scholarly journals Herders’ opinions about desirable stocking rates and overstocking in the rangelands of northern China

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangyang Hou ◽  
Yantin Yin ◽  
David Michalk ◽  
Xiangjun Yun ◽  
Yong Ding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Formal Education ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Rangeland Management ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Desert Steppe ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Meadow Steppe ◽  
Typical Steppe ◽  
Breeding Practices ◽  
Stocking Rates

Herders’ desirable stocking rates and their opinions of overstocking were studied using survey and multi-regression methods in the meadow steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe regions of northern China. It was found that individual herders had their own perception of their particular ‘desirable stocking rate’, which referred to the number of livestock that the herders thought they could keep or maintain on an area of rangeland over a specified period of time. These perceptions were not in line with the ‘balancing animals and grass’ policy of the Chinese government, and herders used them as a guide to adjust stock-breeding practices. Most herders admitted that they bred more livestock now than 10 years ago, but insisted that there was no overstocking and many even thought that their rangelands could still carry more livestock. They also held the view that they took into account the carrying capacity of rangelands when making decisions about livestock-breeding practices. Individual herders thought that the reasonable stocking rate range should be 0.75–1.50 sheep units ha–1 (meadow steppe), 0.60–1.50 sheep units ha–1 (typical steppe), and 0.50–0.75 sheep units ha–1 (desert steppe), respectively. The herders from the desert steppe regions were most concerned about the overstocking of rangelands, and the concern of herders was in the order desert steppe > typical steppe > meadow steppe. The herders with more formal education and those who worked in a village council and had smaller areas of rangelands, were more concerned about the overstocking of rangelands. It is argued that such herders should be given more access to policy and market information, including extensive grazing and modern stall-feeding technologies, and encouraged to reduce their desirable stocking rates, leading to more sustainable rangeland management in northern China.

scholarly journals Optimising grazing for livestock production and environmental benefits in Chinese grasslands

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warwick B. Badgery ◽  
David Kemp ◽  
Zhang Yingjun ◽  
Wang Zhongwu ◽  
Han Guodong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Desert Steppe ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Typical Steppe ◽  
Artemisia Frigida ◽  
Stocking Rates ◽  
Lamb Growth

Overgrazing has extensively degraded Chinese grasslands. A reduction in stocking rate of 30–50% below the district averages is required to increase the profitability of livestock production and protect vital ecosystem services such as mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG). Grazing experiments located in the desert steppe, typical steppe and alpine meadow verified the influence of stocking rate and grazing management on livestock production, grassland composition and associated ecosystem services. The desert steppe experiment found lower stocking rates of ~150 SE (where SE is sheep equivalent, which is a 50kg animal) grazing days ha–1 (1 SE ha–1 over 150 days) enhanced botanical composition, maintained profitable lamb growth rates and reduced GHG emissions intensity. The typical steppe experiment found moderate grazing pressure of ~400 SE grazing days ha–1 (4 SE ha–1 over 100 days) maintained higher lamb growth rates, an average herbage mass >0.5t DM ha–1 that maintained the content of Leymus chinensis above 70% and Artemisia frigida below 10% of the grassland and had the highest level of net carbon sequestration. In the alpine meadow experiment the district average stocking rate of ~16 SE ha–1 (1440 SE grazing days ha–1 over 90 days) was not too high, but extending grazing into the non-growing season had no benefit. The findings of these experiments highlight that many of the benefits to ecosystem services can be achieved with reduced stocking rates which also generate profitable levels of livestock production. In both the desert and typical steppe experiments, the results were optimal when the stocking rates were adjusted to maintain average herbage mass over summer above ~0.5t DM ha–1, whereas herbage mass was higher with the local, conservative stocking rates in the alpine meadow.

scholarly journals Remotely monitoring ecosystem respiration from various grasslands along a large-scale east-west transect across Northern China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuguang Tang ◽  
Yanlian Zhou ◽  
Hengpeng Li ◽  
Li Yao ◽  
Zhi Ding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Ecosystem Respiration ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Desert Steppe ◽  
Meadow Steppe ◽  
Typical Steppe ◽  
Environmental Controls ◽  
Grassland Ecosystems

Abstract Background: Grassland ecosystems play an important role in the terrestrial carbon cycles through carbon emission by ecosystem respiration (Re) and carbon uptake by plant photosynthesis (GPP). Surprisingly, given Re occupies a large component of annual carbon balance, rather less attention has been paid to developing the estimates of Re compared to GPP.Results: Based on 11 flux sites over the diverse grassland ecosystems in northern China, this study examined the amounts of carbon released by Re as well as the dominant environmental controls across temperate meadow steppe, typical steppe, desert steppe and alpine meadow, respectively. Multi-year mean Re revealed relatively less CO2 emitted by the desert steppe in comparison with other grassland ecosystems. Meanwhile, C emissions of all grasslands were mainly controlled by the growing period. Correlation analysis revealed that apart from air and soil temperature, soil water content exerted a strong effect on the variability in Re, which implied the great potential to derive Re using relevant remote sensing data. Then, these field-measured Re data were up-scaled to large areas using time-series MODIS information and remote sensing-based piecewise regression models. These semi-empirical models appeared to work well with a small margin of error (R2 and RMSE ranged from 0.45 to 0.88 and from 0.21 to 0.69 g C m-2 d-1, respectively). Conclusions: Generally, the piecewise models from the growth period and dormant season performed better than model developed directly from the entire year. Moreover, the biases between annual mean Re observations and the remotely-derived products were usually within 20%. Finally, the regional Re emissions across northern China's grasslands was approximately 100.66 Tg C in 2010, about 1/3 of carbon fixed from the MODIS GPP product. Specially, the desert steppe exhibited the highest ratio, followed by the temperate meadow steppe, typical steppe and alpine meadow. Therefore, this work provides a novel framework to accurately predict the spatio-temporal patterns of Re over large areas, which can greatly reduce the uncertainties in global carbon estimates and climate projections.

scholarly journals Remotely monitoring ecosystem respiration from various grasslands along a large-scale east-west transect across northern China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuguang Tang ◽  
Yanlian Zhou ◽  
Hengpeng Li ◽  
Li Yao ◽  
Zhi Ding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Ecosystem Respiration ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Desert Steppe ◽  
Meadow Steppe ◽  
Typical Steppe ◽  
Environmental Controls ◽  
Grassland Ecosystems

Abstract Background : Grassland ecosystems play an important role in the terrestrial carbon cycles through carbon emission by ecosystem respiration ( R e ) and carbon uptake by plant photosynthesis (GPP). Surprisingly, given R e occupies a large component of annual carbon balance, rather less attention has been paid to developing the estimates of R e compared to GPP. Results : Based on 11 flux sites over the diverse grassland ecosystems in northern China, this study examined the amounts of carbon released by R e as well as the dominant environmental controls across temperate meadow steppe, typical steppe, desert steppe and alpine meadow, respectively. Multi-year mean R e revealed relatively less CO 2 emitted by the desert steppe in comparison with other grassland ecosystems. Meanwhile, C emissions of all grasslands were mainly controlled by the growing period. Correlation analysis revealed that apart from air and soil temperature, soil water content exerted a strong effect on the variability in R e , which implied the great potential to derive R e using relevant remote sensing data. Then, these field-measured R e data were up-scaled to large areas using time-series MODIS information and remote sensing-based piecewise regression models. These semi-empirical models appeared to work well with a small margin of error ( R 2 and RMSE ranged from 0.45 to 0.88 and from 0.21 to 0.69 g C m -2 d -1 , respectively). Conclusions : Generally, the piecewise models from the growth period and dormant season performed better than model developed directly from the entire year. Moreover, the biases between annual mean R e observations and the remotely-derived products were usually within 20%. Finally, the regional R e emissions across northern China's grasslands was approximately 100.66 Tg C in 2010, about 1/3 of carbon fixed from the MODIS GPP product. Specially, the desert steppe exhibited the highest ratio, followed by the temperate meadow steppe, typical steppe and alpine meadow. Therefore, this work provides a novel framework to accurately predict the spatio-temporal patterns of R e over large areas, which can greatly reduce the uncertainties in global carbon estimates and climate projections.

scholarly journals Changing Trends of NDVI and Their Responses to Climatic Variation in Different Types of Grassland in Inner Mongolia from 1982 to 2011

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Yang ◽  
Zhiqiang Wan ◽  
Suld Borjigin ◽  
Dong Zhang ◽  
Yulong Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Climatic Variation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Desert Steppe ◽  
Vegetation Density ◽  
Meadow Steppe ◽  
Typical Steppe ◽  
Changing Trends ◽  
Different Types

Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is commonly used to indicate vegetation density and condition. NDVI was mostly correlated with climate factors. We analyzed changing trends of NDVI in different types of grassland in Inner Mongolia and the response of NDVI to climatic variation from 1982 to 2011. NDVI of meadow steppe increased significantly in spring while it decreased in other seasons. The annual mean NDVI in typical steppe and desert steppe increased significantly in the last 30a. However, in the greatest area of steppe desert, the NDVI had no significant change in summer, autumn, and the growing season. In meadow steppe, typical steppe, and desert steppe, the area showed a positive correlation of NDVI to temperature as highest in spring compared to other seasons, because warming in spring is beneficial to the plant growth. However, in the greatest area of steppe desert, the correlation of NDVI to temperature was not significant. The NDVI was positively correlated to precipitation in four types of grassland. In the steppe desert, the precipitation had no significant effect on the NDVI due to the poor vegetation cover in this region. The NDVI was not significantly correlated to the precipitation in autumn because of vegetation withering in the season and not need precipitation. Precipitation was a more important factor rather than temperature to NDVI in the region. The response of NDVI to temperature and precipitation in different seasons should be studied in more detail and the effect of other factors on NDVI should be considered in future research.

scholarly journals The composition, richness, and evenness of seedlings from the soil seed bank of a semi-arid steppe in northern China are affected by long-term stocking rates of sheep and rainfall variation

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hu ◽  
J. Zhang ◽  
X. J. Chen ◽  
J. P. Millner ◽  
S. H. Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Bank ◽  
Soil Seed Bank ◽  
Seedling Emergence ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Rainfall Variation ◽  
Arid Steppe ◽  
Stocking Rates ◽  
Semi Arid

The soil seed bank has a large influence on the potential for grassland restoration. This study aimed to characterise the composition, density, richness, and evenness of seedlings emerging from the soil seed bank under different sheep stocking rates, in a summer grazing system, in semi-arid China. Soil was sampled in 2015, a year with extreme drought conditions and in 2016, a normal rainfall year. The soil seed bank was assessed by measuring seedling emergence under laboratory conditions. Comprising 16 species, 85.4% of the seedlings were concentrated within a depth of 0–5cm. Drought significantly reduced the density and richness of the seedlings. Grazing increased the richness of seedlings by increasing the richness of aboveground species, and grazing significantly reduced the evenness of the seedlings by reducing the evenness of aboveground species. Drought significantly reduced the similarities between the seedlings and the aboveground species, whereas grazing increased similarities in both years. This study revealed that the density and richness of seedlings were higher in higher stocking rate in drought year. We conclude that negative effects on density, richness and evenness of the seedlings caused by drought can be overcome by rotational grazing especially at higher stocking rate.

scholarly journals Phenology Response to Climatic Dynamic across China’s Grasslands from 1985 to 2010

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Wang ◽  
Tiancai Zhou ◽  
Peihao Peng
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Plant Phenology ◽  
Meadow Steppe ◽  
Typical Steppe ◽  
Alpine Steppe

Because the dynamics of phenology in response to climate change may be diverse in different grasslands, quantifying how climate change influences plant growth in different grasslands across northern China should be particularly informative. In this study, we explored the spatiotemporal variation of the phenology (start of the growing season [SOS], peak of the growing season [POS], end of the growing season [EOS], and length of the growing season [LOS]) across China’s grasslands using a dataset of the GIMMS3g normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, 1985–2010), and determined the effects of the annual mean temperature (AMT) and annual mean precipitation (AMP) on the significantly changed phenology. We found that the SOS, POS, and EOS advanced at the rates of 0.54 days/year, 0.64 days/year, and 0.65 days/year, respectively; the LOS was shortened at a rate of 0.62 days/year across China’s grasslands. Additionally, the AMT combined with the AMP explained the different rates (ER) for the significantly dynamic SOS in the meadow steppe (R2 = 0.26, p = 0.007, ER = 12.65%) and typical steppe (R2 = 0.28, p = 0.005, ER = 32.52%); the EOS in the alpine steppe (R2 = 0.16, p < 0.05, ER = 6.22%); and the LOS in the alpine (R2 = 0.20, p < 0.05, ER = 6.06%), meadow (R2 = 0.18, p < 0.05, ER = 16.69%) and typical (R2 = 0.18, p < 0.05, ER = 19.58%) steppes. Our findings demonstrated that the plant phenology in different grasslands presented discrepant dynamic patterns, highlighting the fact that climate change has played an important role in the variation of the plant phenology across China’s grasslands, and suggested that the variation and relationships between the climatic factors and phenology in different grasslands should be explored further in the future.

Short-term management and stocking rate effects of grazing sheep on herbage quality and productivity of Inner Mongolia steppe

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 963 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Schönbach ◽  
H. Wan ◽  
A. Schiborra ◽  
M. Gierus ◽  
Y. Bai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Protein ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Grazing Tolerance ◽  
Typical Steppe ◽  
Herbage Quality ◽  
Stocking Rates

Degradation and decreasing productivity increasingly demand sustainable grazing management practices within Inner Mongolian steppe ecosystems. This study focuses on grazing-induced degradation processes over a wide range of stocking rates and aims to identify short-term sensitive indicators and alternative management practices. Short-term effects of 2 grazing management systems (Mixed System and Traditional System) and 7 stocking rates (SR0, SR1.5, SR3, SR4.5, SR6, SR7.5, and SR9 for 0,1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, and 9 sheep/ha, respectively) on yielding performance and herbage quality were measured on experimental plots in which moveable exclosures were used on areas chronically grazed by sheep. The experiment was conducted in a typical steppe ecosystem in Inner Mongolia, P. R. China. Results are presented for 2005 and 2006. Sampling time was the main factor affecting yield and quality. Stocking rate also showed considerable effects on yield. Herbage mass decreased linearly from SR0 to SR9, by 85% and 82% in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Herbage accumulation was also affected by stocking rate, and was highest at SR1.5 and clearly reduced at SR9. Grazing effects on relative growth rate indicated grazing tolerance of plants in the short-term, since up to high stocking rates, relative growth rates remained stable. Precipitation also determined plant responses to increasing levels of grazing. The year of higher rainfall generated higher grazing tolerance of plants and higher herbage growth than the drought year. Despite considerable reduction of herbage mass, consistent short-term responses of herbage quality to grazing in 2005 and 2006 were reflected only in terms of crude protein and acid detergent lignin. Herbage crude protein content was highest at SR7.5 and SR9, while lignin was lowest at SR7.5 and SR9. Neither productivity nor herbage quality was affected by the management system, suggesting that both systems may be applicable on typical steppe in the short-term.

scholarly journals Early warning indicators of grassland degradation in inner Mongolia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Qin ◽  
Guodong Han ◽  
Zhongwu Wang ◽  
Linxi Hu ◽  
Jun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Grassland Degradation ◽  
Desert Steppe ◽  
Meadow Steppe ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
Typical Steppe ◽  
Early Warning Indicators ◽  
Warning Indicators ◽  
Spatial Threshold

Backgroung: With the implementation of the Household Production Responsibility System in China almost 30 years ago, obvious spatial heterogeneity has developed over rangeland. Methods: We examined lifeform functional groups over 5 years on household ranches in different grazing utilization rate (30%-95%) ecosystems in Inner Mongolia to identify the early warning indicators of grassland degradation. Results: The results showed that a similar grassland utilization threshold occurred in different types of steppe, with 78-89% utilization for meadow steppe, 81-89% for typical steppe and 70-85% for desert steppe. The vegetation composition above these utilization thresholds did not show obvious signs of degradation; therefore, the risk of degradation was difficult to determine. The spatial threshold (WD: L) had a value of 31.40:100 for meadow steppe, 8.53:100 for typical steppe and 42.21:100 for desert steppe. Conclusion: Land managers cannot easily determine the risk of degeneration according to the vegetation composition or function group. So the spatial threshold is important for implemented strategies to prevent degradation, and our study provides new insights to improve the management and restoration of degraded grassland in Inner Mongolia.

Silicon distribution in meadow steppe and typical steppe of northern China and its implications for phytolith carbon sequestration

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 482-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Ji ◽  
X. Yang ◽  
Z. Song ◽  
H. Liu ◽  
X. Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Meadow Steppe ◽  
Typical Steppe

scholarly journals Early warning indicators of grassland degradation in inner Mongolia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Qin ◽  
Guodong Han ◽  
Zhongwu Wang ◽  
Linxi Hu ◽  
Jun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Grassland Degradation ◽  
Desert Steppe ◽  
Meadow Steppe ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
Typical Steppe ◽  
Early Warning Indicators ◽  
Warning Indicators ◽  
Spatial Threshold

Backgroung: With the implementation of the Household Production Responsibility System in China almost 30 years ago, obvious spatial heterogeneity has developed over rangeland. Methods: We examined lifeform functional groups over 5 years on household ranches in different grazing utilization rate (30%-95%) ecosystems in Inner Mongolia to identify the early warning indicators of grassland degradation. Results: The results showed that a similar grassland utilization threshold occurred in different types of steppe, with 78-89% utilization for meadow steppe, 81-89% for typical steppe and 70-85% for desert steppe. The vegetation composition above these utilization thresholds did not show obvious signs of degradation; therefore, the risk of degradation was difficult to determine. The spatial threshold (WD: L) had a value of 31.40:100 for meadow steppe, 8.53:100 for typical steppe and 42.21:100 for desert steppe. Conclusion: Land managers cannot easily determine the risk of degeneration according to the vegetation composition or function group. So the spatial threshold is important for implemented strategies to prevent degradation, and our study provides new insights to improve the management and restoration of degraded grassland in Inner Mongolia.

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