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Excessive grazing leads to degradation of the structure and functions of grassland ecosystems, including the loss of species with unique functional attributes. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the species diversity of grasslands at different grazing degradation stages and the functional diversity carried by these species. We examined the species diversity and functional diversity, which were calculated based on the plant functional traits, in grasslands at four stages of degradation (undegraded, slightly degraded, moderately degraded, and intensely degraded) in the Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia, China. We analyzed connections of plant functional traits, species diversity, and functional diversity with the grazing gradient, as well as the relationship between species diversity and functional diversity. Our results showed that (i) different plant functional traits have different trends along the degradation gradient. With the intensification of grassland degradation, the plant sp...