Nutrient cycling in grassland ecosystems: evaluation, processes, drivers, and management implications
摘要
Nutrient cycling, the dynamic turnover of essential nutrients in grasslands, is critical to their productivity, resilience, and overall ecological well-being. Grasslands across the globe, from prairies to steppes, once supported mixed life and human life through these complex nutrient interactions. Historically, natural processes such as fire, lightning, weathering, and decomposition, assisted by detritivore metabolism and herbivore excretion, regulated a balanced nutrient cycle. Grasses, with their rapid life cycles, naturally were nutrient-conservative. But the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries witnessed degradation by burning, unscientific use of agrochemicals, and faulty land-use practices. This initially increased soil nutrient content but eventually disturbed the natural balance. Periodic disturbance alters grassland structure, leading to the long-term sequestration of a diverse range of available nutrients globally. Presently, climate change greatly affects nutrient cycling through changes in temperature and precipitation regimes, potentially reducing nutrient availability and enhancing the chances of desertification, although new grasslands will be formed. Wildfires can assist nutrient cycling in certain biomes, but over-frequent fires volatilize critical nutrients. Conservation of these systems requires practices such as maximum utilization of fertilizers, rotational grazing, and judicious fire and disturbance management. This evaluation intends to create present information on nutrient transport processes in grassland networks, assessing biotic and abiotic factors, managing impacts, and suggestions meant for soil productivity, efficiency, and future sustainability.