An evaluation of government‐recommended stocking systems for sustaining pastoral businesses and ecosystems of the Alpine Meadows of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Wang, Yingxin; Hodgkinson, Ken C.; Hou, Fujiang; Wang, Zhaofeng; Chang, Shenghua

doi:10.1002/ece3.3960

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…A feasible explanation for this is that alpine grassland of the Tibetan Plateau has long been adapted to grazing by semi‐domesticated yak and Tibetan sheep and is adapted to prevailing summer precipitation (Wang et al. ), and the age‐old traditional continuous grazing practice encourages compensatory forage growth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Relative to continuous grazing, rotational grazing did not represent a quicker herbaceous recovery in the rest time as reported in North American prairie Dowhower 2003, Teague et al 2004). A feasible explanation for this is that alpine grassland of the Tibetan Plateau has long been adapted to grazing by semi-domesticated yak and Tibetan sheep and is adapted to prevailing summer precipitation (Wang et al 2018), and the age-old traditional continuous grazing practice encourages compensatory forage growth.…”

Section: Comparing the Benefits Of Grazing Exclusion Vs Grazing On Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tibetan grassland degradation had occurred in the forms of losses in plant species richness (i.e., species diversity), increase in native unpalatable and poisonous plants, and decline in livestock productivity, accelerated soil erosion, and shrub invasion (Akiyama and Kawamura , Wang et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This question has attracted great attention and inspired a large number of studies to determine the program's success (Shi et al 2013, Luan et al 2014, Tang et al 2015. Resting of pasture in early warm season maintained a desirable grassland species composition and reduced grazing pressure to half the current district stocking rate, delivering improved ecosystem functioning, while improving herder incomes (Wang et al 2018). Rehabilitation measures may promote above-ground biomass and ground cover, particularly grass biomass in seeded treatments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Grazing management options for restoration of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

et al. 2018

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In an attempt to alleviate the problem of grassland degradation on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau in China, state and local authorities in 2003, initiated the “Retire Livestock and Restore Pastures” ecological engineering program, requiring the use of enclosure fencing to enable grazing exclusion and rotational grazing. A five‐year controlled grazing experiment was conducted to determine the effects of this program on (1) sheep live weight gain; and (2a) standing herbage biomass; and (2b) species diversity. Effects of temporal within‐year variation in precipitation and temperature on livestock productivity, standing herbage biomass, and species diversity were also investigated. At the end of 5 yr, grazing exclusion showed no significant difference in standing herbage biomass or in species diversity, compared with either continuous grazing or rotational grazing. Rotational grazing at the high stocking rate significantly promoted sheep live weight gain per hectare, but not per sheep; neither standing herbage biomass, nor species diversity, whether under continuous (i.e., traditional) or rotational grazing, showed a significant difference. Under rotational grazing, higher standing herbage biomass and species diversity were required to maintain or increase sheep liveweight, compared with continuous grazing. Temporal distribution of precipitation and temperature had more influence on alpine grassland parameters, than did grazing. Results of this study suggest that herders’ local traditional knowledge and expertise might be useful in modifying Government guidelines to fine tune grazing management with the dynamics of the alpine meadow ecosystem, and that it is important to consider equilibrium and non‐equilibrium theory in formulating a policy which benefits both herders and grassland. Traditional continuous grazing at a carefully chosen light stocking rate appears to be the most appropriate way to manage livestock and grassland in this region.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Comparing the Benefits Of Grazing Exclusion Vs Grazing On Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Grazing management options for restoration of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

et al. 2018

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“…Under cold‐season rotational grazing at 24 and 48 SM/ha, following resting of pasture throughout the warm season, a decrease in plant species richness, especially of forbs, coincided with an increase in Cyperaceae biomass (Wang et al. , b, Zhang et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pika burrow and zokor mound density and their relationship with grazing management and sheep production in alpine meadow

et al. 2020

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Plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) and plateau zokors (Myospalax baileyi) occur naturally in the alpine meadow of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). Their feeding and burrowing activities affect plant composition and soil properties (e.g., soil carbon accumulation and soil nitrogen cycling), but research to study the complex interactions between small mammals, livestock, and habitat is currently lacking. We conducted a sheep grazing trial to determine the effect of grazing management on pika burrow and zokor mound density, and the relationships between sheep production and pika burrow and zokor mound density. The grazing management approaches were warm‐season rotational grazing at 24 and 48 sheep months (SM)/ha, cold‐season rotational grazing at 24 and 48 SM/ha, seasonal continuous grazing at 24 SM/ha, and whole‐year continuous grazing at 48 SM/ha. The results of this study suggested that warm‐season rotational grazing at low stocking rate did not significantly change both pika and zokor densities. Cold‐season rotational grazing at both high and low stocking rates and seasonal continuous grazing at low stocking rate led to an increase in zokor mound density, but not pika burrow density. Whole‐year continuous grazing at high stocking rate increased both pika and zokor densities. The influence of pika and zokor activities on sheep production was complex and differed between grazing management. Sheep liveweight gain peaked at moderate pika burrow and zokor mound density at low stocking rate under both warm‐ and cold‐season rotational grazing. The threshold values of pika density were about 110 and 70 burrows per hectare in warm and cold seasons, respectively. The threshold value of zokor density was about 400 mounds per hectare in the cold season. In contrast, under high stocking rate regardless of management approach, sheep liveweight gain declined significantly as both pika burrow and zokor mound density increased. This paper provides a theoretical understanding and experimental evidence for sustainable grazing management and restoration of degraded grassland by local herders and policymakers.

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Precipitation regulates the livestock dung seed bank through above ground vegetation productivity in the Qaidam basin

Wang

Hou

2022

Land Degrad Dev

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An evaluation of government‐recommended stocking systems for sustaining pastoral businesses and ecosystems of the Alpine Meadows of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 22 publications

References 50 publications

Grazing management options for restoration of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

Grazing management options for restoration of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

Pika burrow and zokor mound density and their relationship with grazing management and sheep production in alpine meadow

Precipitation regulates the livestock dung seed bank through above ground vegetation productivity in the Qaidam basin

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