ArticlePhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2012
Impact of grazing intensity on seasonal variations in soil organic carbon and soil CO2 efflux in two semiarid grasslands in southern Botswana.
Article in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 91 citations in OpenAlex.
- Spatial organisation of fungi in soil biocrusts of the Kalahari is related to bacterial community structure and may indicate ecological functions of fungi in drylands.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- Grazing rest during spring regreening period promotes the ecological restoration of degraded alpine meadow vegetation through enhanced plant photosynthesis and respiration.Frontiers in plant science · 2022Article
- Seasonal Variation in Soil and Herbage COFrontiers in plant science · 2022Article
- Carbon stock estimation of mixed-age date palm (Heliyon · 2022Article
- Tibetan sheep grazing modifies rodent density and their interactions effect on GHG emissions of alpine meadow.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Small-Scale Spatial Heterogeneity of Photosynthetic Fluorescence Associated with Biological Soil Crust Succession in the Tengger Desert, China.Microbial ecology · 2019Article
- Habitat-dependent composition of bacterial and fungal communities in biological soil crusts from Oman.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Critical review of the impacts of grazing intensity on soil organic carbon storage and other soil quality indicators in extensively managed grasslands.Agriculture, ecosystems & environment · 2018Review
- Microbial Nursery Production of High-Quality Biological Soil Crust Biomass for Restoration of Degraded Dryland Soils.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2017Article
- Improvement of physical, chemical, and biological properties of aridisol from Botswana by the incorporation of torrefied biomass.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Biocrusts modulate warming and rainfall exclusion effects on soil respiration in a semi-arid grassland.Soil biology & biochemistry · 2015Article
- Changes in biocrust cover drive carbon cycle responses to climate change in drylands.Global change biology · 2013Article
- It is getting hotter in here: determining and projecting the impacts of global environmental change on drylands.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2012Article
- Lessons from community-based payment for ecosystem service schemes: from forests to rangelands.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2012Article
- Warming reduces the growth and diversity of biological soil crusts in a semi-arid environment: implications for ecosystem structure and functioning.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2012Article
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are an important source of organic carbon, and affect a range of ecosystem functions in arid and semiarid environments. Yet the impact of grazing disturbance on crust properties and soil CO(2) efflux remain poorly studied, particularly in African ecosystems. The effects of burial under wind-blown sand, disaggregation and removal of BSCs on seasonal variations in soil CO(2) efflux, soil organic carbon, chlorophyll a and scytonemin were investigated at two sites in the Kalahari of southern Botswana. Field experiments were employed to isolate CO(2) efflux originating from BSCs in order to estimate the C exchange within the crust. Organic carbon was not evenly distributed through the soil profile but concentrated in the BSC. Soil CO(2) efflux was higher in Kalahari Sand than in calcrete soils, but rates varied significantly with seasonal changes in moisture and temperature. BSCs at both sites were a small net sink of C to the soil. Soil CO(2) efflux was significantly higher in sand soils where the BSC was removed, and on calcrete where the BSC was buried under sand. The BSC removal and burial under sand also significantly reduced chlorophyll a, organic carbon and scytonemin. Disaggregation of the soil crust, however, led to increases in chlorophyll a and organic carbon. The data confirm the importance of BSCs for C cycling in drylands and indicate intensive grazing, which destroys BSCs through trampling and burial, will adversely affect C sequestration and storage. Managed grazing, where soil surfaces are only lightly disturbed, would help maintain a positive carbon balance in African drylands.
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