Table 1.
The morphological traits of L. chinensis and the soil characteristics in the plots with different grazing intensities
| Parameter | Control | LG | MG | HG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specific leaf area (cm2 g− 1) | 116.1 ± 2.6b | 143.4 ± 3.7a | 100.6 ± 4.1c | 118.8 ± 6.9b |
| Tiller number | 3.4 ± 0.5b | 4.0 ± 0.4ab | 4.2 ± 0.4ab | 5.3 ± 0.3a |
| Mean internode length (cm) | 6.1 ± 0.1a | 5.4 ± 0.3b | 2.4 ± 0.2c | 2.4 ± 0.2c |
| Plant height (cm) | 26.3 ± 0.8a | 24.6 ± 1.1a | 20.4 ± 0.7a | 13.2 ± 1.6b |
| Plant biomass (g m−2) | 35.1 ± 1.7a | 31.3 ± 2.0ab | 27.6 ± 2.4b | 15.2 ± 1.0c |
| Leaf osmotic potential (MPa) | −1.6 ± 0.04a | −1.9 ± 0.19ab | −3.0 ± 0.04b | −2.8 ± 0.92b |
| Soil water content (%) | 5.77 ± 0.93c | 7.60 ± 0.08b | 8.95 ± 0.11a | 4.53 ± 0.08d |
| Soil nitrogen content (%) | 0.15 ± 0.003b | 0.17 ± 0.003a | 0.16 ± 0.001a | 0.14 ± 0.003c |
| Soil carbon content (%) | 1.47 ± 0.018c | 1.64 ± 0.005a | 1.54 ± 0.015b | 1.37 ± 0.006d |
| Soil available phosphorus (%) | 405.6 ± 0.66a | 389.0 ± 6.22b | 390.2 ± 3.29b | 358.8 ± 1.57c |
Values are means ± SE. Values in a column labeled with different letters differ significantly (ANOVA followed by LSD test, P < 0.05)
Control no grazing, LG light grazing, MG medium grazing, HG heavy grazing