Table 2. Soil properties of the experimental plots.

Grassland types	Organic carbon (%)	Microbial biomass carbon (μg g–1)	Total nitrogen (%)	Oxidation-reduction potential (mV)	pH
Alpine meadow	3.62 ± 0.58a †	143.97 ± 4.75a	0.37 ± 0.15a	166.38 ± 8.44a	6.58 ± 0.02c
Alpine steppe	0.74 ± 0.04b	53.02 ± 5.50b	0.10 ± 0.01b	137.00 ± 1.41b	8.28 ± 0.05b
Alpine desert	0.16 ± 0.05c	27.19 ± 0.29c	0.04 ± 0.01c	130.25 ± 4.03b	8.57 ± 0.04a
F	119.028	640.85	16.140	210.985	2929.5
P	< 0.001	< 0.001	0.001	< 0.001	<0.001

^† The values are mean ± 1 standard deviation (n = 4). Data with same letters in the same column indicate no significant difference at the P < 0.05 level.