Abstract: A defoliation experiment was conducted on a Leymus chinensis-dominated steppe to provide guidelines of grazing management and restoration of degraded grasslands. There were five defoliation treatments: CK (non-defoliation as control); LD (Light Defoliation, cut 12 cm aboveground level); MD (Medium Defoliation, 8 cm); HD (Hard Defoliation, 4 cm) and SD (Severe Defoliation, 2 cm). Results showed that HD and SD defoliation significantly decreased the belowground biomass. Defoliation increased plant species diversity but decreased biomass of L. chinensis significantly. The biomass of L. chinensis under LD was lower than that in control indicating L. chinensis was highly sensitive to defoliation. It is necessary in this area that grazing should be restricted to a level of light defoliation to prevent loss of plant productivity.
J.S. Chen, R.F. Zhu, Y.X. Zhang, S. Chen, C. Gao and D.G. Li, 2014. Response of Plant Diversity and Biomass on Different Defoliation in Songnen Grassland, China. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 13: 757-762.