Table 1 Litter mass remaining and general properties of surface soils of 0–10 cm in depth under different grazing treatments in 2012 (nested linear-mixed models analysis with grazing as the fixed factor, and plot as the random factor). n = 4.

From: Large herbivores influence plant litter decomposition by altering soil properties and plant quality in a meadow steppe

Variables†

degree of freedom

F-value

p-value

MR

2, 45

27.529

<0.001

SM

2, 45

7.428

0.002

BD

2, 45

13.656

<0.001

pH

2, 45

8.435

0.001

EC

2, 45

5.219

0.009

TC

2, 45

0.779

0.465

TN

2, 45

6.386

0.004

C:N

2, 45

4.027

0.025

MBC

2, 45

2.068

0.138

NM

2, 45

3.642

0.034

  1. †Key to abbreviations: MR = litter mass remaining; SM = soil moisture; BD = soil bulk density; pH = soil pH value; EC = soil electric conductivity; TC = soil total carbon; TN = soil total nitrogen; C:N = soil total C/N ratio; MBC = soil microbial biomass carbon; and NM = Net N mineralization rate.
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