Grazing exclusion had greater effects than nitrogen addition on soil and plant community in a desert steppe, Northwest of China

BACKGROUND: The impacts of increasing nitrogen (N) deposition and overgrazing on terrestrial ecosystems have been continuously hot issues. Grazing exclusion, aimed at restoration of grassland ecosystem function and service, has been extensively applied, and considered a rapid and effective vegetation restoration method. However, the synthetic effects of exclosure and N deposition on plant and community characteristics have rarely been studied. Here, a 4-year field experiment of N addition and exclusion treatment had been conducted in the desert steppe dominated by Alhagi sparsifolia and Lycium ruthenicum in northwest of China, and the responses of soil characteristics, plant nutrition and plant community to the treatments had been analyzed. RESULTS: The grazing exclusion significantly increased total N concentration in the surface soil (0-20 cm), and increased plant height, coverage (P < 0.05) and aboveground biomass. Specifically, A. sparsifolia recovered faster both in individual and community levels than L. ruthenicum did after exclusion. There was no difference in response to N addition gradients between the two plants. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that it is exclusion rather than N addition that has greater impacts on soil properties and plant community in desert steppe. Present N deposition level has no effect on plant community of desert steppe based on short-term experimental treatments. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12870-021-03400-z.