About the Journal
In Memory of Professor Jerzy Radecki
Editorial Office
Editorial Board
Scope
Impact Factor
Indexed in...
Journal Impact Factor contributing items
Contact
Subscription
Current issue
Online first
Notes to Authors
Frequently Asked Questions
Editorial policies
PJOES Publication Policy Overview
PJOES Peer Review Policy
PJOES Research Ethics and Malpractice Policy
PJOES Plagiarism Policy
PJOES Conflict of Interest Policy
PJOES Open Access Policy
PJOES Instructions for Reviewers
Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy
Archive
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Effects of Reseeding Duration and Mowing
on the Soil Seed Bank of Alpine Meadows
in the Sanjiangyuan Region
1
Qinghai University, Xining 810016, Qinghai, China
2
Academy of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, Qinghai, China
3
College of Forestry and Grassland, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, Qinghai, China
4
Grassland Work Station of Henan County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai 811599, China
Submission date: 2025-09-03
Final revision date: 2025-11-21
Acceptance date: 2026-01-23
Online publication date: 2026-03-18
KEYWORDS
alpine meadowsoil seed bankreseeding durationmowingsoil physicochemical propertiesstructural equation model
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
The soil seed bank is fundamental to vegetation regeneration and the long-term stability of alpine
meadow communities. Understanding its response to management practices is essential for improving
ecological restoration outcomes. In the Sanjiangyuan region, we systematically evaluated the effects
of different reseeding durations and mowing regimes on soil seed bank density, soil physicochemical
properties, and plant community characteristics, and applied structural equation modeling to
disentangle the pathways linking these factors. Our results show that reseeding consistently enhances
soil seed bank density by increasing plant species richness and promoting the accumulation of
seeds from dominant Poaceae and Cyperaceae species. Mowing exhibited stage-dependent effects:
it limited seed bank development during later stages of recovery but facilitated seed input when
vegetation was still establishing. Soil nutrients – particularly available nitrogen – were identified as
primary drivers of seed bank variation, exerting stronger influences than plant community attributes.
Structural equation modeling further revealed that reseeding indirectly strengthens the seed bank
through its positive effect on species richness, whereas mowing may weaken this pathway by reducing
plant diversity or altering nutrient availability. These findings highlight the tight coupling between
aboveground vegetation recovery and belowground propagule reserves and provide a scientific basis for
optimizing reseeding–mowing combinations to enhance the restoration efficiency of degraded alpine
meadows.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
REFERENCES (57)
1.
HE J.S., LIU Z.P., YAO T., SUN S.C., LU Z., HU X.W., CAO G.M., WU X.W., LI L., BU H.Y., ZHU J.X. Constraints and Restoration Techniques for Degraded Grassland on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Science & Technology Review, 38 (17), 66, 2020.
2.
LI Y., LI Y.X., QI W.W., LI S.Y., LI N., XU L., MA H.Y. Research Progress on the Causes, Restoration Techniques and Evaluation of Restoration Effects of Global Grassland Degradation. Chinese Journal of Grassland, 46 (11), 110, 2024.
3.
AN H., BASKIN C.C., MA M.J. Nonlinear response of the soil seed bank and its role in plant community regeneration with increased grazing disturbance. Journal of Applied Ecology, 59 (10), 2593, 2022.
4.
MA M.J., WALCK J.L., MA Z., WANG L.P., DU G.Z. Grazing disturbance increases transient but decreases persistent soil seed bank. Ecological Applications, 28 (4), 1020, 2018.
5.
ESKELINEN A., JESSEN M.T., BAHAMONDE H.A., BAKKER J.D., BORER E.T., CALDEIRA M.C., HARPOLE W.S., JIA M.Y., LANNES L.S., NOGUEIRA C., VENTERINK H.O., PERI P.L., PORATH-KRAUSE A.J., SEABLOOM E.W., SCHROEDER K., TOGNETTI P.M., YASUI S.L.E., VIRTANEN R., SULLIVAN L.L. Herbivory and nutrients shape grassland soil seed banks. Nature Communications, 14 (1), 2023.
6.
MA M.J., COLLINS S.L., RATAJCZAK Z., DU G.Z. Soil Seed Banks, Alternative Stable State Theory, and Ecosystem Resilience. Bioscience, 71 (7), 697, 2021.
7.
ZHAO F.B., WU Y.P., YIN X.W., ALEXANDROV G., QIU L.J. Toward Sustainable Revegetation in the Loess Plateau Using Coupled Water and Carbon Management. Engineering, 15, 143, 2022.
8.
ZHAO Y.H., WANG M.T., YANG Y.Y., SHANG P., ZHANG W.H. Tillage Promotes the Migration and Coexistence of Bacteria Communities from an Agro-Pastoral Ecotone of Tibet. Microorganisms, 10 (6), 2022
9.
JIANG H.X., ZHOU Y., LI W., LU Q., XU D.M., MA H.B., MA X.Z., TIAN X.W. Reseeding Native Species Promotes Community Stability by Improving Species Diversity, Niche, and Interspecific Relationships in the Desert Steppe of Northwest China. Ecology and Evolution, 15 (2), 2025.
10.
WANG B., ZHU Y.H., CHEN X., CHEN D.M., WU Y., WU L.J., LIU S.G., YUE L.Y., WANG Y., BAI Y.F. Even short-term revegetation complicates soil food webs and strengthens their links with ecosystem functions. Journal of Applied Ecology, 59 (7), 1721, 2022.
11.
WANG X.Y., LI F.Y., TANG K.Y., WANG Y.N., SURI G., BAI Z., BAOYIN T. Land use alters relationships of grassland productivity with plant and arthropod diversity in Inner Mongolian grassland. Ecological Applications, 30 (3), 2020.
12.
DIAZ S., LAVOREL S., DE BELLO F., QUETIER F., GRIGULIS K., ROBSON M. Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in ecosystem service assessments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104 (52), 20684, 2007.
13.
YANG H.J., JIANG L., LI L.H., LI A., WU M.Y., WAN S.Q. Diversity-dependent stability under mowing and nutrient addition: evidence from a 7-year grassland experiment. Ecology Letters, 15 (6), 619, 2012.
14.
GUO N., SANG C., HUANG M., ZHANG R., DEGEN A.A., MA L.N., BAI Y.F., ZHANG T., WANG W.Y., NIU J.H., LI S.S., LONG R.J., SHANG Z.H. Long-term active restoration of degraded grasslands enhances vegetation resilience by altering the soil seed bank. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 43 (1), 2023.
15.
ZHANG R., HU X.W., BASKIN J.M., BASKIN C.C., WANG Y.R. Effects of Litter on Seedling Emergence and Seed Persistence of Three Common Species on the Loess Plateau in Northwestern China. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8, 2017.
16.
LIU J.S., CHEN Y., DU C., LIU X.X., MA Q.H., ZHANG X., WANG D.L. Interactive effects of nitrogen addition and litter on soil nematodes in grassland. European Journal of Soil Science, 70 (3), 697, 2019.
17.
ESKELINEN A., ELWOOD E., HARRISON S., BEYEN E., GREMER J.R. Vulnerability of grassland seed banks to resource-enhancing global changes. Ecology, 102 (12), 2021.
18.
OMIDVAR N., XU Z.H., NGUYEN T.T.N., SALEHIN B., OGBOURNE S., FORD R., BAI S.H. A global meta-analysis shows soil nitrogen pool increases after revegetation of riparian zones. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 21 (2), 665, 2021.
19.
WANG W., DE K.J. The influence of different replanting years on the diversity and biomass of alpine meadow communities in Henan County. Qinghai Journal of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, 46 (4), 15, 2016.
20.
SUN L., YU Z.C., TIAN X.F., ZHANG Y., SHI J.Y., FU R., LIANG Y.J., ZHANG W. Leguminosae plants play a key role in affecting soil physical-chemical and biological properties during grassland succession after farmland abandonment in the Loess Plateau, China. Journal of Arid Land, 15 (9), 1107, 2023.
21.
MA M.J., COLLINS S.L., DU G.Z. Direct and indirect effects of temperature and precipitation on alpine seed banks in the Tibetan Plateau. Ecological Applications, 30 (5), 2020
22.
ZHANG Z.C., LIU Y.F., CUI Z., HUANG Z., LIU Y., LEITE P.A.M., ZHAO J.X., WU G.L. Shrub encroachment impaired the structure and functioning of alpine meadow communities on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Land Degradation & Development, 33 (14), 2454, 2022
23.
YANG S.Q., ZHAO W.W., PEREIRA P. Determinations of environmental factors on interactive soil properties across different land-use types on the Loess Plateau, China. Science of the Total Environment, 738, 2020
24.
ZUO X.A., SUN S.S., WANG S.K., YUE P., HU Y., ZHAO S.N., GUO X.X., LI X.Y., CHEN M., MA X.J., QU H., HU W.G., ZHAO X.Y., ALLINGTON G.R.H. Contrasting relationships between plant-soil microbial diversity are driven by geographic and experimental precipitation changes. Science of the Total Environment, 861, 2023
25.
WOOSAREE J., OTFINOWSKI R. Importance of species diversity in the revegetation of Alberta's northern fescue prairies. Biodiversity and Conservation, 27 (3), 665, 2018
26.
GAO X.X., DONG S.K., XU Y.D., FRY E.L., LI Y., LI S., SHEN H., XIAO J.N., WU S.N., YANG M.Y., ZHANG J., ZHI Y.L., LIU S.L., SHANG Z.H., YEOMANS J.C. Plant biomass allocation and driving factors of grassland revegetation in a Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau chronosequence. Land Degradation & Development, 32 (4), 1732, 2021
27.
GANJURJAV H., LI M.J., HAN L., SHA Y.B., LI Z., HAN X.Y., JI G.X., WU R.H., MA Y.D., HU G.Z., GORNISH E., GAO Q.Z. Reseeding increased plant biomass production and soil fertility, but not plant species diversity in degraded grasslands in China. Journal of Environmental Management, 370, 2024.
28.
SMITH A.L., BARRETT R.L., MILNER R.N.C. Annual mowing maintains plant diversity in threatened temperate grasslands. Applied Vegetation Science, 21 (2), 207, 2018
29.
WILSEY B.J., MARTIN L.M. Top-down control of rare species abundances by native ungulates in a grassland restoration. Restoration Ecology, 23 (4), 465, 2015
30.
HASSAN N., WANG Z.W. Paralleled grazing and mowing differentially affected plant community diversity and productivity in a semi-arid grassland. Ecological Processes, 13 (1), 2024
31.
HASSAN N., ZHONG Z.W., WANG D.L., ZHU Y., NAEEN I., AHUNGU A.B., WAN H.Y., LI X.F. Effects of long-term mowing on species diversity, biomass and composition of plant community in a semi-arid grassland in northeastern China. Applied Vegetation Science, 26 (3), 2023
32.
ZHANG H.Y., LIU C.X., TAN J.L., BI W.H., CHEN X.F., BAI B., NAMUHAN, WUYUNNA, LI G.D., SONG Y.T. Effect of nutrient addition and mowing on plant diversity and soil carbon content of meadow steppe in Inner Mongolia. Journal of Environmental Management, 393, 2025
33.
WANG W., XU C.T., ZENG P. The influence of reseeding on the biomass and nutrients of alpine meadows. Qinghai Journal of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, 47 (6), 9, 2017.
34.
HEJCMAN M., SCHELLBERG J., PAVLU V. Long-term effects of cutting frequency and liming on soil chemical properties, biomass production and plant species composition of Lolio-Cynosuretum grassland after the cessation of fertilizer application. Applied Vegetation Science, 13 (3), 257, 2010
35.
PRUCHNIEWICZ D. Abandonment of traditionally managed mesic mountain meadows affects plant species composition and diversity. Basic and Applied Ecology, 20, 10, 2017
36.
ZHAO T.Q., ZHANG F., SUO R.Z., ZHEN J.H., QIAO J.R., ZHAO M.L., BAI K.Y., ZHANG B. The importance of functional diversity in regulating forage biomass and nutrition: evidence from mowing in semiarid grasslands. Restoration Ecology, 31 (2), 2023
37.
JI W.Z., WANG Q.H. Effects of Reseeding on Vegetation and Physical and Chemical Properties of Soil in High-altitude Degraded Grassland in Tianzhu. Grassland Science, 33 (5), 886, 2016.
38.
ZHANG R., YANG W., WANG W., REN J., TIAN J.F., LIU L., MA X.L. The influence of reseeding on the nutrients of forage and the physical and chemical properties of soil in degraded alpine meadows. Grassland Science, 39 (6), 1059, 2022.
39.
CHOMEL M., GUITTONNY-LARCHEVÊQUE M., FERNANDEZ C., GALLET C., DESROCHERS A., PARÉ D., JACKSON B.G., BALDY V. Plant secondary metabolites: a key driver of litter decomposition and soil nutrient cycling. Journal of Ecology, 104 (6), 1527, 2016.
40.
MI W.T., ZHENG H., CHI Y., REN W.B., ZHANG H.X., ZHANG W.Y., YUAN F., LIU Y.L. Reseeding restoration significantly improves the physical and chemical properties of degraded grassland soil in China-a meta-analysis. CATENA. 252, 2025.
41.
QU Q., DENG L., SHANGGUAN Z.P., SUN J., HE J.S., WANG K.B., ZHOU Z.C., LI J.W., PEÑUELAS J. Belowground C sequestrations response to grazing exclusion in global grasslands: Dynamics and mechanisms. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment. 360, 2024.
42.
WANG Q., ZHENG J.H., ZHAO M.L., ZHANG J. The influence of mowing intensity on the original plant community characteristics and soil physicochemical properties of Sedum lineare. Journal of Grassland Science, 32 (2), 26, 2023.
43.
CUI Q., YANG H.J., WANG G.M., MA J.Z., FENG L., LIU J.T. Response of soil carbon fractions and enzyme activities to mowing management on in a coastal wetland of the yellow river delta. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 2022.
44.
LIU J.Y., LI L., JI L., LI Y.L., LIU J.J., LI F.Y. Divergent effects of grazing versus mowing on plant nutrients in typical steppe grasslands of Inner Mongolia. Journal of Plant Ecology, 16 (1), 2023.
45.
LUO W.J., PETTICORD D.F., ZHU S.W., ZHU S.W., WU Y.L., YI X., WANG X.Y., GUO Y.L., SONG X.X. Biochar Application and Mowing Independently and Interactively Influence Soil Enzyme Activity and Carbon Sequestration in Karst and Red Soils in Southern China. Agronomy-Basel, 15 (1), 2025.
46.
ZHANG Z.T., YU T.Q., XIN X.P., LIU H.M., LV S.J., WEI Z.J., HAN G.D., YAN R.R. Response of the germinable soil seed bank of temperate Leymus chinensis meadows to mowing regimes. Frontiers in Plant Science, 15, 2025.
47.
TÓTH A., DEÁK B., TÓTH K., KISS R., LUKÁCS K., RÁDAI Z., GODÓ L., BORZA S., KELEMEN A., MIGLÉCZ T., BÁTORI Z., NOVÁK T.J., VALKÓ O. Vertical distribution of soil seed bank and the ecological importance of deeply buried seeds in alkaline grasslands. PEERJ. 10, 2022.
48.
YAN R.R., YU T.Q., LIU H.M., LV S.J., CHEN B.R., WU Y.L., QUE G.P., WEI Z.J., XU L.J., ZHU X.Y., YANG G.X., XIN X.P. Effects of different grassland utilization methods on the germinable soil seed bank of the Hulunbuir meadow steppe. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 2023.
49.
LI Y.Y., DONG S.K., WEN L., WANG X.X., WU Y. Soil seed banks in degraded and revegetated grasslands in the alpine region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Ecological Engineering, 49, 77, 2012.
50.
SHI Y.F., SHI S.H., JIANG Y.S., LIU J. A global synthesis of fire effects on soil seed banks. Global Ecology and Conservation, 36, 2022.
51.
YANG Z.Z., ZHANG C.P., DONG Q.M., YANG X.X., CHU H., LI X.A., WEI L.N., ZHANG Y.F. The Impact of Reseeding on the Community Characteristics and Diversity of Moderately Degraded Alpine Grassland. Journal of Grassland Science, 26 (5), 1071, 2018.
52.
TILMAN D. Niche tradeoffs, neutrality, and community structure: A stochastic theory of resource competition, invasion, and community assembly. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101 (30), 10854, 2004.
53.
ROHDE K. Vacant niches and the possible operation of natural laws in ecosystems. Rivista di Biologia-Biology Forum, 101 (1), 13, 2008.
54.
WU W.P., MA H.B., LU Q., ZHOU Y., SU T.T., ZHU L. The influence of reseeding on plant communities and physical and chemical properties of Soil in Ningxia Desert Steppe. Grassland Science, 37 (10), 1959, 2020.
55.
MIAO R.H., GUO M.X., MA J., GAO B.W., ALAMUSA, MIAO Y., YANG Z.L., LIU Y.Z. Shifts in soil seed bank and plant community under nitrogen addition and mowing in an Inner Mongolian steppe. Ecological Engineering, 153, 2020.
56.
MIAO R.H., MA J., LIU Y.Z., LIU Y.C., YANG Z.L., GUO M.X. Variability of Aboveground Litter Inputs Alters Soil Carbon and Nitrogen in a Coniferous-Broadleaf Mixed Forest of Central China. Forests. 10 (2), 2019.
57.
PISEDDU F., BELLOCCHI G., PICON-COCHARD C. Mowing and warming effects on grassland species richness and harvested biomass: meta-analyses. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 41 (6), 2021.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
| eISSN: | 2083-5906 |
| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
