Effects of fencing and cattle dung addition on soil rehabilitation of degraded sub-alpine meadow

The degraded sub-alpine meadow in northwest Yunnan province was studied to explore the effects of fencing and cattle dung on soil rehabilitation. The four years experiment results showed that both fencing and cattle dung addition can significantly increase soil organic matter content (P<0.05) while did not affect soil bulk density and water content. Fencing and cattle dung addition had different effects on nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K). Fencing significantly increased (P<0.05) total N, total P and available K contents in 0-10 cm soil but significantly reduced (P<0.05) total K content. However, cattle dung addition significantly increased (P<0.05) total N and available P contents in 0-10 cm soil while only had little effects on total P and available K contents. In addition, there was significant interaction between fencing and cattle dung, therefore, treatments with fencing and cattle dung addition significantly affected the contents of total N, total P and available P in 0-10 cm soil. Treatments with fencing and cattle dung addition had cumulative effects on the organic matter in 0-30 cm soil. On the other hand, total N, total P, total K, and available P as well as available K concentrated in 0-10 cm soil and their content decreased with the increase of the depth in 0-30 cm soil. In conclusion, both fencing and cattle dung addition improved the soil nutrient and were benefical to rehabilitation of the degraded sub-alpine meadow.