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Changes in vegetation influence the function of grassland ecosystems. A degradation of the vegetation type has been found from high to low altitudes in Guanshan grassland in the order of forest grassland (FG) < shrub grassland (SG) < herb grassland (HG). However, there is poor information regarding the effect of vegetation degradation on soil microbes in Guanshan grassland. Therefore, our study evaluated the impact of vegetation degradation on the microbial parameters of soil, as well as the mechanisms responsible for these variations. Soils were sampled from 0 to 30 cm under the FG, SG, and HG in Guanshan grassland for determining the microbial biomass, enzymatic activities, basal respiration (BR), and metabolic quotient (qCO2) in April and July 2017. The results showed that vegetation types are important factors that obviously influence the above-mentioned soil microbial properties. The FG and SG had significantly higher soil microbial biomass, enzymatic activities, and BR than those of the HG, but markedly lower qCO2 (p < 0.05). Soil pH, available nitrogen (AN), organic carbon (SOC), total phosphorus (TP), available P (AP), and total N (TN) were key factors in the decline in the soil microbial biomass and microbial activities of the degraded vegetation. Moreover, slope aspects also affected the soil microbial properties, with the east slope having higher soil microbial biomass, enzymatic activities, and BR and lower qCO2 than the west slope. Conclusively, vegetation degradation has led to a decline in the soil microbial biomass and microbial activities, indicating the degradation of the Guanshan grassland ecosystem.
