. The line in the middle of the box indicates the median of the data. The upper and lower whiskers represent the first quartile plus 1.5 times the interquartile range and the third quartile minus 1.5 times the interquartile range, respectively. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between grazing patterns at the same soil layer depth (P<0.05). Bars represent standard deviations. The abbreviations are the same in the following figures.
Species name Importance value
GE site CG site FG site
Stipa krylovii 0.33 0.39 0.40
Artemisia frigida 0.14 0.11 0.17
Leymus chinensis 0.27 0.18 0.17
Allium mongolicum 0.10 0.10 0.12
Artemisia annua 0.11 0.00 0.00
Astragalus membranaceus 0.12 0.08 0.10
Cleistogenes squarrosa 0.10 0.08 0.13
Agropyron cristatum 0.18 0.14 0.17
Heteropappus hispidus 0.11 0.10 0.11
Convolvulus ammannii 0.13 0.00 0.00
Juncus effusus 0.12 0.00 0.14
Medicago Sativa 0.06 0.00 0.04
Ptilotricum canescens 0.07 0.00 0.00
Caragana stenophylla 0.00 0.16 0.00
Table 1 Dominant plant species and the corresponding importance values in sampling sites with different grazing patterns
Fig. 4 Distribution characteristics of soil organic carbon (SOC; a), moisture-holding capacity (MC; b), soil water content (SWC; c), and soil bulk density (SBD; d) in the 0-30 cm soil layer under different grazing patterns. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between grazing patterns at the same soil layer depth (P<0.05). Bars mean standard deviations. The abbreviations are the same in the following figures.
Fig. 5 Distribution characteristics of soil aggregates with different particle sizes in the 0-10 cm (a), 10-20 cm (b), and 20-30 cm (c) soil layers under different grazing patterns. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between grazing patterns at the same soil layer depth (P<0.05). Bars mean standard deviations.
Fig. 6 Mean weight diameter (MWD; a), proportion of soil aggregates >0.25 mm (b), and geometric mean diameter (GWD; c) in the 0-30 cm soil layer under different grazing patterns. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between GE, CG, and FG at the same soil layer depth (P<0.05). Bars mean standard deviations. The abbreviations are the same in the following figures.
Fig. 7 Correlation analysis between soil aggregates and environmental factors. *, P≤0.05 level; **, P≤0.01 level. Red circle indicates a positive correlation, and blue circle indicates a negative correlation; the larger the circle area, the stronger the correlation.
Fig. 8 Principal component analysis (PCA) of environmental factors and soil aggregate stability. PC1 and PC2 represent the first principal component and the second principal component, respectively.
Fig. 9 Exploring the environmental factors of MWD (a), content of soil aggregates >0.25 mm (b), and GMD (c) based on the random forest model. IncMSE, percentage of increase of mean square error; *, P≤0.05 level; **, P≤0.01 level.
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