Assessment of Vulnerability of Natural Grasslands That Are Used as Pastures: Russia’s Example

C. Landeros-Sanchez,A. A. Zavalin,Yu. N. Nikolskii,S. Montero-Aguirre,V. V. Pchyolkin,I. P. Aidarov

doi:10.5539/jas.v11n2p40

Abstract

Natural grasslands that are used as pastures have great importance for animal husbandry. Unfortunately, because of various reasons, the productivity of natural pastures can decline with time. The methodology to predict possible long-term change of the basic properties of natural pastures depending on the pasture load is considered in the present paper. The simulation models and the results of their application for the conditions of use of natural pastures in the steppe zone of Russia are presented. The models take into account the following aspects: biodiversity of plant species in the grassland, capacity of ecological niche, vegetation productivity of grassland, climatic conditions, soil fertility, pasture load, surface slope, intensity of water and wind soil erosion, projective surface coverage, and ecological sustainability of the grassland. The analysis resulted from the proposed models in the examples of practical application showed that the described methodology could be used to develop the necessary measures for sustainable and intensive use of natural grasslands.

Highlights

One of the basic reasons for low efficiency of the use of natural forage lands may be their unsatisfactory condition because of a number of reasons
In order to assess the quality of these calculations, a comparison was made between the calculated values of Y, depending on B, and published data on the pasture productivity measured in the region of study for some years with a known pasture load (Voronina, 2009)
- Assessment of long-term possible changes in the ecological state of natural grasslands using as pastures;

Summary

Introduction

One of the basic reasons for low efficiency of the use of natural forage lands may be their unsatisfactory condition because of a number of reasons. The efficiency of the use of natural forage lands in the whole country does not exceed 13-15% of their potential productivity. Pasture digression is accompanied by a decrease in the vegetation diversity and soil degradation of these lands, which in its intensity and scale represents a threat to the ecological safety of large regions. As it is known, the change of biodiversity of vegetation species in grasslands can affect landscape water balance, river flow, soil conservation and stability of ecosystem functioning (Budyko, 1981; Radkovich, 2003; Watson & Zakri, 2005)

Methods

Results

Conclusion