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Journal of Desert Research ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (4): 368-377.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00069

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Influence of precipitation on soil enzyme activity in sandy grasslands

Jiaqi Jing1,2,4(), Xinping Liu1,2,4(), Yuhui He3, Jie Feng5, Hongjiao Hu1,2,4, Yuanzhi Xu1,2,4, Yao Zhang1,2,4   

  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands /, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou 730000,China
    2.Naiman Desertification Research Station /, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou 730000,China
    3.Lanzhou Ecological Agriculture Experimental Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou 730000,China
    4.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China
    5.Tongliao Forestry and Grassland Science Research Institute,Tongliao 028314,Inner Mongolia,China
  • Received:2025-04-08 Revised:2025-06-13 Online:2025-07-20 Published:2025-08-18
  • Contact: Xinping Liu

Abstract:

Soil enzymes are deeply involved in the nutrient cycling process within the soil system and serve as a core link connecting plant and soil nutrients. The activity of soil extracellular enzymes is extremely sensitive to changes in precipitation patterns, especially in water-scarce and nutrient-poor sandy grassland ecosystems. This study was carried out in semi-arid sandy grasslands to investigate the changes in soil extracellular enzyme activities under different precipitation conditions. The study determined the dynamic variation patterns of soil extracellular enzyme activities in the sandy grassland ecosystem and revealed the response mechanisms of soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents as well as enzyme activities in sandy grasslands to short-term precipitation changes. The results show that: (1) Under the condition of 30% reduced precipitation, plant above-ground biomass was significantly lower than that under natural conditions (P<0.05), while soil bulk density and electrical conductivity were significantly higher than those under natural conditions (P<0.05); (2) Compared with the control group, the increase of 60% precipitation significantly enhanced the limitation of microbial carbon and nitrogen (P<0.05); (3) Soil extracellular enzyme activity was highly responsive to changes in water availability. Under the condition of 60% increased precipitation, the activity of cellobiohydrolase increased to 2.47 times that of the control group, and the corresponding carbon-related enzyme activity increased by 19.7%. In contrast, nitrogen-related enzyme activity was optimal in the control group.

Key words: precipitation change, soil enzyme activity, sandy grassland, plant biomass, physical and chemical properties of soil

CLC Number: