New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts
Grassland changes under grazing stress in Horqin sandy grassland in Inner Mongolia, China
Tong-hui Zhang
Ha-lin Zhao*
Sheng-gong Li
RuI-lian Zhou
Cold and Arid Regions Environment and Engineering Research Institute
Chinese Academy of Science
260 Donggang West Road
Lanzhou 730000, China
*Author for correspondence.
Abstract A grazing trial was conducted from 1992 to 1996 in the Horqin sandy grassland area, located in north-eastern China. The trial had four grazing intensity treatments: no grazing (0 sheep ha-1), light grazing (2 sheep ha-1), moderate grazing (4 sheep ha-1) and overgrazing (6 sheep ha-1) plots. The overgrazing reduced plant diversity by 87%, vegetation cover by 82%, canopy height by 94%, standing crop biomass by 98%, and root biomass by 92% compared with ungrazed grassland in the fifth year. The proportion of poor quality herbages increased to 86%. Non-grazing assisted recovery of deteriorated vegetation. Though moderate and light grazing also reduced biomass, these treatments did not lead to serious damage to the community species structure. The plant diversity, vegetation cover, and standing biomass in the lightly grazed plots increased over grazing time. The trial showed that a grazing intensity of 2-3 sheep equivalents per hectare was sustainable in the Horqin sandy grassland in Inner Mongolia, China.
Keywords grazing intensity; vegetation changes; grassland deterioration; Inner Mongolia; northern China
A03042; Received 3 January 2003; accepted 25 February 2004; Online publication date 17 August 2004
New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 2004, Vol. 47: 307-312
0028-8233/04/4703-0307 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2004
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