Grazing pressure index considering both wildlife and livestock in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Cai, Zhenyuan; Song, Pengfei; Wang, Junbang; Jiang, Feng; Liang, Chengbo; Zhang, Jingjie; Gao, Hongmei; Zhang, Tongzuo

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109338

Cited by 14 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…During the winter season, there is an observed decline in the crude protein content of the grasses from the summer season, which decreases notably from 10.43% to 5.56% [42]. So, the forage quality declined to 53.3% (Q) of the original (calculated by 5.56%/10.43%) based on the protein content.…”

Section: Model Application In Seasonal Rotational Grazing Regimesmentioning

confidence: 98%

An Improved Approach to Estimate Stocking Rate and Carrying Capacity Based on Remotely Sensed Phenology Timings

Shi,

Brierley,

Perry

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Accurate estimation of livestock carrying capacity (LCC) and implementation of an appropriate actual stocking rate (ASR) are key to the sustainable management of grazing adapted alpine grassland ecosystems. The reliable determination of aboveground biomass is fundamental to these determinations. Peak aboveground biomass (AGBP) captured from satellite data at the peak of the growing season (POS) is widely used as a proxy for annual aboveground biomass (AGBA) to estimate LCC of grasslands. Here, we demonstrate the limitations of this approach and highlight the ability of POS in the estimation of ASR. We develop and trail new approaches that incorporate remote sensing phenology timings of grassland response to grazing activity, considering relations between biomass growth and consumption dynamics, in an effort to support more accurate and reliable estimation of LCC and ASR. The results show that based on averaged values from large-scale studies of alpine grassland on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), differences between AGBP and AGBA underestimate LCC by about 31%. The findings from a smaller-scale study that incorporate phenology timings into the estimation of annual aboveground biomass reveal that summer pastures in Haibei alpine meadows were overgrazed by 11.5% during the study period from 2000 to 2005. The methods proposed can be extended to map grassland grazing pressure by predicting the LCC and tracking the ASR, thereby improving sustainable resource use in alpine grasslands.

show abstract

Section: Model Application In Seasonal Rotational Grazing Regimesmentioning

confidence: 98%

An Improved Approach to Estimate Stocking Rate and Carrying Capacity Based on Remotely Sensed Phenology Timings

Shi,

Brierley,

Perry

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Grasslands are not only a material security for livestock but also a natural habitat for wildlife survival [81]. A variety of wild rodents are widely distributed on the QTP, and rodents are known for their incredible reproductive rates and gnawing abilities, making them one of the most important pest taxa worldwide [82].…”

Section: Wildlife Destructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alpine Grassland Degradation and Its Restoration in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Zhou

Yang

Zhou

et al. 2023

Grasses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The alpine grasslands of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau are one of the most famous grazing ecosystems in the world, providing a variety of ecosystem functions and services. The rate of grassland degradation has been slowed by the implementation of national grassland restoration projects, but the degradation of grasslands on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau has not yet been fundamentally reversed, and some grasslands are still degraded to varying degrees. The main causes of grassland degradation on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau are both human and natural factors. Human factors include overgrazing, over-cultivation, indiscriminate digging and mining, mineral resource development, infrastructure construction and use, and tourism development. Natural factors include climate change, wildlife destruction, pests, etc. Based on the principles of restoration ecology, a number of effective practices and integrated management responses for restoring degraded grasslands have been developed on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. The degraded grassland restoration practices include fencing, fertilization, sown grassland establishment, rodent control, and grazing management. Based on these practices, the comprehensive restoration of degraded grasslands and the establishment and sustainable management of sown grasslands in the alpine grasslands of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau should be further strengthened, and research on the mechanisms of grassland degradation and restoration should be further developed.

show abstract

“…The SWY employed in this study does not encompass intricate hydrophysical processes, which introduces uncertainties into the model outputs. Secondly, the model fails to explicitly incorporate the effect of human activities on WS, which are mainly grazing in the TRHR [70]. Thirdly, the current model used here accounts for the effects of cryosphere elements on WS, excluding glaciers.…”

Section: Limitations Of This Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal Changes in Water Storage and Its Driving Factors in the Three-River Headwaters Region, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Zhao,

Chen,

Yang

et al. 2023

Land

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water storage (WS) is a crucial terrestrial ecosystems service function. In cold alpine regions (CAR), the cryosphere elements are important solid water resources, but the existing methods for quantitatively assessing WS usually ignore cryosphere elements. In this study, a revised Seasonal Water Yield model (SWY) in the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST), which considers the effects of frozen ground (FG) and snow cover (SC) on WS, was employed to estimate the spatiotemporal distribution and changes in WS in the Three-Rivers Headwaters region (TRHR) from 1981 to 2020. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to understand the overall effects of multiple factors on WS, as well as the dominant driving factors of WS change at the grid scale in the TRHR. The results show that (1) the WS in the TRHR generally increased from 1981 to 2020 (0.56 mm/year), but the spatial distribution of WS change varied greatly, with a significant increasing trend in the northwest part and a significant decreasing trend in the southeast part. (2) In the last 40 years, increased precipitation (Pre) positively affected WS, while increased potential evapotranspiration (ET0) reduced it. Increased permeability caused by degradation of frozen ground increased WS, while snow cover and LULC changes reduced it. (3) In the TRHR, Pre primarily affected the WS with the largest area ratio (32.62%), followed by land use/land cover (LULC) (19.69%) and ET0 (18.49%), with FG being fourth (17.05%) and SC being the least (6.64%). (4) The highly important and extremely important zones generally showed a decreasing trend in WS and should be treated as key and priority conservation regions. It is expected that this research could provide a scientific reference for water management in the TRHR.

show abstract

Grazing pressure index considering both wildlife and livestock in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 14 publications

References 42 publications

An Improved Approach to Estimate Stocking Rate and Carrying Capacity Based on Remotely Sensed Phenology Timings

An Improved Approach to Estimate Stocking Rate and Carrying Capacity Based on Remotely Sensed Phenology Timings

Alpine Grassland Degradation and Its Restoration in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Spatiotemporal Changes in Water Storage and Its Driving Factors in the Three-River Headwaters Region, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About