Light grazing promotes the accumulation of soil microbial necromass carbon in a desert steppe.

Background: Grazing, as one of the most important methods of utilizing natural grasslands, can significantly impact the accumulation and stabilization of soil organic carbon within grassland ecosystems. Soil microbial necromass carbon (MNC), including fungal necromass carbon (FNC) and bacterial necromass carbon (BNC), is an important source of soil organic carbon (SOC) and plays a critical role in the formation and stabilization of SOC. However, the effects of grazing intensity on soil MNC and its underlying drivers remain unclear.

Methods: We investigated differences in soil MNC, FNC, BNC, plant and soil factors following a grazing experiment with four grazing intensities (control, 0 sheep units ha a; light grazing, 0.91 sheep units ha a; moderate grazing, 1.82 sheep units ha a; heavy grazing, 2.71 sheep units ha a) in the Stipa breviflora desert steppe of Inner Mongolia, China. The main objective was to explore the effects of different grazing intensities and soil depths on soil MNC and its contribution to soil organic carbon.

Results: Compared with the control, light grazing significantly increased MNC, FNC, and BNC by 10.55%, 10.59%, and 10.48%, respectively, in the 0-30 cm soil layer, whereas heavy grazing significantly decreased MNC and FNC by 9.26% and 10.94%, respectively. Compared with the 0-10 cm soil layer, MNC and BNC in the 20-30 cm soil layer significantly decreased by 6.45% and 16.24%, respectively. FNC had consistently greater contributions to SOC than did BNC in desert steppe soils. Soil nitrogen associated nutrients (soil total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and microbial biomass nitrogen) and phosphorus associated nutrients (soil total phosphorus and available phosphorus) were direct drivers of MNC and FNC accumulation, while phosphorus associated nutrients (soil total phosphorus and available phosphorus) were the main drivers of BNC accumulation.

Conclusions: This study highlights that light grazing can increase soil MNC accumulation, potentially contributing to organic carbon sequestration in desert steppe ecosystems. The grazing-induced decrease in soil phosphorus is a key factor regulating soil MNC, FNC and BNC in the desert steppe, while the decrease in soil nitrogen is the main driver of MNC and FNC. These findings provide a theoretical basis for optimizing grazing management to enhance soil organic carbon storage in arid grassland ecosystems.