Pastoral nomadism in the forest-steppe of the Mongolian Altai under a changing economy and a warming climate

Lkhagvadorj, Dorjburgedaa; Hauck, Markus; Dulamsuren, Ch.; Tsogtbaatar, Jamsran

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.07.019

Cited by 108 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In particular during spring and summer, the observed stocking rates were relatively high in both countries compared with similar regions in Inner Mongolia and Mongolia (Kawamura et al 2005;Lise et al 2006;Chen et al 2007;Sugita et al 2007;Glindemann et al 2009;Lkhagvadorj et al 2013a;Bösing et al 2014;Liao et al 2014a). Governmental regulation of animal numbers and duration of stay on pastures seemed to lower the stocking densities particularly in the Chinese Altay.…”

Section: Mobility Patternmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…The remoteness from markets and the high altitudinal gradient of the Altay-Dzungarian region may explain the relatively high degree of mobility (Lkhagvadorj et al 2013a;Liao et al 2014b).…”

Section: Mobility Patternmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These circumstances may be aggravated according to climate change predictions for the Altay-Dzungarian region that foresee an increase in the average annual temperature, more frequent and prolonged summer droughts and temporal shifts of precipitation from summer to winter (Angerer et al 2008;Lkhagvadorj et al 2013a;Hilker et al 2014;Liao et al 2014a). Moreover, herd management such as daily herding practices and grazing duration, livestock numbers and herd composition are known to affect the occurrence, frequency, distribution and growth of grassland species and thus herbage yield and its nutritive value (Briske et al 2003;Schönbach et al 2012;Kreutzmann 2013a;Lkhagvadorj et al 2013b;Hilker et al 2014).…”

Section: Quantity and Quality Of Herbagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Mongolian part of the Altay-Dzungarian region, privatization of the formerly state-owned livestock triggered an increase in livestock numbers and a change in herd composition (Lise et al 2006;Lkhagvadorj et al 2013b;Lkhagvadorj et al 2013a;. Additionally, the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy put considerably more responsibility on individual herders for careful use of pasture resources, access to markets, maintenance of infrastructure for seasonal movements and watering places and preparation of winter fodder (Janzen 2005;Fernández-Giménez and Le Febre 2006;Zhen et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

et al. 2016

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Due to increasing population and the recent implementation of policies to intensify the use of land and water resources, the transhumant pastoral systems in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay-Dzungarian region are rapidly changing, leading to modifications of herd size, herd composition and spatial distribution of livestock grazing. This may have major consequences for the supply and quality of rangeland biomass. Despite similar topographic settings, the socio-political framework for Chinese and Mongolian pastoralists differs significantly, leading to differences in rangeland utilization. To substantiate these claims, the long-distance transhumance routes, frequency of pasture changes, daily grazing itineraries and size of pastures were recorded by means of GPS tracking of cattle and goats on 1,535 (China) and 1,396 (Mongolia) observation days. The status quo of the main seasonal pastures was captured by measuring the herbage offer and its nutritive value in 869 sampling spots. In the Altay-Dzungarian region, small ruminant herds covered up to 412 km (Mongolia) and grazed on up to nine pastures per year (China). In Mongolia, the herds' average duration of stay at an individual pasture was longer than in China, particularly in spring and autumn. Herbage allowance at the onset of a grazing period (kg dry matter per sheep unit and day) ranged from 34/17 to 91/95 (China/Mongolia). Comparing crude protein and phosphorous concentrations of herbage, in China, the highest concentrations were measured for spring and summer pastures, whereas in Mongolia, the highest concentrations were determined for autumn and winter pastures. Based on our data, we conclude that regulation of animal numbers and access to pastures seemingly maintained pasture productivity in China, especially at high altitudes. However, this policy may prohibit flexible adaptation to sudden environmental constraints. In contrast, high stocking densities and grazing of pastures before flowering of herbaceous plants negatively affected rangeland productivity in Mongolia, especially for spring and summer pastures.

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Section: Mobility Patternmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…The remoteness from markets and the high altitudinal gradient of the Altay-Dzungarian region may explain the relatively high degree of mobility (Lkhagvadorj et al 2013a;Liao et al 2014b).…”

Section: Mobility Patternmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Quantity and Quality Of Herbagementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

et al. 2016

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“…Fernández-Giménez and Batbuyan (2004) concluded that the poor had become more mobile and the wealthy more sedentary due to changes in access to pastoral resources. Further evidence of declining mobility among herders in Mongolia for economic reasons has been presented by Lkhagvadorj et al (2013), but it is not a central ambition of government to encourage herders to settle in the same way it is in China. Lkhagvadorj et al (2013) suggest that reduced seasonal migrations have left herders more vulnerable to a shortage of fodder, a finding supported by Middleton et al (2015) who highlight the consequences of such vulnerability during severe climatic events: loss of livestock on a sometimes large scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rangeland management and climate hazards in drylands: dust storms, desertification and the overgrazing debate

Middleton

2016

Nat Hazards

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This paper examines the theory and supporting evidence for links between desertification, drought and dust storms with a particular focus on studies undertaken in and around the Gobi Desert. Overgrazing of rangeland by pastoralists has been the most commonly cited cause of desertification in global drylands for more than 30 years, but the evidence supporting this link is not always convincing. Nonetheless, overgrazing, desertification and dust storms are frequently connected, regardless. Drought is another wellknown and important driver of vegetation cover change. Distinguishing between vegetation cover adversely affected by drought and that reduced by grazing is imperative for policy makers because identifying the incorrect driver of vegetation change risks the development of inappropriate policy.

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Grazing high and low: Can we detect horse altitudinal mobility using high‐resolution isotope (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values) time series in tail hair? A case study in the Mongolian Altai

Lazzerini

Coulon

Simon

et al. 2019

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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Rationale Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope time series performed in continuously growing tissues (hair, tooth enamel) are commonly used to reconstruct the dietary history of modern and ancient animals. Predicting the effects of altitudinal mobility on animal δ13C and δ15N values remains difficult as several variables such as temperature, water availability or soil type can contribute to the isotope composition. Modern references adapted to the region of interest are therefore essential. Methods Between June 2015 and July 2018, six free‐ranging domestic horses living in the Mongolian Altaï were fitted with GPS collars. Tail hairs were sampled each year, prepared for sequential C and N isotope analysis using EA‐IRMS. Isotopic variations were compared with altitudinal mobility, and Generalized Additive Mixed (GAMMs) models were used to model the effect of geographic and environmental factors on δ13C and δ15N values. Results Less than half of the pasture changes were linked with a significant isotopic shift while numerous isotopic shifts did not correspond to any altitudinal mobility. Similar patterns of δ13C and δ15N variations were observed between the different horses, despite differences in mobility patterns. We propose that water availability as well as seasonal availability of N2 fixing type plants primarily controlled horse hair δ13C and δ15N values, overprinting the influence of altitude. Conclusions Our study shows that altitudinal mobility is not the main factor that drives the variations in horse tail hair δ13C and δ15N values and that seasonal change in the animal dietary preference also plays an important role. It is therefore risky to interpret variations in δ13C and δ15N values of animal tissues in terms of altitudinal mobility alone, at least in C3–dominated environments.

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Pastoral nomadism in the forest-steppe of the Mongolian Altai under a changing economy and a warming climate

Cited by 108 publications

References 24 publications

Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

Rangeland management and climate hazards in drylands: dust storms, desertification and the overgrazing debate

Grazing high and low: Can we detect horse altitudinal mobility using high‐resolution isotope (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values) time series in tail hair? A case study in the Mongolian Altai

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Pastoral nomadism in the forest-steppe of the Mongolian Altai under a changing economy and a warming climate

Cited by 108 publications

References 24 publications

Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

Rangeland management and climate hazards in drylands: dust storms, desertification and the overgrazing debate

Grazing high and low: Can we detect horse altitudinal mobility using high‐resolution isotope (δ13C and δ15N values) time series in tail hair? A case study in the Mongolian Altai

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Product

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About

Grazing high and low: Can we detect horse altitudinal mobility using high‐resolution isotope (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values) time series in tail hair? A case study in the Mongolian Altai