The yak grazing system on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and its status

Abstract

Yaks are a multifunctional and dominant livestock species on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. The yak grazing system is a traditional transhumance system. Research is focussed on both understanding and improving the system. Development of local economies and the use of new knowledge from yak research and modern technology are improving the system. However, the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau ecosystem is becoming dysfunctional through adverse climate sequences, over-population and over-grazing. The Chinese Government has implemented regional projects to address these degradation problems. Several policies have recently been introduced to improve yak grazing management. This paper reviews current knowledge on the system and the options for improving and optimising the system.

The Influences of Climate Change and Human Activities on Vegetation Dynamics in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

“…However, the RESTREND can only quantify effects stemming from climatic variables. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau represents a unique system, where intensity of human interference is quite low and pasture has been a traditional landscape for over a thousand years long [71]. Grazing is the primary type of human activity on the plateau, which provides a rare opportunity to simplify the process of quantifying effects of anthropogenic activity.…”

Guest Editorial: Grasslands and rangelands of China: systems, connectivity, environment and development.

“…This latter view is developed further by Li et al (2008) who raise questions about how to share benefits from ecosystems services and how to deal with the large number of the poor who currently derive their livelihoods from grazing livestock. Hou et al (2008) and Long et al (2008) also support the two views of Han et al (2008) and in their papers demonstrate how these would be achieved. Wang and Ba (2008) identify some key areas for basic research for designing management for arresting and reversing degradation; methodology to measure rangeland function/value and health, processes that link health with ecosystem services and the effects of climate change on rangeland biodiversity and function.…”

“…They call for more research and development. A similar concern is expressed by Long et al (2008) with respect to the traditional livestock grazing systems on the Qinghai-Tibetean plateau. In this case, the authors propose that productivity and profitability of the unique yak grazing system can be raised by better connectivity with education, governance, grazing research and sustainable technologies using wind and solar energy.…”

“…These landscapes include people and so papers on social science and issues of living in remote rural communities are yet to be written. The paper by Long et al (2008) discusses some social aspects of herders on the QinghaiTibetan plateau and how they determine management of the rangeland and livestock but the social-grassland/rangelandlivestock-economic relationships deserve further scholarship. Similarly the relationships between grazed landscapes and water issues, the conservation and utilisation of biodiversity, were not addressed.…”

Spatial and climatic patterns of the relative abundance of poisonous vs. non-poisonous plants across the Northern Tibetan Plateau

“…The degradation of ecological functions of alpine grasslands is characterized by land desertification (Yang et al 2004;Li et al 2013), productivity decline (Wen et al 2013), and the invasion of locoweed (Liu et al 2002;Lu et al 2012). In the context of ongoing climatic warming, continuing ecological degradation would adversely affect the local socioeconomic-environmental system (Long et al 2008) and would also endanger human welfare in East China and Southeast Asia (Harris 2010;Yang et al 2010;Cuo et al 2013), as the Tibetan alpine grasslands play as the most important ecological security for headwater regions of the main international rivers in Asia, such as the Yellow, the Yangtze, and the Lantsang-Mekong (Liu et al 2002;Zhong et al 2006Zhong et al , 2010Sun et al 2012). Therefore, it is critical to prevent any additional degradation of healthy grasslands and to promote the ecological recovery of the degraded grasslands .…”