Effectiveness of shrub planting and grazing exclusion on degraded sandy grassland restoration in Horqin sandy land in Inner Mongolia

•Effectiveness of methods to restore deserted sandy lands was researched.•Recovery of soil chemical properties had a lag effect compared with vegetation.•Shrub planting and grazing exclusion were useful methods for restoring desert lands.•Shrub planting was more effective than using grazing exclusion alone. Effective methods of restoring lands stressed by desertification and sand movement are needed. The stabilization of sand dunes with shrub planting with the help of straw checkerboard (PCS) and grazing exclusion was evaluated in degraded sandy grasslands in Horqin sandy land, China. The characteristics of vegetation and soil chemical properties were studied in PSC sites and grazing exclusion sites 0, 6, and 12 years after implementation. Natural community sites were also examined in 2012. Results showed that the implementation of PSC and grazing exclusion not only significantly (P