The Rangeland Livestock Carrying Capacity and Stocking Rate in the Kailash Sacred Landscape in China

Duan, Cheng; Shi, Peili; Zhang, Xianzhou; Zong, Nan; Xi, Chai; Shimin, Geng; Zhu, Wei

doi:10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2017.06.001

Cited by 16 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Carrying capacity (CC) has widely been used as a tool in rangeland management (Cheng et al, ; Tewari & Arya, ; Walker, ). De Leeuw and Tothill () defined livestock CC as the maximum number of animals (usually expressed as a standardized livestock unit) that an area of land can support on a sustainable basis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…De Leeuw and Tothill () defined livestock CC as the maximum number of animals (usually expressed as a standardized livestock unit) that an area of land can support on a sustainable basis. It depends upon certain factors such as rainfall, vegetation accessibility and distribution, seasonality, range improvement, and grazing management (Abbas, Saleem, Sharif, & Mirza, ; Cheng et al, ). Because of so many variables, there is no simple way to quantitatively determine carrying capacity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…grazing management (Abbas, Saleem, Sharif, & Mirza, 2012;Cheng et al, 2017). Because of so many variables, there is no simple way to quantitatively determine carrying capacity.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Estimating carrying capacity and stocking rates of rangelands in Harshin District, Eastern Somali Region, Ethiopia

Meshesha

Moahmmed

Yosuf

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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We conducted a quantitative assessment of forage biomass in Harshin district to determine its annual productive potential, carrying capacity, and stocking rates. The dominant Land Use and Land Cover include woodland (35.5%), shrubs (28.3%), grassland (10.6%), and bare land (25.5%). The region has browse‐rich shrubland that is edible to dromedary and goats, as well as massive grassland plains for sheep and cattle. The interannual rainfall variation is 16.5% which implies that the rangeland is a subsistence equilibrium system. The range of forage production is between 105 and 2,310 kg/ha, whereas the average productivity of the district is 742.6 kg/ha. The result indicates that the average carrying capacity of the district is 0.3 TLU ha−1 year−1 (4.9 ha TLU−1 year−1) while the existing stocking rate is 5.4 TLU ha−1 year−1 (0.18 ha TLU−1 year−1). This implies that the grazing intensity in the district is much higher than its carrying capacity (recommended rate), which has seen overstocking or grazing pressure excesses of 5.1 TLU/ha (7.2 cattle/ha). Thus, it clearly signals the risk of overgrazing in the district. If this trend continues, the grazing will not be sustainable and there will be shortage of forage as well as expansion of land degradation (due to overgrazing) in the near future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Estimating carrying capacity and stocking rates of rangelands in Harshin District, Eastern Somali Region, Ethiopia

Meshesha

Moahmmed

Yosuf

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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“…The KSL-China is composed of two watersheds according to topography. One is the high-altitude Manasarovar basin with an area of 7780.87 km 2 and average altitude of 4700 m. The other is a lower-altitude Karnali basin with an area of 3061.89 km 2 and average altitude of 4000 m [54]. Mt Kailash and two holy lakes belong to the Manasarovar basin, where Baga and Hor Townships are located.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the past decades, the KSL-China was subjected to enormous challenges from climate changes and human disturbance including population growth, urbanization, and tourism development, which pose a severe threat to the ecosystems in the sacred landscape [51]. a lower-altitude Karnali basin with an area of 3061.89 km 2 and average altitude of 4000 m [54]. Mt Kailash and two holy lakes belong to the Manasarovar basin, where Baga and Hor Townships are located.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Kailash Sacred Landscape of China

et al. 2019

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Land use and land cover change (LUCC) is an important driver of ecosystem function and services. Thus, LUCC analysis may lay foundation for landscape planning, conservation and management. It is especially true for alpine landscapes, which are more susceptible to climate changes and human activities. However, the information on LUCC in sacred landscape is limited, which will hinder the landscape conservation and development. We chose Kailash Sacred Landscape in China (KSL-China) to investigate the patterns and dynamics of LUCC and the driving forces using remote sensing data and meteorological data from 1990 to 2008. A supervised classification of land use and land cover was established based on field survey. Rangelands presented marked fluctuations due to climatic warming and its induced drought, for example, dramatic decreases were found in high- and medium-cover rangelands over the period 2000–2008. And recession of most glaciers was also observed in the study period. Instead, an increase of anthropogenic activities accelerated intensive alteration of land use, such as conversion of cropland to built-up land. We found that the change of vegetation cover was positively correlated with growing season precipitation (GSP). In addition, vegetation cover was substantially reduced along the pilgrimage routes particularly within 5 km of the routes. The findings of the study suggest that climatic warming and human disturbance are interacted to cause remarkable LUCC. Tourism development was responsible land use change in urban and pilgrimage routes. This study has important implications for landscape conservation and ecosystem management. The reduction of rangeland cover may decrease the rangeland quality and pose pressure for the carrying capacity of rangelands in the KSL-China. With the increasing risk of climate warming, rangeland conservation is imperative. The future development should shift from livestock-focus animal husbandry to service-based ecotourism in the sacred landscape.

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Integrated landscape approaches to building resilience and multifunctionality in the Kailash Sacred Landscape, China

et al. 2021

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The Rangeland Livestock Carrying Capacity and Stocking Rate in the Kailash Sacred Landscape in China

Cited by 16 publications

References 36 publications

Estimating carrying capacity and stocking rates of rangelands in Harshin District, Eastern Somali Region, Ethiopia

Estimating carrying capacity and stocking rates of rangelands in Harshin District, Eastern Somali Region, Ethiopia

Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Kailash Sacred Landscape of China

Integrated landscape approaches to building resilience and multifunctionality in the Kailash Sacred Landscape, China

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