Introducing Chicken Farming into Traditional Ruminant‐Grazing Dominated Production Systems for Promoting Ecological Restoration of Degraded Rangeland in Northern China

Abstract

Free‐range chicken farming (CF) has been demonstrated to be effective in controlling locust plagues and restoring degraded vegetation in rangelands. However, the effects of CF on vegetation growth and soil conditions of rangeland ecosystems are not yet well known. We studied the effects of CF (treated by three stocking rates from low‐intensity to high‐intensity), livestock grazing (LG) and zero grazing (ZG) on vegetation characteristics and soil nutrient conditions in a degraded rangeland of northern China. CF significantly improved vegetation growth and soil quality compared with LG. The moderate CF2 with 333 birds per hectare enhanced the aboveground net primary production to 204·0 g m−2 yr−1 and vegetation cover to 88·8%, which is significantly higher than LG by 80·7% and 62·9%, respectively. Moreover, CF2 neutralized the pH value and raised soil organic matter, total N content, available N content and available P content to approximately 7·59 g kg−1, 0·34 g kg−1, 83·52 mg kg−1 and 3·4 mg kg−1, respectively. Compared with ZG, the positive impacts of CF on rangelands depended on the stocking rate, and better performance was achieved when lower stocking rates were used. We also analysed the economic benefits of CF through a cost–benefit analysis. A local family could obtain a net present value of at least $252·19 per hectare by engaging in CF, which was two‐fold higher than LG. Finally, we proposed a novel land‐use model that introduces CF into traditional LG dominated system and can be widely applied to promote socio‐ecological sustainable development in degraded rangelands. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Grazing exclusion—An effective approach for naturally restoring degraded grasslands in Northern China

“…Historically, herd farmers adopted a nomadic mode of grazing (Figure a), a practice that exerted little pressure on grasslands. From the 1950s to 1980s, large areas of grasslands were converted to cropland (Xu et al, ), which decreased the availability of grasslands for nomadic grazing (Su et al, ). Heavy grazing with high stocking rates severely degraded the remaining grasslands (Figure b) and accelerated the degradation (Figure c).…”

Exploration of livestock-poultry-grassland systems: The influences of chicken farming on plant community in degraded grasslands

“…而鸡粪具有易分解转化、 易被植物吸收的特性 [9] , 是农区提高作物产量的首选 有机肥 [10,11] . 有学者提出将牧鸡引入草地畜牧业形成 畜禽草耦合新型草地利用方式 [12,13] , 即通过开展规模 化小群体散养鸡, 实现"鸡产鸡粪、鸡粪养草、草养牛 羊"的良性循环, 以期恢复退化草地、带动牧民增收, 实现退化草地生态和生产功能的双提升.…”

“…牧鸡能够破除大面积退化草地无法人工施肥的壁 垒, 发挥鸡的"施肥机"作用, 改善退化草地土壤质量, 提高退化草地净初级生产力, 促进草牧业发展 [12] . 如 张显龙等人 [14] 研究发现牧鸡改善了沙草地土壤的理 化性状, 增加了土壤的养分含量; Su等人 [12] 研究发现 牧鸡改善了退化草地的土壤质量, 提升了净初级生产 力; Xu等人 [13] 和Sun等人 [15] 研究发现牧鸡控制了退化 草地的蝗虫密度, 降低了蝗灾发生风险; Xu等人 [13] 研 究发现牧鸡将牧鸡户的年净收入提高到传统牛羊牧户 的2.3倍. 因此, 通过开展畜-禽-草耦合, 有望促进中度 和重度退化草地的生产力恢复.…”

“…相比 之下, 鸡的体尺小, 对草地植物的采食量极低(图1). 牧 鸡需要补充外源饲粮, 鸡粪体积小、易分解 [9] , 随走随 排, 能为贫瘠的草地生态系统补充养分 [12] , 促进退化 草地生产力恢复(图3), 但对物种多样性影响较小 (表3).…”

The impact of grazing on land degradation: A common problem with many driving forces

“…Nevertheless, only the effects of two species, cattle and sheep, were compared in this study. Hua Su et al (—this issue) added a case study focused on chicken farming as a tool for ecological restoration in China.…”