Responses of plant litter decomposition to grazing and enclosure management in semiarid grassland ecosystem

This present study was to explored litter decomposition of different plant species under grazing and enclosure management in semi-arid grassland ecosystems. The remaining mass and decay constant（k） of Leymus secalinus, Lespedeza potaninii litter, and their mixture were investigated within 30-and 250-mesh litterbags in semiarid grasslands under grazing and enclosure management in Ningxia. In addition, the contribution of litter arthropods to decomposition was analyzed in order to discuss the effects of grazing management on decomposition process. The results showed that:（1） there was a significant higher final litter mass remaining rate（Rm） in L. potaninii than in L. secalinus and mixture from 250-mesh litterbags in grazing grasslands, whereas there were no significant differences in Rm of plant litter either from 30-mesh litterbags in grazing grasslands, or from both size-mesh treatments in enclosure grasslands.（2） In 250-mesh litterbags, the k was significantly higher in the mixture than in L. potaninii in both grasslands under grazing and enclosure managements, with the intermediate values in L. secalinus litter（P