Effects of different grazing intensity on the Seriphidum transiliense community structure

The grazing disturbance is one of the main influence factors on grassland community structure. The effects of different grazing intensities on the Seriphidum transiliense community structure were studied in the present research. The community structures of S.transiliense were analyzed within four grazing intensities, including zero grazing (CK), light grazing (LG), medium grazing (MG) and high grazing (HG) in Ashili Village, Changji City. The results showed that species number of community increased and the import value (IV) decreased with the grazing intensities increasing. α diversity index presented that the Shannon-Wiener index (H) and the Simpson index (D) was higher with medium grazing (MG) which showed the trend at MG＞HG＞LG＞CK. Both evennss index (J) and richness index (R) of community species showed the trend with HG＞MG＞LG＞CK. All of these results supported the intermediate disturbance hypothesis and indicated that grazing have important effects on grassland vegetation structure. It is concluded that moderate grazing appears to be suitable for improvement of grassland regulation structure and species diversity.