3.2 Effects of grazing on the soil physicochemical properties
The soil physicochemical properties among five successional stages in alpine grassland are shown in Table 1. Except for soil pH and inorganic carbon, all soil index contents were higher in the surface layer than in the subsurface layer. The soil water content, ammonium nitrogen, total nitrogen, total carbon, and organic carbon were successively decreased from GK to FB. In contrast, the inorganic carbon content increased, and the soil quality gradually calcified. Soil nitrate, nitrogen, and available phosphorus were highest in GK and K but showed a decreasing trend in KT and an increasing trend in the degraded grassland.