Community-based seasonal movement grazing maintains lower greenhouse gas emission intensity on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China

Zhuang, Minghao; Gongbuzeren,; Jian, Zhang; Li, Wenjun

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.03.032

Cited by 25 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Studies found that grazing significantly influenced the structure and function of grassland ecosystems (Yang et al, 2019;Zhuang, Zhang, & Li, 2019). In the current study, grazing decreased both the plant production and soil carbon and nitrogen contents of QTP grasslands ( Figure 5).…”

Section: Grazing Effects and The Regulation Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing significantly increases root shoot ratio but decreases soil organic carbon in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau grasslands: A hierarchical meta‐analysis

Yan

Wang

et al. 2020

Land Degrad Dev

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The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is the most expansive area of alpine grasslands worldwide, which have been grazed for thousands of years. Distinct environmental conditions render QTP grasslands vulnerable to disturbances. Intensified grazing in the area has led to its degradation in recent decades. However, the effects of grazing on grassland production, soil carbon, and nitrogen contents, their relationships and the factors influencing the grasslands of QTP have yet to be determined. In this study, we evaluated the effect of grazing by using a hierarchical meta-analysis, and explored relation of response variables by structural equation modeling. In all, grazing significantly decreased the aboveground biomass (−38%), total biomass (TB) (−14%), litter (−63%), soil organic carbon (SOC) (−20%), and total nitrogen (TN) (−15%). The root shoot ratio was increased (75%). Grazing intensity exerted significant effects, and mean annual temperature and altitude influenced the responses to a certain degree. Specifically, the response of the root shoot ratio, which can affect the responses of SOC and TN, was significantly higher in the QTP grasslands. Our findings elucidated the response patterns, specialties, relationships, and factors influencing the QTP grasslands, which need to be considered in the development of processbased models and the sustainable use of alpine grasslands on QTP in the future.

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Section: Grazing Effects and The Regulation Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing significantly increases root shoot ratio but decreases soil organic carbon in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau grasslands: A hierarchical meta‐analysis

Yan

Wang

et al. 2020

Land Degrad Dev

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“…Community use of rangelands under GQS maintains a flexible pattern of seasonal livestock mobility between the three seasonal pastures, located at different elevations, and greater mobility within seasonal, common pastures. Together, these help to alleviate grazing pressures including livestock trampling effects on rangeland plants and soil (Su et al 2015, Cao et al 2017, 2018, Zhuang et al 2019, which explains the better vegetation composition and soil properties under GQS in our study. We believe that the GQS clarifies herder grazing rights in a way that maintains community collective use of rangelands, preventing fragmentation of rangeland management and maintaining herd access to unevenly distributed heterogenous rangeland resources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…Similarly, just as our study found, other studies in the pastoral regions of the Tibetan Plateau have also found that grazing at intense levels (Harris et al 2016) within individual grazing parcels (Cao et al 2013(Cao et al , 2018 exerted a negative effect on preferred vegetation and soils (Li et al 2013, 2018, Cao et al 2017). The higher concentrations of grazing and longer grazing periods in summer pastures have been shown to interactively lead to soil degradation (Sparling and Schipper 2004, Li et al 2013, Zhuang et al 2019.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigating the impacts of fragmented land tenure through community-based institutional innovations: two case study villages from Guinan County of Qinghai Province, China

Gongbuzeren¹,

Zhang²,

Zhuang³

et al. 2021

E&S

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The privatization of collectively used rangelands results in fragmentation of land use in pastoral areas. This affects pastoralists' grazing strategies and results in new institutional arrangements for addressing changing social-ecological systems. Two main systems of grazing management have emerged in the pastoral regions of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau that offer new perspectives on addressing rangeland fragmentation. One allows the renting of parcels of allocated grazing land to or from others (RTS) and is based on having fenced contracted parcels for each household. The other is a community-based grazing quota system (GQS) in which a grazing use quota is allocated to each household, while the community maintains collective use of the rangeland. We compare two case study villages implementing these two different management systems, operating across household and community scales, and analyze vegetation composition, above-ground biomass, and soil properties as indicators of impacts. Transects reveal that aboveground biomass was higher under the RTS than under the GQS, but species composition shifted to dominance by non-palatable forbs and graminoids. The RTS grasslands had lower carbon and nitrogen density compared to GQS-managed grasslands. These differences are consistent with the herder's perceptions of ecological changes. The general improvement of rangeland conditions under the GQS may be linked to greater herd mobility and the control of livestock numbers through the establishment of community-enforced grazing quotas. Mobility under the RTS is limited to a few parcels, and local regulation of stocking rates is minimal because the system relies on external intervention. The case of GQS suggests that addressing rangeland fragmentation with improved vegetation conditions requires institutions operating at both household and community scales allowing for mobility and regulation of stocking rates.

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“…In general, pastoralism improves soil properties (Zhuang et al, 2019). When comparing pastoralism and sedentary livestock systems it was found that in general pastoralism improves soil properties (Zhuang et al, 2019; Table 159).…”

Section: Improvement Of Soil Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recarbonizing global soils: A technical manual of recommended sustainable soil management

Rietra

Lesschen

Porre

2021

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Cover cropping (CC) can be applied worldwide, but there is not a cover crop that fits every farming situation and potential benefits vary with climate, soil type and plant species. In detail, CCs can better fit in humid and subhumid regions than in semiarid regions where precipitation is limited (Unger and Vigil, 1998). The possible competition of CCs for available soil water in semiarid regions can limit the adoption of the practice (Unger and Vigil, 1998;Nielsen et al., 2015). A different approach to agricultural management is required for arable and woody crops. Impact on soil organic carbon stocksThe C storage potential of CCs is quite variable at regional level and with land use, ranging from 0.27 to 1.03 tC/ha/yr in the examined meta-analyses (Table 1). A higher potential was found in woody crops in warm temperate dry climates (about 1.00 tC/ha/yr), and lower values in arable crops most for temperate and tropical climates (0.32-0.56 tC/ha/yr). C storage potential in arable systems was 0.71, 0.51 and 0.46 tC/ha/yr in tropical, temperate and arid climates respectively (Jian et al., 2020). Data from a literature review (Blanco-Canqui et al.

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Community-based seasonal movement grazing maintains lower greenhouse gas emission intensity on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China

Cited by 25 publications

References 48 publications

Grazing significantly increases root shoot ratio but decreases soil organic carbon in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau grasslands: A hierarchical meta‐analysis

Grazing significantly increases root shoot ratio but decreases soil organic carbon in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau grasslands: A hierarchical meta‐analysis

Mitigating the impacts of fragmented land tenure through community-based institutional innovations: two case study villages from Guinan County of Qinghai Province, China

Recarbonizing global soils: A technical manual of recommended sustainable soil management

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