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- Title
Theoretical carrying capacity of grasslands and early warning for maintaining forage-livestock balance in the Qilian Mountains, northwest China.
- Authors
Du, Qinqin; Sun, Yunfan; Guan, Qingyu; Wang, Qingzheng; Liang, Lushuang; Ma, Yunrui; Li, Huichun
- Abstract
Aims: An in-depth understanding of the relationship between the theoretical carrying capacity of grasslands and the forage-livestock balance is crucial for maintaining ecological equilibrium in grasslands and guiding ecological engineering. However, the spatiotemporal patterns of these two parameters in the arid mountainous region of the Qilian Mountains (QLMs) in China remain unclear. Methods: The Carnegie-Ames-Stanford approach (CASA) model was employed to estimate the theoretical carrying capacity. The grazing pressure index, which represents the ratio of the actual to theoretical carrying capacity, was used to assess the forage-livestock balance. Results: From 2000 to 2018, the theoretical carrying capacity of grasslands in the QLMs showed a significant (p < 0.01) increasing trend (0.011 ± 0.002 standard sheep unit (SU)·ha−1·yr−1), with an average value of 0.73 ± 0.7 SU·ha−1. Its spatial distribution was high in the southeast and low in the northwest of the QLMs. The total annual precipitation of 72.1% in the grasslands was significantly and positively correlated with the theoretical carrying capacity (R = 0.45; p < 0.05). The average grazing pressure index of natural grasslands in the QLMs was 2.08 ± 0.14, indicating that the grasslands were generally overloaded. The value increased significantly (p < 0.05) from 2000 to 2010 but has been decreasing significantly since 2011. Spatially, overloading was more severe in the southeastern counties. Conclusion: Precipitation was the main factor responsible for the increase in the theoretical carrying capacity of the grasslands. In future grassland management, the red early-warning zones exhibiting continuously increasing overloading should be prioritized.
- Subjects
CHINA; GRASSLANDS; FORAGE; ECOLOGICAL engineering; ARID regions; GRAZING
- Publication
Plant & Soil, 2024, Vol 498, Issue 1/2, p225
- ISSN
0032-079X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11104-023-06430-8