Abstract:Studying the effects of rotational grazing on the physicochemical properties of grassland soil is of great significance for scientific utilization of grassland and ecological protection of grassland. Taking the desert grassland with the largest area in Ningxia as the research object, the effects of enclosure, continuous grazing, and rotational grazing on the physical and chemical properties of 0—40 cm soil were studied in the second, fourth and sixth districts through grazing experiments. Grassland health status was also evaluated by using evaluated method. The results showed that: (1) The silt content and moisture content of rotational soil in Sixth District and Fourth Region were higher. And the rotational grazing method had little effect on soil bulk density and porosity. The rotational grazing in Area IV and Region VI was prone to form soil physical crusts, lichen-algae Crust maintenance. (2) Continuous grazing had the lowest content of organic matter in the soil, and the total nitrogen content was the lowest in the grazing prohibition. The available nitrogen content was the highest in the four-area rotational grazing, and the available phosphorus and potassium contents were the highest in the six-area rotational grazing. (3) There were significant correlations between soil properties, but the correlation between grassland plant biomass and most soil properties was not obvious. (4) The health index of the six-region rotational grazing was the highest, and that of continuous grazing was the lowest. According to these findings, the grassland in the study area is suitable for rotation in six districts.