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Background  Forage nutritive value plays an important role in livestock nutrition and maintaining sustainable grassland ecosystems, and grazing management can affect the quality of forage. In this study, we investigated the effects of different grazing intensities on the nutritive values of  Leymus chinensis  (Trin.) Tzvelev,  Artemisia  spp. and  Carex duriuscula  C. A. Mey in the steppes of China during the growing seasons from 2011 to 2013. Five grazing management treatments were implemented: (1) rest grazing in spring, heavy grazing in summer and moderate grazing in autumn (RHM), (2) rest grazing in spring, moderate grazing in summer and heavy grazing in autumn (RMH), (3) heavy grazing though all seasons (HHH), (4) heavy grazing in spring and summer and moderate grazing in autumn (HHM) and (5) continuous moderate grazing in all seasons (MMM).    Results  There were significant effects of year, season, treatment, and year × season and year × treatment interactions only on the crude protein of  L. chinensis  (P < 0.05). The crude protein concentrations of  L. chinensis  in the plots of constant high grazing pressure (HHH) and reduced grazing pressure in the last grazing stage (HHM) were higher than with deferred grazing (RMH and RHM, P < 0.05) in spring from 2011 to 2012. For  Artemisia  spp. and  C. duriuscula , the crude protein concentration in HHH was higher than that in RMH (P < 0.05) in the summer of 2011. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) for ether extract, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and Ca concentration for any of the grasses in spring and summer from 2011 to 2013 under the different grazing management treatments.    Conclusions  The nutritive value of  L. chinensis  was more responsive to grazing disturbance than  Artemisia  spp. and  C. duriuscula , and heavy grazing maintained a relatively high crude protein content in all species. Seasonal and interannual seasonal differences in grazing management combinations were two of the most important factors in determining the variability of forage nutritive value, including crude protein, ether extract, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and calcium, for  L. chinensis ,  Artemisia  spp. and  C. duriuscula . We suggest that moderate grazing should be adopted to ensure the quality and yield of forage and promote the sustainable development of animal husbandry.

Grazing effects on the nutritive value of dominant species in steppe grasslands of northern China