IMPACT4SOIL OpenAire Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE) Crossref Microsoft Academic Graph CATENA Closed Access 2015-10-26 Abstract Grazing exclusion is often implemented as an effective management practice to increase the sustainability of grassland ecosystems. However, it remains unclear if grazing exclusion can improve ecosystem services related to carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) sequestration in grassland ecosystems. We investigated the effects of 11 years of grazing exclusion on plant biomass and diversity, soil properties (pH, soil water content (SWC), bulk density (BD), soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and C/N ratio), and the C and N stocks of plants and soils in a desert grassland of Northwest China. Grazing exclusion improved plant aboveground biomass and diversity, as well as SWC, SOC, and TN contents, but lowered the belowground biomass, root/shoot ratio, pH, and BD. Moreover, grazing exclusion strongly influenced the C and N stocks of the ecosystem, and the annual mean ecosystem C and N sequestration rates were 0.47 and 0.09 Mg ha − 1  yr − 1 , respectively, over 11 years of grazing exclusion. Soil C stocks were most dynamic in the top 30 cm of the soil, and N stocks mainly changed in the top 20 cm after grazing exclusion. Our results indicated that grazing exclusion is an effective measurement on improving the ecosystem C and N pools in desert steppe of Northwest China. SOIL ORGANIC C 0106 biological sciences Carbon Sequestration 550 MICROBIAL-COMMUNITY SPATIAL VARIABILITY PHYSICAL-PROPERTIES Soil Science 01 natural sciences Soil Prosperities CENTRAL ARGENTINA CARBON STORAGE PLANT-COMMUNITIES Vegetation Characteristics 580 2. Zero hunger Science & Technology Multidisciplinary PRODUCTIVITY Nitrogen Sequestration Geology Agriculture 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences 15. Life on land INNER-MONGOLIA Grazing 13. Climate action Physical Sciences Water Resources 0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries Fencing LOESS PLATEAU CHINA Life Sciences & Biomedicine Geosciences Wang, Kaibo, Deng, Lei, Ren, Zongping, Li, Jianping, Shangguan, Zhouping, 2016-02-01 journalpaper Abstract Grazing exclusion is often implemented as an effective management practice to increase the sustainability of grassland ecosystems. However, it remains unclear if grazing exclusion can improve ecosystem services related to carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) sequestration in grassland ecosystems. We investigated the effects of 11 years of grazing exclusion on plant biomass and diversity, soil properties (pH, soil water content (SWC), bulk density (BD), soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and C/N ratio), and the C and N stocks of plants and soils in a desert grassland of Northwest China. Grazing exclusion improved plant aboveground biomass and diversity, as well as SWC, SOC, and TN contents, but lowered the belowground biomass, root/shoot ratio, pH, and BD. Moreover, grazing exclusion strongly influenced the C and N stocks of the ecosystem, and the annual mean ecosystem C and N sequestration rates were 0.47 and 0.09 Mg ha − 1  yr − 1 , respectively, over 11 years of grazing exclusion. Soil C stocks were most dynamic in the top 30 cm of the soil, and N stocks mainly changed in the top 20 cm after grazing exclusion. Our results indicated that grazing exclusion is an effective measurement on improving the ecosystem C and N pools in desert steppe of Northwest China. Grazing Exclusion Significantly Improves Grassland Ecosystem C And N Pools In A Desert Steppe Of Northwest China 10.1016/j.catena.2015.10.018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2015.10.018