Effects of livestock exclosure and grazing on carbon sequestration in grassland ecosystem

Carbon sequestration in the grassland ecosystems has important effects on the global carbon stocks. Grazing as one of the most widely land usage methods affects carbon sequestration in the grassland.However, unreasonable and over-grazing can lead to grassland degradation which has negative effects on carbon stocks in the grassland. Livestock enclosure and grazing affect carbon sequestration in the grassland by altering the vegetation productions and soil carbon stocks. This review indicated that livestock exclosure and grazing had positive or negative effects on the vegetation production which were affected by some other factors and their interaction, such as aboveground litter, vegetation structure, climate conditions, and so on. The effects of grazing on vegetation production were also related to the grazing intensity. Livestock exclosure and grazing had positive or negative effects on soil carbon stocks by affecting many processes in the soil carbon cycling. In summary, the effects of livestock exclosure and grazing on carbon sequestration in grassland were complicated. In order to make the scientific decision on grassland managements,the estimations of carbon stocks and researches on the related mechanisms are necessary in the further study.