Grassland Degradation In China Research Articles

Keep sustainable livestock production without Grassland degradation: Future cultivated pasture development simulation based on agent-based model

Overgrazing on grasslands has caused grassland degradation in China during past decades, which could impair the production of livestock products, so it must be limited to maintain the supply ability of grasslands for human well-beings. Establishing cultivated pastures, which has been popularized and proved effective to increase forage yields and restore degraded grasslands in many developed countries, could also provide more powerful support for livestock production with a healthy livestock-grassland relationship in China where there are only few cultivated pastures now. To explore whether cultivated pasture construction is a promising approach for mitigating ecological pressure while satisfying herdsmen livelihood demands, we developed an Agent-Based Model based on herdsmen behaviors and grassland conditions. In this model, the cultivated pastures in future 30 years will be established by herdsmen in accordance with their livestock production plan, natural pasture supply and suitability of establishing cultivated pastures, and the suitable areas for establishing cultivated pastures was selected based on natural and social limitations. Focusing on Xilin Gol Grassland, one of the typical pastoral areas in China, the characters of herdsmen livelihood behaviors and willingness for cultivated pasture construction were investigated by household survey, and the spatio-temporal variations of cultivated pastures and relevant economic-ecological consequences in future 30 years were simulated using the Agent-Based Model. The results showed that most suitable areas are distributed in the south of Xilin Gol Grassland near the agro-pastoral ecotone, where cultivated pastures are few now but should be newly established later. The number of cultivated pastures will gradually increase while the increasing speed will gradually descend in each county. With the expanding cultivated pastures, herdsmen's income will rise quickly in the first ten years then keep stable at 70000∼80000RMB nearly twice the original income, while the ecological pressure of grasslands will descend fast from >3 to 1 in the first eight years, then slowly from 1 to 0.5 and stay <0.5 after 2035. Such results proved that establishing cultivated pastures will really bring economic-ecological coordination on grasslands, which provided evidences for popularizing cultivated pastures to keep sustainable production and supply of livestock products and realize modern animal husbandry development.

Mechanism for the restoration of degraded typical steppe by nitrogen and phosphorus co-addition.

The reduction of soil nutrient content is one of the major reasons caused grassland degradation in China. Nutrient addition is thus considered as an effective measure for the restoration of degraded grasslands. However, over-fertilization can lead to decrease in plant diversity. To clarify the appropriate amount of nutrient addition and the underlying mechanism that promotes grassland restoration, we set up a nitrogen and phosphorus co-addition experiment in a degraded typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, and examined the responses at community, functional group and species levels to nutrient addition. The results showed that nutrient addition enhanced biomass while did not reduce species richness at the community level. The biomass showed a saturation response with the increases of nutrient addition, which approached saturation under the 12.0 g N·m-2, 3.8 g P·m-2 treatment. Species richness increased significantly under the lower nutrient treatments (N <9.6 g·m-2, P < 3.0 g·m-2) compared with the control, while the two high nutrient treatments did not alter species richness. At the functional group level, biomass and abundance of perennial rhizome grasses increased significantly with the increases of nutrient addition levels. Biomass and density of annuals increased significantly under high nutrient addition levels. However, the abundance and biomass of perennial bunchgrasses and perennial forbs were rarely affected. At the species level, six target species responded differently to nutrient addition. Biomass of Leymus chinensis was significantly increased due to the increase of population density and individual biomass. Biomass of Stipa grandis, Agropyron cristatum and Cleistogenes squarrosa change little. Biomass of Potentilla acaulis and Carex korshinskyi were reduced due to the decreases in individual biomass and population density, respectively. As a measure of restoring degraded grassland, nutrient addition could significantly increase biomass and species diversity, decrease biomass of the degradation indicator species, and increase biomass of perennial rhizomes grasses.

Informal Institutions and Herders’ Grazing Intensity Reduction Behavior: Evidence from Pastoral Areas in China

Overgrazing is the key factor that has exacerbated grassland degradation in China’s pastoral regions. Herder’s grazing-based livestock production behavior becomes important to grassland conservation. Several formal environmental institutions and policies exist to improve grassland degradation; however, there remain contradicting conclusions regarding the contribution of these policies. Informal institutions become major instruments that might encourage herder’s behavior on overgrazing. Using village rules and conventions (VRC) as a proxy for informal institutions, the article attempts to scrutinize whether the VRC emerge to respond to herders’ willingness to reduce grazing intensity for grassland conservation and elicit factors affecting their reduction behavior using a Double-Hurdle model. Based on a survey of 193 respondents in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Autonomous regions of China, the empirical results provide evidence that VRC is effective in reducing herders’ grazing intensity. In detail, the VRC in written form and an unchanging context within five years could significantly improve herders’ willingness to reduce grazing intensity. Herders who consider the VRC as an important impact to their livestock production observe an increased reduction degree of grazing intensity. Additionally, variables referring to herder’s education and religious belief play a significant role in the reduction degree of grazing intensity. Our findings highlight the importance of VRC in controlling herders’ overgrazing behavior.

Soil microbial community structure is unaltered by grazing intensity and plant species richness in a temperate grassland steppe in northern China

Grazing intensity influences the productivity and sustainability of grassland systems through modifying aboveground biomass, soil microbes, and nutrient dynamics. Although heavy grazing is a key factor associated with grassland degradation in China and alleviating grazing intensity can assist grassland vegetation restoration, the influence of variable grazing intensity on belowground processes is less understood. We examined the effects of four grazing intensities (0, 1.00, 1.43 and 2.33 sheep-units ha−1 year−1) applied during five growing seasons on soil microbial biomass and community structure of a grassland ecosystem in Hebei Province, China. Within each grazing intensity, vegetation and soil were sampled in three patch types: low and high plant species richness and one composed of the dominant species (i.e., Leymus chinensis [Trin.], Tzvel. and Carex duriuscula C. A. Mey.). We sought to clarify whether soil microbial communities are influenced by an interaction between grazing intensity and patch type. Grazing significantly (P < 0.05) decreased soil microbial biomass and increased the ratio of bacterial-to-fungal biomass relative to the non-grazed control, but differences were not significant among the grazing intensities. Patch type did not significantly impact microbial biomass (P = 0.12), but the interaction between patch type and grazing intensity was significant (P < 0.05). The highest microbial biomass value (19.20 ± 0.51 μg · g−1) was found in non-grazed, low diversity patches. In addition, principal components analysis revealed that grazing intensity explained 25.42 and 54.53% of the variation among bacterial and fungi communities, respectively. Grazing, regardless of intensity, also resulted in bacterial communities distinct from the non-grazed control. Redundancy analysis also revealed that soil pH and organic carbon had the strongest influence on bacterial community structure, soil electrical conductivity and NO3−-N primarily influenced fungi community structure. Collectively our results indicate that microbial communities in semiarid grasslands can remain structurally stable even when subjected to persistent environmental change imposed by grazing pressure.

Grassland degradation with saline-alkaline reduces more soil inorganic carbon than soil organic carbon storage

Grassland is an important part of terrestrial ecosystems and contain substantial amounts of soil carbon. However, 90% of grasslands suffer from degradation in northern China, where soil inorganic carbon (SIC) is a major reservoir. Previous studies have focused primarily on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock, while the effects of grassland degradation in SIC stock remains largely unexplored. Therefore, accurate assessments of both SOC and SIC stocks and their profile distributions are necessary to fully understand the role of grassland degradation in China’s carbon budget. Here, we conducted an experiment to estimate the stocks, profile distributions, and environmental controls of both SOC and SIC in patchy saline-alkaline grasslands under three degraded degrees (non-degraded patches, ND; moderately degraded patches, MD, and heavily degraded patches, HD). Our results showed that grassland degradation destroys not only SOC but also SIC stocks in saline-alkaline grasslands. SIC is the main component of soil carbon in saline-alkaline grasslands, and their distributions changed dramatically. Compared with ND, SIC losses caused by degradation accounted for 84% and 86% of total carbon loss under MD and HD patches, respectively. SIC loss primarily occurred at the intermediate soil layers (30–70 cm), while the loss of SOC was mainly in the topsoil (0–40 cm). Moreover, the distributions of SIC from 20 to 60 cm were closely related to soil pH, while it is mainly regulated by EC from 60 to 100 cm. In addition, soil pH, EC, and above-ground biomass were important variables driving the profile distributions of SOC in the upper soil. Our work provides evidence that grassland degradation mainly damages the SIC stocks. Our findings, therefore, highlight the non-negligible role of SIC dynamics in the carbon budget of degraded grassland ecosystems and the need to consider these dynamics in terrestrial carbon cycle research.

Grassland Subsidies Increase the Number of Livestock on the Tibetan Plateau: Why Does the “Payment for Ecosystem Services” Policy Have the Opposite Outcome?

The Grassland Ecological Protection Award Policy was implemented to address severe grassland degradation in China. This policy utilizes grassland subsidies as an incentive to control the number of livestock and has become the largest payment for ecosystem services program. Although many studies have analyzed the performance of this policy, it remains controversial as to whether grassland subsidies are effective at reducing the number of livestock; moreover, there is still a lack of quantitative studies on the roles of household livelihood assets and livelihood strategies in reducing the number of livestock. On the basis of the sustainable livelihood framework, this paper constructed an analytical framework to research how grassland subsidies affect the number of livestock under the effects of different livelihood capitals and local socioecological contexts. After choosing the Pumqu River Basin of the Tibetan Plateau as the research area, this study classified sample households on the basis of grassland sizes and then examined the effects of grassland subsidies on the number of livestock of different groups of rural households by considering livelihood capital. The results showed that (1) for all the sample households, grassland subsidies caused herdsmen to raise more livestock, which was contrary to the expectation of the grassland protection policy. The invalidation of grassland subsidies was mainly caused by the poor design and implementation of the policy at the local level. (2) In addition, for rural households with different grassland sizes, the subsidies could be effective in reducing the number of livestock for households with small grassland sizes while increasing the number of livestock for households with large grassland sizes. This indicates that some supporting policies and measures for households with smaller grassland sizes should be provided to stimulate the reduction in the number of livestock, and for households with large grassland areas, grassland circulation should be encouraged to promote the large-scale production of livestock husbandry. The finding of this study can help governments to formulate policies tailored towards appropriate subsidies for addressing grassland degradation.

Dynamics and Drivers of Grasslands in the Eurasian Steppe during 2000–2014

The Eurasian steppe (EAS) is the largest contiguous grassland worldwide. Quantitative evaluations of the relative impacts of climate change and human activities on grasslands are significant for understanding grassland degradation mechanisms and controlling degraded grasslands. In this study, we analyzed the grassland productivity based on multiple forms of net primary productivity (NPP), including climate NPP (CNPP), actual NPP (ANPP), and human-caused NPP (HNPP) during 2000–2014. The results demonstrate that the average value of annual ANPP in the EAS was 47.36 gC/(m2·year), with a weak decrease (−0.02 gC/(m2·year)) during the study period. The area of grassland degradation account for 48.52% of the total grassland area in EAS, while the area of grassland recovery account for 51.48%. Restorative grassland was mainly distributed in Mongolia and China, while worse grassland was mainly distributed in the Kazakh steppe regions. Grassland degradation in China was mainly caused by climate change, whereas it was mainly caused by human activities in Mongolia. Grassland recovery in Kazakh steppe regions was mainly caused by human activities, but in Mongolia, it was mainly caused by climate change. Compared with temperature, precipitation played a more significant role on grassland productivity.

Intended and unintended environmental consequences of grassland rental in pastoral China

Among herders, market-oriented grassland rental has been prevalent in China following the implementation of the Household Contracted Responsibility System, which allocated formerly collectively-owned use rights to individual herders. However, empirical evidence on the effect of grassland rental on herder households' overgrazing behaviour is scant, despite the fact that it is one of the main determinants of the severe grassland degradation in China. This study thus investigates the effects of grassland rental on both household- and plot-level grazing intensity and overgrazing based on a survey of 876 plots and 516 households in the Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, and Gansu provinces in China. An instrumental variable approach is utilised to correct the endogeneity bias of herders’ decision to rent in grassland. The household-level empirical results show that each 1000-mu increment of rent-in grassland leads to an intended 42% decrease in the overall grazing intensity and a 61% decrease in the overgrazing index. However, a plot-level analysis pooling both rent-in and self-owned grassland plots reveals the unintended consequence that herders are over-exploiting rent-in grassland plots; as a result, the grazing intensity on rent-in grassland is 2.03 times that on owned grassland. Therefore, grassland rental should be encouraged, but the monitoring system should pay more attention to the overgrazing of rental grassland.

Comparison of soil microbial community between reseeding grassland and natural grassland in Songnen Meadow

Microorganisms have important ecological functions in ecosystems. Reseeding is considered as one of the main strategies for preventing grassland degradation in China. However, the response of soil microbial community and diversity to reseeding grassland (RG) and natural grassland (NG) remains unclear, especially in the Songnen Meadow. In this study, the soil microbial community compositions of two vegetation restoration types (RG vs NG) were analyzed using a high-throughput sequencing technique. A total of 23,142 microbial OTUs were detected, phylogenetically derived from 11 known bacterial phyla. Soil advantage categories included Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, which together accounted for > 78% of the all phyla in vegetation restoration. The soil microbial diversity was higher in RG than in NG. Two types of vegetation restoration had significantly different characteristics of soil microbial community (P < 0.001). Based on a molecular ecological network analysis, we found that the network in RG had a longer average path distance and modularity than in NG network, making it more resilient to environment changes. Meanwhile, the results of the canonical correspondence analysis and molecular ecological network analysis showed that soil pH (6.34 ± 0.35 in RG and 7.26 ± 0.28 in NG) was the main factor affecting soil microbial community structure, followed by soil moisture (SM) in the Songnen meadow, China. Besides, soil microbial community characteristics can vary significantly in different vegetation restoration. Thus, we suggested that it was necessary and reasonable for this area to popularize reseeding grassland in the future.

Land tenure reform and grassland degradation in Inner Mongolia, China

Since the start of the land tenure reform in the pastoral areas of China in the 1980s, grassland use rights have increasingly been assigned to individual households. However, this period has also been accompanied by extensive grassland degradation in China, which has raised the question of whether a tragedy of privatisation has occurred. This paper investigates the impact of land tenure reform on the changes in grassland condition, using data from 60 counties in Inner Mongolia between 1985 and 2008. A fixed effects model is employed to control for time-invariant factors. Two alternative model specifications in terms of land tenure reform and time-variant factors are conducted to verify the robustness of the estimation results. The results show that land tenure reform did not affect the grassland condition significantly, and the major drivers of grassland degradation include the land use change and the increase in market demand (meat prices). Thereby, we provide empirical evidence that the privatisation of grasslands did not cause grassland degradation in Inner Mongolia, China.

China’s new rural “separating three property rights” land reform results in grassland degradation: Evidence from Inner Mongolia

China is currently implementing the “separating three property rights” (STPR) reform to consolidate rural land. This reform divides rural land property rights into three components: nontradable ownership, nontradable contractual rights and tradable land use rights. The STPR reform adopts the rental of grassland use rights, a market-oriented approach, as the main arrangement for grassland consolidation. However, this arrangement may undermine the cornerstones of grassland restoration, which are the security of grassland property and payments for ecosystem services (PES) policies. As an alternative to the market-oriented approach, cooperatives are also encouraged to consolidate grassland use rights. We used a natural experiment approach to systematically examine how two different land consolidation arrangements affected key grassland ecosystem services in Inner Mongolia. In rented grasslands, all ecosystem services except provisioning services degenerated severely. Traded grassland use rights were perceived as insecure, which led to predatory land use by tenants. In contrast, cooperative-managed grasslands showed no serious degradation in ecosystem services. However, these cooperatives limited their group size by chief kinship to avoid the free-rider problem; thus, they are unlikely to become a primary channel of grassland consolidation. Because PES policy subsidies are still allocated to grassland contractors rather than to tenants, these policies are irrelevant to the conservation of rented grasslands. Based on our analysis, we suggest several ways to improve this new rural land property reform to avoid a major wave of grassland degradation in China.

Local perceptions of grassland degradation in China: a socio-anthropological reading of endogenous knowledge and institutional credibility

As the third contribution in the ‘Land’ section, this paper explores the interactions between institutional credibility and epistemic diversity within grassland management in China’s Inner Mongolia and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It proceeds in two steps. First, a literature review ascertains that privatization of grassland use rights in Inner Mongolia is contested by a local predisposition for pastoral mobility. Advances in rangeland ecology validate the need for mobility, thus highlighting how pastoralists and policymakers have been evaluating the grasslands not only from unequal positions of power but also on epistemologically contradictory terms. Secondly, through a case study of two villages in Ningxia, it is demonstrated that – under equal circumstances of a Grazing Ban – the rural community that uses grassland primarily as a resource to be converted to agricultural production (thus posing a heavier use on grassland) perceives ecological improvement. Contradictorily, the community that is grassland-dependent for herding or opportunistic dryland farming, and is hampered in that use by land degradation prevention policies, does not perceive improvement. The diverging perceptions of degradation among semi-pastoralist communities examined in this study suggest a more participatory approach towards institution-making can bring closer the knowledge and environmental perceptions of various actors, thus opening up opportunities for more credible institutional arrangements.

Degradation Discourse and Green Governmentality in the Xilinguole Grasslands of Inner Mongolia

ABSTRACTThis article examines discourses about grassland degradation in China as expressed by herders, government officials and researchers, presenting findings from fieldwork in Xilinguole League, Inner Mongolia. Recognizing degradation discourse and grassland restoration policies as key sites of political contestation, this study does not try to arrive at the scientific facts about degradation, but rather seeks to illuminate the mechanisms by which grasslands are identified as degraded, and the implementation of policies to restore and protect the grasslands. A key finding is that policy outcomes are widely divergent and difficult to predict. This is not merely due to differences among actors in terms of their interests, access to resources, power, values or knowledge, but as much a result of contradictions and tensions inherent in key policy goals, opening up spaces for local resistance as well as selective policy implementation. This highlights the open‐ended and contested nature of China's environmental state project.

The Roles of Overgrazing, Climate Change and Policy as Drivers of Degradation of China's Grasslands

Abstract Climate change and overgrazing are believed by policy makers to have been the drivers of grassland degradation in China over the past thirty years. However, recent work has suggested that policies that have led to privatization of use rights and household enclosures are more important drivers of degradation. An analysis of available evidence from scientific publications and national survey data relating to climate change, livestock numbers, and management policy was undertaken to evaluate the case for each of these possible drivers of degradation. The analysis suggests that, to date, policy measures imposed to avoid the 'tragedy of the commons' have been more important than either climate change or overgrazing as a driver of degradation. The resulting fragmentation of the pastoral landscape has caused localized grazing pressure and spatial and temporal mismatches between grassland production and livestock access to forage. Grazing rights negotiated and allocated at a multiple household level would allow greater productivity, better rangeland condition, possible advantages of scale and pooling of herder resources, and better potential to adapt to future climate change.

Satellite‐based Studies on Large‐Scale Vegetation Changes in ChinaF

Remotely-sensed vegetation indices, which indicate the density and photosynthetic capacity of vegetation, have been widely used to monitor vegetation dynamics over broad areas. In this paper, we reviewed satellite-based studies on vegetation cover changes, biomass and productivity variations, phenological dynamics, desertification, and grassland degradation in China that occurred over the past 2-3 decades. Our review shows that the satellite-derived index (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI) during growing season and the vegetation net primary productivity in major terrestrial ecosystems (for example forests, grasslands, shrubs, and croplands) have significantly increased, while the number of fresh lakes and vegetation coverage in urban regions have experienced a substantial decline. The start of the growing season continually advanced in China's temperate regions until the 1990s, with a large spatial heterogeneity. We also found that the coverage of sparsely-vegetated areas declined, and the NDVI per unit in vegetated areas increased in arid and semi-arid regions because of increased vegetation activity in grassland and oasis areas. However, these results depend strongly not only on the periods chosen for investigation, but also on factors such as data sources, changes in detection methods, and geospatial heterogeneity. Therefore, we should be cautious when applying remote sensing techniques to monitor vegetation structures, functions, and changes.

Influence of historic sheep grazing on vegetation and soil properties of a Desert Steppe in Inner Mongolia

Grazing intensity and grassland degradation in China has increased with a growing livestock population. The Desert Steppe is vulnerable to the impacts of livestock because of relatively short and sparse ground cover and sandy soil. This study investigates the effects of historic sheep grazing on the vegetation and soil properties of a Desert Steppe community. The experiment was conducted at three sites (replicates) in Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia with four treatments defined along an historic grazing gradient: ungrazed (control), lightly grazed (LG), moderately grazed (MG) and heavily grazed (HG). The grazing treatments were classified based on species composition and ground cover. The vegetation and soil properties in each treatment and replicate were assessed in fall 2005. The vegetation total N (TN) and P (TP) concentrations and δ 15N levels were not affected ( P > 0.05) by grazing. Grazing increased ( P = 0.02) soil bulk density but had no effect on soil TN and TP concentrations or δ 15N levels ( P > 0.05). However, HG resulted in 16.4, 11.4 and 7.6% reductions in soil organic carbon (OC), TN and TP concentrations, respectively. Grazing had no effect ( P > 0.05) on the concentrations of soil available P, available N (NO 3 − and NH 4 +), electrical conductivity, pH or soluble ions (Na +, K +, Ca 2+, Mg 2+, Cl − and SO 4 2−). The vegetation of the Desert Steppe is generally tolerant of grazing pressure but is relatively unproductive, supporting a smaller number of livestock than the more mesic grasslands. Therefore, treatment differences were generally not detected. However, the combination of sandy soils (∼70%) and generally reduced litter and plant cover with increased grazing pressure suggests that the Desert Steppe is vulnerable to soil erosion. This risk may be reduced by ensuring appropriate grazing pressure and animal distribution with judicious herding.

Grassland degradation in China: Methods of monitoring, management and restoration

AbstractGrasslands in China cover nearly 4 million km2, more than 40% of its total land area. Grasslands play an important role in livestock farming and environmental conservation. In spite of numerous efforts that have been undertaken to arrest land desertification in China, grassland degradation is advancing over wide areas through overgrazing, cropland misuse and unregulated collection of fuel and medical plants. This review presents specific examination of the present situation of grassland desertification in China, and discusses mechanisms of grassland degradation. Assessments of desertification since the 1980s are introduced, and its expanse and extent are discussed. Many scientists admit that both are causes, but two contradicting arguments surround the main cause of desertification, with one citing natural origins such as climate change, and the other pointing to anthropogenic factors such as overgrazing. Trials for clarifying mechanisms of grassland degradation are attempted from the perspective of water and energy dynamics. In addition, causes and measures of moving sand dunes and sandstorms are also discussed. For elucidation of the mechanisms of grassland degradation, the grassland ecosystem functions must be considered. Among the proposals, a mathematical approach and measurement of spectral reflectance are some new methods that are effective for assessing those functions. Measurements of soil respiration under altered grazing intensities are also useful to examine prospects in the event of global climate change. Several technologies for grassland diagnosis have been developed to arrest grassland deterioration. Indicator plant species have been determined according to grassland types. Relations of grazing pressure and species distribution have been quantified. Several measures for restoration of degraded grasslands are proposed as the next step of development in this field, including agro‐ecological measures. A promising tool for grassland monitoring is the use of remote sensing in conjunction with geographic information systems. Accurate and real‐time monitoring and management of grasslands have become increasingly feasible through sensor improvement in satellite and geographic information systems generalization in recent years.

Community-Based Grassland Management in Western China Rationale, Pilot Project Experience, and Policy Implications

Grassland degradation in China is widely perceived to be accelerating, and the blame is often placed by government officials and researchers on a supposed “tragedy of the commons.” Grassland policy seeks to address this through the establishment of household tenure and the derivation and external enforcement of household stocking rates. Drawing upon the authors' field research at a number of sites in western China, this article argues that the actual tenure situation is not as open access as is commonly implied and that existing forms of community-based management (including collective and small group tenure) are advantageous, given the socioeconomic and ecological context. Among other things, community-based management can facilitate low-cost external exclusion, economies of size in herd supervision, equal access to pastoral resources, the mitigation of environmental risk, and the prompt resolution of grassland-related disputes. Recent innovative attempts to both improve and formalize collective and group tenure arrangements indicate that there is a wide range of different possible grassland tenure-management models available, in addition to the household tenure–household management model emphasized in grassland policy. China's revised Grassland Law (2003) arguably provides legal space for these alternative models. However, for the future of community-based grassland management to be secure, implementing agencies need to be more aware of these alternative models and have the willingness and capacity to adopt a flexible and participatory approach to grassland policy implementation.