长期封育对不同类型草地碳贮量及其固持速率的影响

基于4个长期封育草地,采用成对取样方法(封育-自由放牧草地)分析了长期封育和自由放牧草地地上生物量、地表凋落物、0-100 cm根系和土壤的碳氮贮量,探讨了长期封育草地的碳固持速率。实验结果表明:长期封育显著提高了草地碳氮贮量;经30a围封处理后,草地碳固持量为1401-2858 g C m^-2,平均2126 g C m^-2;草地碳固持速率为46.7-129.2 g C m^-2 a^-1,平均84.2 g C m^-2 a^-1。长期封育草地氮固持速率为2.8-14.7 g N m^-2 a^-1,平均7.3 g N m^-2 a^-1。封育草地碳和氮固持速率表现为:针茅草地＜羊草草地＜退化羊草草地＜补播黄花苜蓿+羊草草地。长期封育草地0-40 cm土壤碳固持速率相对较高,但下层土壤对草地碳固持的贡献也比较大,因此,未来的相关研究应给予下层土壤更大关注。内蒙古典型草地具有巨大的碳固持潜力,长期封育(或禁牧)是实现其碳固持效应最经济、最有效的途径之一。     

不同放牧梯度下呼伦贝尔草甸草原土壤碳氮变化及固碳效应

放牧是内蒙古呼伦贝尔草甸草原主要的利用方式,弄清放牧情况下草地土壤碳氮变化和固碳效应,将为我国内蒙古地区草地碳汇管理提供重要的科学依据。通过小区控制放牧实验(放牧梯度0.00,0.23,0.34,0.46,0.69,0.92Au/hm2),探讨了不同放牧梯度下土壤碳氮变化及固碳效应,实验结果表明:放牧梯度对土壤碳氮含量、土壤碳氮贮量的变化有明显的影响,0—30 cm土层碳氮贮量随着放牧梯度增加呈显著的线性下降趋势。随着放牧时间的延续,轻度放牧利于提高草地的土壤有机碳密度和碳固持潜力,重度放牧显著降低了土壤碳氮含量、碳氮贮量和碳氮固持潜力。不同放牧梯度下土壤碳氮含量和碳氮贮量具有明显的垂直分布特征,随着土壤深度的增加土壤碳氮含量、碳氮贮量均呈明显的下降趋势。轻度放牧草地表现为碳固持,重度放草地表现为碳流失,对呼伦贝尔羊草草甸草原而言,土壤碳固持/碳流失的转化阈值为0.46Au/hm2,通过合理控制放牧梯度能够达到增加草地土壤固碳潜力,实现碳增汇的目的。     

高寒山地生态修复方式对土壤颗粒碳氮分配的影响

通过探讨草地和林地两种修复方式下不同粒径土壤颗粒有机碳和全氮的分配规律,以期能够为高寒山地生态修复措施对土壤颗粒碳氮的影响提供参考。以空间序列代替时间序列的方法,分别选取不同恢复年限的草地和林地作为研究对象,管理方式分别为仅在生长季封育和常年封育。对生长季野外现场采集的土壤样品在实验室采用离心法对土壤颗粒进行分级,分为砂粒(2000—50μm)、粉粒(50—2μm)和粘粒(<2μm),以此分析不同粒径土壤颗粒中有机碳和全氮的分配规律。结果显示:1)不同修复年限草地和林地土壤颗粒有机碳和全氮的分配主体分别为砂粒和粉粒,草地和林地土壤颗粒有机碳在砂粒中的分配比例分别为57.36%和46.46%,全氮在粉粒中的分配比例分别为44.79%和42.55%。2)两种修复用地三种粒径土壤颗粒碳氮分配比例均与其组分含量呈正相关关系,砂粒的碳氮分配比例主要受地下生物量和土壤总孔隙度影响,粘粒和粉粒碳氮分配比例主要受容重和pH的影响。本研究区植树造林的修复方式对土壤颗粒碳氮的分配影响更为明显。     

黄土高原半干旱草地封育后土壤碳氮矿化特征

土壤有机碳和全氮的分布与矿化是退化草地封育后土壤生态效应研究的重要内容和指标。结合野外调查和室内培养实验,研究了半干旱黄土区不同封育年限草地土壤有机碳和全氮的含量变化及其矿化特征。结果表明,封育对半干旱黄土区退化草地土壤有机碳和全氮的影响主要体现在0-40 cm土层封育超过17a后,封育年限的影响逐渐减弱。封育显著增加了土壤有机碳矿化速率和C_(min)/C_0封育对有机碳矿化速率的影响与封育年限和土层深度无关,而对C_(min)/C_0的影响则与封育年限和土层深度有关。封育显著提高了0-40 cm土层土壤氮素矿化速率,但是降低了40-80 cm土层土壤氮矿化速率,并且降低了080 cm土层N_(min)/N_0。碳氮矿化速率与有机碳和全氮之间显著相关,而与碳氮比之间的相关性较小。这些结果表明,退化草地封育后土壤碳氮元素的转化主要受土层深度、封育年限以及土壤碳氮含量的影响。     

封育对羊草草地土壤碳矿化激发效应和温度敏感性的影响

土壤碳矿化(或土壤异养呼吸)的温度敏感性和激发效应是深入揭示土壤呼吸控制机理及其对未来气候变化响应与适应的重要研究方向。该文以自由放牧(FG0)、封育11年(FG11)、封育31年(FG31)的羊草(Leymus chinensis)草地为研究对象, 通过0、5、10、15、20、25 ℃培养, 探讨了封育对羊草草地土壤碳矿化激发效应和温度敏感性的影响。结果表明: 封育年限、添加葡萄糖、培养温度和培养时间对土壤碳矿化速率均具有显著的影响, 不同因素间存在显著的交互效应(p < 0.000 1)。FG0的羊草草地土壤碳矿化累积量显著高于FG11和FG31的, 在添加葡萄糖处理下也呈现相同的趋势。长期封育降低了羊草草地土壤碳矿化的激发效应。在添加葡萄糖后, 培养前7天的土壤碳矿化的激发效应随温度增加而增加, 增加2.28-9.01倍; 在整个56天培养期间, 激发效应介于2.21-5.10倍, 最高值出现在10或15 ℃。土壤碳矿化速率可用经典的指数方程来表示, FG0草地的土壤碳矿化的温度敏感性指数(Q₁₀)大于长期封育草地(FG11和FG31); 与未添加处理相比, 添加葡萄糖显著增加了土壤碳矿化速率的温度敏感性, 即在添加葡萄糖后土壤微生物呼吸受温度的影响更大。长期封育会降低羊草草地土壤的碳矿化速率、温度敏感性和激发效应, 从而降低土壤碳周转速率和释放速率, 使内蒙古地区长期封育草地仍然具有碳固持能力。     

青藏高原草地不同利用方式下土壤碳氮与土壤性状的关系

以青藏高原草地为例, 探讨草地不同利用方式下(T1: 夏季放牧; T2: 秋季放牧; T3: 冬春放牧; T4: 全年放牧), 表层(0—30 cm)土壤性状、碳氮含量及其两者之间的关系。结果显示: (1)土壤有机碳、全氮含量和碳氮储量从大到小为T1>T2>T3>T4, 差异主要集中在0—10 cm。(2)T1处理和T3处理的土壤粘粒和粉粒显著高于T2和T4处理, 而砂粒则相反; 为T1处理的土壤容重显著低于其它处理, 而土壤含水率则表现出相反的趋势; , T3处理的土壤pH显著低于其它处理。(3)土壤pH均与土壤碳氮含量呈现显著地负相关关系; 土壤含水率与土壤碳氮仅在T1和T3处理中存在显著地正相关关系; 除T4处理外, 其余处理均与土壤容重呈现出显著地负相关关系结论: 一方面, 草地不同利用方式下土壤碳氮含量存在明显的差异; 另一方面, 土壤性状和碳氮含量之间的关系对草地不同利用方式的响应是存在显著差异的。上述研究可以减少评估土壤碳氮储量时不确定性, 也为制定科学合理的草地利用方式、维持草地生态系统生态服务功能和保障区域生态系统功能稳定均具有重要意义。     

牧草种类与耕作时间对拉萨牧草种植地土壤不同组分有机碳的影响

以中国科学院拉萨高原生态试验站附近天然灌丛草原与站内的牧草种植地为研究对象,分析牧草种类与耕作时间对牧草种植地土壤有机碳的影响。种植地的5种牧草种类为:耕作10a的鸭茅(Dactylis glomerata L.)、耕作4a与10a的垂穗披碱草(Elymus nutans Griseb.)、耕作3a与10a的苜蓿(Medicago sativa Linn.),同时以该区域原生植被天然灌丛草原生长地作为对照。结果表明:与天然灌丛土壤全土有机碳(Total Organic Carbon,TOC)含量相比,耕作10a的鸭茅增加了土层0—5 cm与10—30 cm TOC含量、耕作10a的苜蓿与垂穗披碱草分别显著增加与降低了土层0—5 cm TOC含量。主要因为耕作不同牧草使种植地土壤不同组分有机碳含量发生变化,耕作10a的鸭茅和苜蓿分别使土层0—5 cm与10—30 cm、土层0—5 cm与10—20 cm的砂粒级(50—2000μm)颗粒有机碳(POC)含量降低,粉粒与黏粒级(50μm)矿物结合态有机碳(MOC)含量升高;耕作10a的垂穗披碱草则使土壤表层0—5 cm砂粒级POC含量显著降低,MOC无显著变化。与耕作4a的垂穗披碱草相比,耕作10a显著降低了土层10—20 cm TOC含量,主要体现在粗砂粒(250—2000μm)POC含量与粉粒(2—50μm)MOC含量的降低;与耕作3a的苜蓿相比,耕作10a的苜蓿显著降低了土层5—30 cm TOC含量,主要因为各土层砂粒级POC含量、粉粒与细黏粒MOC含量均有所降低。说明短期耕作更有利于牧草种植地土壤有机碳库的累积。     

土地利用方式对黑土剖面有机碳分布及碳储量的影响

以典型黑土区29年长期定位试验处理下的土壤为对象,研究了农田、裸地、自然草地和落叶松林地4种土地利用方式下土壤剖面(0~200 cm)有机碳及碳储量的分布特征.结果表明:不同土地利用方式下表层(0~10 cm)土壤有机碳含量差异最大,表现为草地>农田>林地>裸地.农田10~120 cm各土层有机碳含量均低于草地、林地和裸地.与农田相比,自然草地对土壤有机碳提升作用明显,其0~60 cm各层土壤有机碳含量均显著高于农田;裸地表层(0~10 cm)土壤有机碳含量显著低于农田;落叶松林地0~20 cm有机碳含量与农田相比无明显变化,但其20~140 cm土层有机碳含量均高于农田.土壤剖面有机碳含量与p H值、容重、粉粒和粘粒含量呈显著负相关,与全氮和砂粒含量呈显著正相关.农田0~200 cm剖面有机碳储量显著低于其他3种利用方式,分别比草地、裸地和林地低13.6%、11.4%和10.9%.农田黑土在增加碳储量及改善环境方面具有很大潜力.     

毛乌素沙地沙漠化逆转过程土壤颗粒固碳效应

为揭示毛乌素沙地沙漠化逆转过程中土壤颗粒的固碳效应,选择陕北榆林治沙区从流沙地、半固定沙地到林龄为20～55年生的灌木和20～50年生的乔木固沙林地,采用物理分组法分析了土壤砂粒、粉粒、黏粒结合碳的演变特征和累积速率.结果表明: 对比流沙地,土壤总有机碳及各颗粒碳含量在两种固沙林地均呈显著增加趋势,并以表层0～5 cm土壤碳含量增幅最高.从流沙地到55年生灌木和50年生乔木固沙林地,0～5 cm土层砂粒碳密度增速均为0.05 Mg·hm^-2·a^-1,粉粒碳密度增速分别为0.05和0.08 Mg·hm^-2·a^-1,而黏粒碳密度增速分别为0.02和0.03 Mg·hm^-2·a^-1.0～20 cm土层,两种林地各颗粒碳密度增速平均为0～5 cm土层的2.1倍.按此增速到50～55年生的固沙林地时,两种林地0～20 cm土层的砂粒碳、粉粒碳和黏粒碳密度分别比流沙地平均提高6.7、18.1、4.4倍,并且颗粒碳对总有机碳的累积贡献率平均为粉粒碳(39.7%)≈砂粒碳(34.6%)>黏粒碳(25.6%).综上,毛乌素沙地沙漠化逆转过程土壤颗粒均表现出显著的固碳效应,且以砂粒和粉粒为主要固碳组分.     

沙化草地恢复过程中土壤有机碳物理组分和全氮含量的变化

以宁夏中北部盐池县不同恢复阶段的沙化草地(流动沙地、半固定沙地、固定沙地和荒漠草地)土壤为研究对象,分析土壤粗砂粒有机碳、细砂粒有机碳、粘粉粒有机碳、重组有机碳、轻组有机碳和土壤全氮的变异特征,探讨沙化草地恢复过程中土壤有机碳变化机制。结果显示:(1)荒漠草地、固定沙地、半固定沙地0~30cm土层土壤,粗砂粒有机碳、细砂粒有机碳和粘粉粒有机碳含量分别比流动沙地增加了67.7%、69.8%、212.1%和48.8%、35.3%、99.9%以及33.6%、23.0%、48.9%。(2)随着沙化草地不同程度的恢复,轻组有机碳含量、分配比例和重组有机碳含量均表现为流动沙地半固定沙地固定沙地荒漠草地;重组有机碳分配比例随沙化草地恢复程度的升高呈降低趋势。(3)土壤细砂粒、粘粉粒、重组有机碳、轻组有机碳、粗砂粒有机碳、细砂粒有机碳、粘粉粒有机碳含量与土壤有机碳、土壤全氮含量均呈显著正相关关系,与粗砂粒含量均呈显著负相关关系。研究表明,轻组有机碳和粘粉粒有机碳含量对土壤有机碳的影响最大,轻组有机碳、重组有机碳、粗砂粒有机碳和粘粉粒有机碳对土壤全氮的影响最大,表明沙化草地的恢复有利于减小土壤侵蚀,改善土壤结构与质量。     

Effects of fencing and grazing on the temporal dynamic of soil organic carbon content in two temperate grasslands in Inner Mongolia,China

This study aimed to investigate the impact of long-term grassland management on the temporal dynamic of SOC density in two temperate grasslands. The top soil SOC density, soil total nitrogen density and soil bulk density (0–20 cm) under long-term fencing and grazing treatments, the aboveground net primary productivity of fenced plots and the associated climatic factors of Leymus chinensis and Stipa grandis grasslands in Inner Mongolia were collected from literatures and analyzed. The results showed that the SOC density increased linearly with fenced duration but was insensitive to grazed duration in both grasslands. Compared with long-term grazing, fenced plots had larger potential for carbon sequestration, and the accumulation rate of SOC density was 29 and 35 g Cm^–2y^–1 for L. chinensis and S. grandis grasslands. Fenced duration and mean annual temperature jointly contributed large effect on temporal pattern of SOC density. Climate change and grazed duration had little influence on the inter-annual variance of SOC density in grazed plots. Our results confirmed the enhancement effect of long-term fencing on soil carbon sequestration in degraded temperate grassland, and long-term permanent plot observation is essential and effective for accurately and comprehensively understanding the temporal dynamic of SOC storage.     

放牧对内蒙古锡林河流域草原土壤碳组分的影响

选择内蒙古锡林河流域三种草原,较系统地研究了放牧对微生物量碳(MB-C)和易分解碳(Lab-C)两种碳素组分的影响。结果表明,自由放牧22年后,羊草(Leymus chinensis)草原土壤0~10 cm和10~20 cm土层土壤微生物量碳分别下降了27.9%和12.8%;土壤易分解碳分别下降了22.0%和12.6%,自由放牧没有改变羊草草原土壤活性碳的季节变化形式。大针茅(Stipa grandis)草原0~5 cm表层和5~15 cm下层土壤微生物量碳分别下降了38.2%和12.2%。大针茅草原季节波动出现高峰的时间较羊草草原推后,基本在8月下旬,并且与地上生物量存在明显的正相关关系(p<0.001)。土壤活性碳在表征羊草草原和大针茅草原土壤的动态变化时,要敏感于土壤总有机碳。冷蒿-小禾草草原(Artemisia frigida-short bunchgrasses steppe)连续放牧11年恢复2年后,土壤各碳素组分都没有发生明显变化,但随着放牧率的增加,MB-C/Org-C比值和Lab-C/Org-C比值逐渐降低,表现为轻牧>中牧>重牧,这说明,在表征放牧对冷蒿-小禾草草原土壤的影响指示上,MB-C/Org-C和Lab-C/Org-C要比MB-C和Lab-C敏感。     

火烧对森林土壤有机碳的影响研究进展

对国内外火烧影响森林土壤有机碳动态的研究成果进行了综合述评。较多研究表明低强度火烧不会造成土壤有机碳贮量的明显变化,但火烧非常强烈而彻底,土壤有机碳明显减少。有限研究表明火烧对森林土壤呼吸的影响结果有增加、降低或无影响,因火烧强度、火后观测时间、森林类型、火烧迹地上植被恢复进程和气候条件等而异。同时,火烧对土壤有机碳组分(活性有机碳和黑碳)也具有不同程度的影响。随着全球变化研究的深入,火烧作为森林主要管理措施对大气CO2浓度影响亦愈来愈受重视,今后应着重开展以下几方面研究:(1)扩大气候和经营管理的变化对森林土壤有机碳贮量时空动态影响研究;(2)深入探讨火烧影响土壤CO2释放的过程及机理;(3)加强火烧历史和频率对黑碳影响的研究;(4)从广度和深度上加强火烧等经营措施对亚热带森林土壤碳动态影响的研究。     

Cessation of Burning Dries Soils Long Term in a Tallgrass Prairie

Soil moisture is a critical variable in grassland function, yet how fire regimes influence ecohydrology is poorly understood. By altering productivity, species composition, and litter accumulation, fire can indirectly increase or decrease soil water depletion on a range of time scales and depths in the soil profile. To better understand how fire influences soil moisture in grasslands, we analyzed 28 years of soil moisture data from two watersheds in a central North American grassland which differ in their long-term fire frequency. Across 28 years, cessation of prescribed burning initially led to wetter soils, likely as litter accumulated and both transpiration and evaporation were suppressed. Long-term, cessation of burning led to soils drying more, especially at depths greater than 75 cm. The long-term drying of deep soils is consistent with the increase in woody species in the infrequently burned grassland as woody species likely have a greater reliance on soil water from deeper soil layers compared to co-occurring herbaceous species. Despite the ecohydrological changes associated with the cessation of prescribed burning, watersheds with different burn regimes responded similarly to short-term variation in climate variation. In both watersheds, low precipitation and high temperatures led to drier soils with greater responses in soil moisture to climate variation later in the season than earlier. There is no current evidence that the cessation of burning in this ecosystem will qualitatively alter how evapotranspiration responds to climate variation, but the use of deeper soil water by woody plants has the potential for greater transpiration during dry times. In all, modeling the depth-specific responses of soil moisture and associated ecosystem processes to changes in burn regimes will likely require including responses of plant community composition over short and long time scales.     

Incorporation of Plant Residues into Soil Organic Matter Fractions With Grassland Management Practices in the North American Midwest

Disturbed grassland soils are often cited as having the potential to store large amounts of carbon (C). Fertilization of grasslands can promote soil C storage, but little is known about the generation of recalcitrant pools of soil organic matter (SOM) with management treatments, which is critical for long-term soil C storage. We used a combination of soil incubations, size fractionation and acid hydrolysis of SOM, [C], [N], and stable isotopic analyses, and biomass quality indices to examine how fertilization and haying can impact SOM dynamics in Kansan grassland soils. Fertilized soils possessed 113% of the C possessed by soils subjected to other treatments, an increase predominantly harbored in the largest size fraction (212–2,000 μm). This fraction is frequently associated with more labile material. Haying and fertilization/haying, treatments that more accurately mimic true management techniques, did not induce any increase in soil C. The difference in ¹⁵N-enrichment between size fractions was consistent with a decoupling of SOM processing between pools with fertilization, congruent with gains of SOM in the largest size fraction promoted by fertilization not moving readily into smaller fractions that frequently harbor more recalcitrant material. Litterfall and root biomass C inputs increased 104% with fertilization over control plots, and this material possessed lower C:N ratios. Models of incubation mineralization kinetics indicate that fertilized soils have larger pools of labile organic C. Model estimates of turnover rates of the labile and recalcitrant C pools did not differ between treatments (65.5 ± 7.2 and 2.9 ± 0.3 μg C d⁻¹, respectively). Although fertilization may promote greater organic inputs into these soils, much of that material is transformed into relatively labile forms of soil C; these data highlight the challenges of managing grasslands for long-term soil C sequestration.     

内蒙古放牧草地土壤碳固持速率和潜力

放牧是典型草地最重要的利用方式,弄清放牧对草地碳固速率的影响,将为我国内蒙古地区草地碳汇管理提供重要的科学依据。通过在平坦草地和斜坡草地设置相同的放牧梯度实验 (放牧强度0、1.5、3.0、4.5、6.0、7.5、9.0 羊/hm²),探讨了放牧和地形对草地土壤碳固持速率的影响。实验结果表明:轻度放牧草地表现为碳固持,重度放草地表现为碳流失;对放牧草地而言,存在碳源/碳汇的转化阈值(或放牧强度),且坡地阈值低于平地。为了实现草地碳增汇目的,平坦草地的放牧强度应低于 4.5羊/hm²(放牧期6-9月),斜坡草地应低于3 羊/hm²。地形因素(平地VS斜坡)使准确评估放牧草地土壤的碳固持速率变得更加复杂。总之,内蒙古地区放牧草地具有较大的碳固持潜力,通过控制放牧强度是实现其碳固持潜力的重要途径之一。     

Soil organic matter dynamics in density and particle-size fractions following destruction of tropical rainforest and the subsequent establishment of Imperata grassland in Indonesian Borneo using stable carbon isotopes

Background and aims

Large portions of the deforested areas in Southeast Asia have been ultimately replaced by the invasive grass Imperata cylindrica, but the dynamics of soil organic matter (SOM) during such land transitions are poorly understood. This study presents SOM dynamics in density and particle-size fractions following rainforest destruction and the subsequent establishment and persistence of Imperata grassland.

Methods

We examined soil C stock and natural ¹³C abundance in these fractions to depths of 100 cm. We predicted future soil C storage and evaluated C turnover rates in these fractions using a simple exponential model. Because soil texture strongly affects soil C storage, two chronosequences of soils differing in soil texture were compared (n?=?1 in each chronosequence).

Results

The clay-associated SOM increased in all soil layers (0–100 cm) along the forest-to-grassland chronosequence, whereas light-fraction SOM in the surface soil layer (0–5 cm) decreased.

Conclusions

In the surface layer, all SOM fractions exhibited rapid replacement of forest-derived C to grassland-derived C, indicating fast turnover. Meanwhile, δ¹³C values of the light fraction in the surface layer indicated that forest-derived charcoal and/or occluded low-density organic matter constituted unexpectedly large proportions of the light fraction. Mathematical modelling (0–50 cm) showed that grassland-derived C in the clay and silt fractions in all soil layers increased almost linearly for at least 50 years after grassland establishment. In the meantime, the forest-derived C stock in the clay fraction constituted 82 % of the total stable C pool at 0–50-cm depths even under steady-state conditions (t = ∞), indicating that residue of forest-derived SOM associated with clay largely contributed to preserving the soil C pool. Comparing soils with different soil textures, clay and silt particles in coarse-textured soil exhibited a substantially higher degree of organo-mineral interactions per unit volume of clay or silt compared to fine-textured soils.     

Carbon,nitrogen, and phosphorus storage in alpine grassland ecosystems of Tibet: effects of grazing exclusion

In recent decades, alpine grasslands have been seriously degraded on the Tibetan Plateau and grazing exclusion by fencing has been widely adopted to restore degraded grasslands since 2004. To elucidate how alpine grasslands carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) storage responds to this management strategy, three types of alpine grassland in nine counties in Tibet were selected to investigate C, N, and P storage in the environment by comparing free grazing (FG) and grazing exclusion (GE) treatments, which had run for 6–8 years. The results revealed that there were no significant differences in total ecosystem C, N, and P storage, as well as the C, N, and P stored in both total biomass and soil (0–30 cm) fractions between FG and GE grasslands. However, precipitation played a key role in controlling C, N, and P storage and distribution. With grazing exclusion, C and N stored in aboveground biomass significantly increased by 5.7 g m⁻² and 0.1 g m⁻², respectively, whereas the C and P stored in the soil surface layer (0–15 cm) significantly decreased by 862.9 g m⁻² and 13.6 g m⁻², respectively. Furthermore, the storage of the aboveground biomass C, N, and P was positively correlated with vegetation cover and negatively correlated with the biodiversity index, including Pielou evenness index, Shannon–Wiener diversity index, and Simpson dominance index. The storage of soil surface layer C, N, and P was positively correlated with soil silt content and negatively correlated with soil sand content. Our results demonstrated that grazing exclusion had no impact on total C, N, and P storage, as well as C, N, and P in both total biomass and soil (0–30 cm) fractions in the alpine grassland ecosystem. However, grazing exclusion could result in increased aboveground biomass C and N pools and decreased soil surface layer (0–15 cm) C and P pools.