Little is known about how basic soil properties respond to contrasting grazing intensities in the Karoo biome, South Africa. The aim of this study was to investigate impacts of long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term (>75 years) grazing at 1.18 heads ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921 (heavy; CGH), 0.78 heads ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921 (light; CGL), and exclosure on selected soil properties. Soil samples were collected to a depth of 60 cm from the long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term experimental site of Grootfontein Agricultural Development Institute, Eastern Cape. The samples were analyzed for C, N, bulk density and infiltration rate, among others.
RESULTSGenerally, heavy and light grazing reduced soil N storage by 27.5% and 22.6%, respectively, compared with the exclosure. Animal exclusion improved water infiltration rate and C stocks significantly (P < 0.05), which was 0.128, 0.097, and 0.093 Mg ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921 yr\uffe2\uff88\uff921 for exclosure, CGL and CGH, respectively. Soil penetration resistance was higher for grazing treatments in the top 3\uffe2\uff80\uff937 cm soil layer but for exclosure at the top 1 cm soil surface.
CONCLUSIONAlthough livestock exclusion has the potential to improve C sequestration, a sufficient resting period for 1\uffe2\uff80\uff932 years followed by three consecutive grazing years at light stocking rate would be ideal for sustainable livestock production in this arid region of South Africa. \uffc2\uffa9 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
", "keywords": ["570", "Livestock", "Time Factors", "Nitrogen", "[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]", "continuous grazing", "01 natural sciences", "630", "nitrogen", "Soil", "South Africa", "arid lands", "Animals", "exclosure", "Ecosystem", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "carbon", "Feeding Behavior", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Plants", "15. Life on land", "Carbon", "6. Clean water", "[SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio]", "soil properties", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.7302"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20the%20Science%20of%20Food%20and%20Agriculture", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1002/jsfa.7302", "name": "item", "description": "10.1002/jsfa.7302", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1002/jsfa.7302"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2015-07-03T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.04.004", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-19T16:15:48Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2015-04-12", "title": "Rangeland Management Effects On Soil Properties In The Savanna Biome, South Africa: A Case Study Along Grazing Gradients In Communal And Commercial Farms", "description": "Although the savanna biome of South Africa is a major resource for rangeland management, little is known about how differences in rangeland management systems affect soil properties in such biomes. Near to Kuruman, commercial farms have practiced rotational grazing for decades. In communal areas of former homeland Bophuthatswana, similar strategies were used prior to 1994. Nowadays, a continuous grazing system is common. We hypothesized that these changes in management affected soil properties. To test this, we sampled soils at communal and commercial land along a gradient with increasing distance to water points. The results revealed that communal systems with continuous grazing showed enlarged spatial gradients. The soils were depleted in most nutrients close to the water relative to those of commercial systems. In contrast, as the distance to the water increased, the nutrient stocks of these communal systems were higher. Changes in soil nutrient stocks were related to a zone of increased bush encroachment (up to 25%). Specific analyses (phosphorus fractions, particulate organic carbon, \u03b413C) confirmed that the soils of the communal grazing systems benefited from the shift of grass-dominated to bush-dominated system with woody Acacia vegetation, while the rangeland degraded in the sense that it lost palatable grass species.", "keywords": ["Continuous grazing", "0106 biological sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "Rotational grazing", "Soil organic carbon", "Isotopic composition", "Rangeland management", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences", "7. Clean energy", "Plant nutrients", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Bush encroachment", "Phosphorus fractions"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.04.004"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Arid%20Environments", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.04.004", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.04.004", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.04.004"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2015-09-01T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=continuous+grazing&f=json", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "alternate", "type": "text/html", "title": "This document as HTML", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=continuous+grazing&f=html", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection URL", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"type": "application/geo+json", "rel": "first", "title": "items (first)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=continuous+grazing&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=continuous+grazing&offset=2", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 2, "numberReturned": 2, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-09-20T16:00:45.974330Z"}