Short-duration overnight kraaling has been suggested as a tool for restoring degraded rangelands. However, the response of different plant functional types and communities to such intense livestock impact may vary depending on local context. We thus examined the effects of short-duration overnight kraaling on soil and vegetation characteristics in a mesic montane grassland in South Africa using paired kraal and control sites, as part of a low intensity grazing approach. Kraaling increased soil P and S, as well as soil organic matter (except when initial values were over 12%). The effect of kraaling on vegetation was strongly dependent on initial condition. Basal cover of grasses and forbs increased by approximately 50 and 15%, respectively, if sites had very low initial basal cover, but decreased by up to 15% if initial values were over 50% and 10%, respectively. Kraaling always decreased herbaceous biomass, but especially when initial values were over 2 000 kg ha⁻¹. In mesic grasslands, short-duration overnight kraaling is promising as a tool for rehabilitating degraded sites or fertilizing abandoned cropland, but should be avoided where the grass sward is intact. We recommend that the suitability of kraaling be evaluated per vegetation type and local context.

有人建议将短期隔夜放牧作为恢复退化牧场的一种工具。然而，不同植物功能类型和群落对如此强烈的牲畜影响的反应可能因当地情况而异。因此，作为低强度放牧方法的一部分，我们使用成对的畜栏和对照地点，研究了短期过夜畜栏对南非中温山地草原土壤和植被特征的影响。Kraaling 增加了土壤 P 和 S 以及土壤有机质（初始值超过 12% 时除外）。克拉林对植被的影响很大程度上取决于初始条件。如果场地的初始基础覆盖率非常低，则草类和杂草的基础覆盖率分别增加约 50% 和 15%，但如果初始值分别超过 50% 和 10%，则下降最多 15%。Kraaling 总是会降低草本生物量，尤其是当初始值超过 2 000 千克公顷时⁻¹。在气候温和的草原上，短期隔夜放牧有望成为恢复退化场地或为废弃农田施肥的一种工具，但在草地完好的情况下应避免使用。我们建议根据植被类型和当地环境评估畜牧业的适宜性。