Soil Fertility of Grasslands under Influence of Grazing

Abstract

Grazing is one of the important biotic factors that influence the formation and sustenance of grasslands. The present study was undertaken to assess the influence of grazing by different species of domestic herbivores, on the fertility of grasslands. Soil from grasslands grazed by buffaloes, crossbred cattle, and sheep, as well as control grassland restricted from grazing, were compared for different fertility parameters like soil organic carbon, phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc, manganese, electric conductivity (EC), pH and texture. In general, all the grassland soils were fertile with soil organic carbon (SOC) and most of the nutrients were above optimum levels. The soil from grasslands that were grazed by ruminants was superior to the ungrazed control in terms of most of the nutrients. Phosphorus, potassium, iron, manganese, zinc, and EC were found to differ significantly between the four treatment groups. The conditions prevalent in different treatment groups and their possible effect on the fertility of soils are discussed.