International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation, 2025, Vol.15, No.6, 267-276 http://ecoevopublisher.com/index.php/ijmec 275 Mongolian Plateau. The core objective of the sustainable management model is to ensure both the ecological functions of the grassland and the production demands, and to maintain the long-term stability of the nutrient cycle (Liao et al., 2023). 8 Concluding Remarks The nutrient cycling and decomposition process of grasslands constitute the core foundation of ecosystem stability and productivity. Litter input, microbial structure, soil-animal food web, and temperature and moisture conditions jointly determine the mineralization rate and recycling capacity of nutrients. Human activities and climate change are altering these processes, posing new challenges to the original carbon-nitrogen balance. The decomposition process of grassland is highly impulsive, especially in semi-arid areas where dry and wet conditions alternate frequently. There exists a close bidirectional feedback mechanism among plants, microorganisms and soil, which determines the response direction of the system to disturbances. Grazing, fertilization and land use change are the most direct driving forces affecting the nutrient cycle, and their impacts are mostly achieved by altering the quality of litter and the structure of microorganisms. The structural complexity of the soil-food web determines the stability of the system, and multi-level biological processes enhance the redundancy of nutrient cycling. Looking ahead, microbiomics and metabolomics technologies will reveal the key functional groups and metabolic pathways in the decomposition process. Multi-element coupling research (carbon-nitrogen-phosphorus-sulfur linkage) will help build a more comprehensive grassland nutrient model. Multi-scale models (from rhizosphere to landscape) will enhance the predictive ability for the impacts of grazing and climate change. Research on deep soil carbon may become a new breakthrough point for understanding the stability of grassland carbon pools. To achieve the sustainable utilization of grassland ecosystems, it is necessary to take scientific management as the foundation, take into account ecological processes and social demands, and jointly build a stable and resilient future for grasslands through adaptive management, technological innovation and community participation. Acknowledgments The author sincerely thanks Livia Lee for their support and assistance in the literature review process, which greatly contributed to the smooth progress of this study. Conflict of Interest Disclosure The author affirms that this research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. References Bai Y., and Cotrufo M.F., 2022, Grassland soil carbon sequestration: Current understanding, challenges, and solutions, Science, 377(6606): 603–608. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo2380 Bicharanloo B., Shirvan M.B., and Dijkstra F.A., 2022, Decoupled cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in a grassland soil along a hillslope mediated by clay and soil moisture, Catena, 219: 106648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106648 Bilotto F., Vibart R., Mackay A., Costall D., and Harrison M.T., 2022, Towards an integrated phosphorus, carbon and nitrogen cycling model for topographically diverse grasslands, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 124(2): 153–172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-022-10231-3 Borer E.T., and Stevens C.J., 2022, Nitrogen deposition and climate: An integrated synthesis, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 37(6): 541–552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.02.013 Cao B., Zhang Z., Tong Y., Wang Q., Li W., Wei C., Zang C., and Wang W., 2025, Optimizing Cyanobacterial Biomass for Soil Restoration: Nutrient Enrichment and Microbial Modulation in Degraded Grasslands of Hulun Lake, Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 114(5): 75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-025-04030-z Dipman M., and Meyer W., 2019, Type conversion from native California sage scrub to non-native grassland accelerates decomposition processes, Applied Soil Ecology, 144: 68–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2019.07.005 Hao X., Yang J., Dong S., He F., and Zhang Y., 2024, The influence of grazing intensity on soil organic carbon storage in grassland of China: A meta-analysis, Science of the Total Environment, 924: 171439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171439
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