A Study on the Sustainability of Chinese Pasturing and Semi-Pasturing Grassland Based on Ecological Footprint Model

Abstract

China is a prairie giant, where available grassland area of pasturing and semi-pasturing areas account for 61.5% of national total grassland area. As China is paying more and more attention to ecological environment construction, pasturing and semi-pasturing areas become the key areas of grassland ecological protection, and the grassland sustainability status is attracting more and more attention. Based on ecological footprint model in this study, the relevant data from 2006 to 2013 are used for empirical analysis on per capita ecological footprint and per capita ecological carrying capacity of Chinese pasturing and semi-pasturing grassland. Results show that since 2006, per capita ecological footprint demand of Chinese pasturing and semi-pasturing grassland shows a small growth, while per capita ecological carrying capacity falls slightly. The pasturing and semi-pasturing areas generally present a sustainable development situation, and the per capita ecological surplus of grassland shows an overall growth, but falls slightly over the last two years. Therefore, it is still required to further strengthen the ecological protection of Chinese pasturing and semi-pasturing grassland.