Paralleled grazing and mowing differentially affected plant community diversity and productivity in a semi-arid grassland

Abstract Background Numerous previous studies have investigated the effects of grazing or mowing on plant community diversity and productivity in grasslands; however, few have deliberately made sound comparison between the effects of paralleled grazing and mowing in terms of biomass removal on plant community diversity and productivity in semi-arid grasslands. Using a 4-year field manipulative experiment, we investigated how moderate intensity of domestic cattle (Bos taurus) grazing and mowing can affect plant community diversity and productivity in the semi-arid grassland in northeastern China, with the attempt to find a better management practice. Results Our results showed that grazing significantly increased plant species richness by 9% but did not change plant biomass, whereas mowing did not alter plant species richness but significantly reduced total plant biomass and root biomass by 18% and 12%, respectively, and significantly altered plant community composition, reflected by 32% increase of grass to forb biomass ratio. Conclusions Cattle grazing exerted a neutral effect on plant biomass and a positive effect on plant species richness, suggesting that cattle grazing is a better management practice compared to the paralleled mowing, but longer-term experiments are needed to explore the lasting influences of grazing vs. mowing on grassland productivity, plant diversity and the sustainability.