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Article

Fertilization Promotes the Recovery of Plant Productivity but Decreases Biodiversity in a Khorchin Degraded Grassland

1
College of Grassland Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
2
Inner Mongolia M-Grass Ecology and Enviroment (Group) Co., Ltd., Hohhot 011517, China
3
Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Hohhot 010010, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nitrogen 2025, 6(3), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen6030064 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 26 May 2025 / Revised: 31 July 2025 / Accepted: 1 August 2025 / Published: 4 August 2025

Abstract

Fertilization is a critical measure for vegetation restoration and ecological reconstruction in degraded grasslands. However, little is known about the long-term effects of different combinations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) on plant and microbial communities in degraded grasslands. This study conducted a four-year (2017–2020) N, P, K addition experiment in the Khorchin Grassland, a degraded typical grassland located in Zhalute Banner, Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia, to investigate the effects of fertilization treatment on plant functional groups and microbial communities after grazing exclusion. Our results showed that the addition of P, NP, and NPK compound fertilizers significantly increased aboveground biomass of the plant community, which is mainly related to the improvement of nutrient availability to promote the growth of specific plant functional groups, especially annual and biennial plants and perennial bunchgrasses. However, the addition of N, P, and NP fertilizers significantly reduced the species diversity of the plant community. At the same time, the addition of N, P, and NP fertilizers and the application of N and NP significantly reduced fungal species diversity but had no significant effect on soil bacteria. Our study provides new insights into the relationships between different types of fertilization and plant community productivity and biodiversity in degraded grasslands over four years of fertilization, which is critical for evaluating the effect of fertilization on the restoration of degraded grassland.
Keywords: fertilization; Khorchin; plant functional group; microbial diversity; degraded grasslands fertilization; Khorchin; plant functional group; microbial diversity; degraded grasslands

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zheng, L.; Zhao, W.; Gao, S.; Wang, R.; Yan, H.; Wang, M. Fertilization Promotes the Recovery of Plant Productivity but Decreases Biodiversity in a Khorchin Degraded Grassland. Nitrogen 2025, 6, 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen6030064

AMA Style

Zheng L, Zhao W, Gao S, Wang R, Yan H, Wang M. Fertilization Promotes the Recovery of Plant Productivity but Decreases Biodiversity in a Khorchin Degraded Grassland. Nitrogen. 2025; 6(3):64. https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen6030064

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zheng, Lina, Wei Zhao, Shaobo Gao, Ruizhen Wang, Haoran Yan, and Mingjiu Wang. 2025. "Fertilization Promotes the Recovery of Plant Productivity but Decreases Biodiversity in a Khorchin Degraded Grassland" Nitrogen 6, no. 3: 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen6030064

APA Style

Zheng, L., Zhao, W., Gao, S., Wang, R., Yan, H., & Wang, M. (2025). Fertilization Promotes the Recovery of Plant Productivity but Decreases Biodiversity in a Khorchin Degraded Grassland. Nitrogen, 6(3), 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen6030064

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