Degradation of soil in the United Kingdom (UK) is compromising the ecosystem services that flow from this natural capital asset, including water flow regulation. Soil compacted by grazing livestock, for example, results in an increase in overland flow following rainfall and is thought to be one of the key factors contributing to increased severity of UK winter flooding in recent years. Practical farm-scale changes in livestock management that lead to improvements in water flow regulation therefore need to be identified. This pilot study aimed to assess the impact of (i) changing stocking composition, and (ii) temporary grazing exclusions, on soil natural capital quality on a sheep and beef cattle farm in Northumberland, England. I found evidence of improved soil bulk density under mixed sheep and cattle grazing compared to cattle-only grazing over a 3-month summer grazing season; bulk density in 'cattle-only' pastures increased from 0.836 to 0.875 g cm⁻³ from June to September 2017, compared with a small decrease of 0.875–0.871 g cm⁻³ in 'cattle to mixed sheep and cattle' pastures (difference significant at p < .05 level). Changing from sheep-only grazing to mixed grazing, and exclusion of grazing, did not significantly influence bulk density change (p > .05). This study indicates that rapid improvements in soil physical properties can be achieved through realistic changes to livestock management. If this finding can be confirmed over multiple grazing seasons, this potentially offers a straightforward means to enhance soil health on grazed land in the UK, improving delivery of water flow regulation and other ecosystem services.

中文翻译：

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牛羊混合放牧与单独放牧会减少土壤压实吗？

英国 (UK) 的土壤退化正在损害从这一自然资本资产流出的生态系统服务，包括水流量调节。例如，因放牧牲畜而压实的土壤会导致降雨后地表流量增加，这被认为是导致近年来英国冬季洪水严重程度增加的关键因素之一。因此，需要确定导致改善水流量调节的牲畜管理的实际农场规模变化。该试点研究旨在评估 (i) 改变放养组成和 (ii) 临时放牧排除对英格兰诺森伯兰郡绵羊和肉牛农场土壤自然资本质量的影响。在为期 3 个月的夏季放牧季节，我发现了与只放牧相比，羊和牛混合放牧的土壤容重有所改善的证据；“仅养牛”牧场的堆积密度从 0.836 增加到 0.875 g cm^-3从 2017 年 6 月到 9 月，相比之下，“牛到羊和牛混合”牧场的小幅下降 0.875-0.871 g cm ^-3（差异显着在p  < .05 水平）。从只放牧到混合放牧以及排除放牧，对容重变化没有显着影响 ( p  > .05)。这项研究表明，通过切实改变牲畜管理可以实现土壤物理特性的快速改善。如果这一发现可以在多个放牧季节得到证实，这可能会提供一种直接的方法来增强英国牧场的土壤健康，改善水流调节和其他生态系统服务的提供。