Plant community composition and structure under short-term grazing exclusion in steppic arid rangelands

Abstract Grazing exclusion has been proved to be an effective approach for naturally restoring degraded rangelands. Still, the effect of this management practice on plant community composition and structure is ambiguous, especially under prolonged repeated drought events. Here, we investigated responses (i.e. incidence-based) abundance-based) short-term sheep grazing severe episode in arid steppes Alfa-grass (Stipa tenacissima L.) with a long evolutionary history grazing. Individual species were tested based occurrence abundance either grazed or grazing-excluded steppes. Besides, indicator analysis was used identify indicative Likewise, incidence-based abundance-based ?-diversity, ?-diversity functional groups’ diversities quantified using Hill Numbers compared between two steppe managements types. Under conditions, allowed apparition large number increasers, colonizers, native species. It also improved size regional pool increased overall ?-diversity. Moreover, decreased at local scale but it landscape scale. The significantly enabled significant spatial structuration components by maintaining high balanced variation greater abundance-gradient fine-scale. Our results suggest that implementation would appropriate vegetation habitat during droughts since permits recovery affects positively pool, incidence- ?-diversity as well (chiefly scale).