Impact of livestock activity on near-surface ground temperatures in central Mongolian grasslands

Zweigel, Robin Benjamin; Dashtseren, Avirmed; Temuujin, Khurelbaatar; Sharkhuu, Anarmaa; Webster, Clare; Lee, Hanna; Westermann, Sebastian

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5059-2024

Articles | Volume 21, issue 22

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5059-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5059-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 21, issue 22

Research article

|

15 Nov 2024

Research article |

| 15 Nov 2024

Impact of livestock activity on near-surface ground temperatures in central Mongolian grasslands

Robin Benjamin Zweigel, Avirmed Dashtseren, Khurelbaatar Temuujin, Anarmaa Sharkhuu, Clare Webster, Hanna Lee, and Sebastian Westermann

Data sets

Ground surface temperature measurements at grazed and ungrazed plots in Central Mongolia Robin Benjamin Zweigel https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11562067

Hemispherical photographs and calculated Leaf Area Index for study sites in Central Mongolia Robin Benjamin Zweigel https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11562206

Survey of surface cover at two study sites in Central Mongolia Robin Benjamin Zweigel https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11562218

Short summary

Intense grazing at grassland sites removes vegetation, reduces the snow cover, and inhibits litter layers from forming. Grazed sites generally have a larger annual ground surface temperature amplitude than ungrazed sites, but the net effect depends on effects in the transitional seasons. Our results also suggest that seasonal use of pastures can reduce ground temperatures, which can be a strategy to protect currently degrading grassland permafrost.