Stocks, chemical composition of grassland litter and felts of Leymus communities (<i>Leymus</i> <i>chinensis</i> (Trin.) Tzvel.) in the south of Eastern Transbaikalia and assessment of their res

The reserves and chemical composition of grassland litter and felts in monodominant Leymus chinensis communities of the southern part of Eastern Transbaikalia, growing in different soil and ecological conditions of a distinctly continental climate and performing protective functions in winter for the thermal and water regimes of the upper soil horizons, the preservation of plant renewal buds, are studied. It was revealed that the stocks of grassland litter and felts varied significantly: 2.9–102.9 and 54–107 g/m2, respectively. The amount of grassland litter mainly depended on the species composition of communities and the degree of pasture load. A correlation was established between the accumulation of grassland litter and felts from the dominant production and the total green phytomass of leymus communities, but the relationship between the content of grassland litter and felts in leymus communities was weak (r = 0.44). To restore the optimal accumulation of rags, according to the values of the litter fall coefficient (LFC) and the destruction coefficient (Kd), will take a relatively long time. A high negative correlation between these indicators was revealed (r = – 0.89... –0.91). Concentrations of macronutrients in grassland litter and felts from different communities were determined by species composition and availability of nutrients and moisture. According to the values of the C : N, C : P, C : N : S : P, Ca : K and Si : Ca ratios in the aboveground phytomass of communities, it was shown for the first time that the grassland litter and felts of leymus communities in the southern part of Eastern Transbaikalia are resistant to decomposition and mineralization. However, the degree of stability can be adjusted with changes in species composition, climatic (drought, heavy rainfall) and anthropogenic (spring snowfall and steppe fires) conditions.