Classification management mechanisms for grassland resources and sustainable development strategies in Northern China
Grasslands are an important resource for animal production and ecological conservation. However,farmers tend to focus on short-term economic returns and neglect the ecological benefits of grasslands. Overgrazing and depredating management practices have contributed to grassland degeneration, reduction of water resources, productivity decline, soil and serious desertification problems. Grassland degradation not only affects economic sustainability development, but also threatens the social stabilization and ecological security in northern pasture areas. The GIS-based models of grassland productivity, ecological services value and functional classification were designed using an analysis of grassland production and economic performance, ecological service value significance, and season grazing using features of the Aletai pastoral area in Xinjiang as a case study area. Control and optimization mechanisms of grassland resource were established for this model of space and time structures of grasslands. Grasslands were divided into conservative function sectors, mixed function sectors and economic function sectors based on dominant functions derived from spatial distributions in the Aletai region. Results showed that the main function is productive grassland, that is focused on maximum economic effect. It covers 6.49 million ha accounts for 65.8% of the grassland area, and is mainly distributed in plain desert areas. The second function is conservation grassland, which is mainly devoted to ecological and social values. It occupies 1.36 million ha accounting for 13.9% of the grassland area and is mainly distributed in plain desert steppes, mountain steppes and alpine meadows. The third is the moderately productive and protected grassland, dedicated to multiple benefits by rational use. It covers 2.0 million hm~2, accounts for 20.3% of the grassland area, and covers in mountain steppe deserts, mountain meadow steppes, mountain desert steppes, mountain meadows, flat meadows and alpine steppes. The method of grassland classification management was carried out according to established mechanism guidelines. The stress of production in grasslands should be transferred from ecologically frail regions to oasis regions by building economic function areas and, alleviating grazing pressure in ecologically protected areas. Consequently, a coupling construction was developed from function, system, time order and space to produced, result that can promote sustainable development of grasslands resource utilization in northern pastoral areas.
northern pastoral areagrassland functionclassification managementsustainable development
国家科技期刊平台
NSTL
万方数据
维普
