Sustainability of inner Mongolian grasslands: Application of the Savanna model

被引:42
作者
Christensen, L
Coughenour, MB
Ellis, JE
Chen, ZZ
机构
[1] Colorado State Univ, Nat Resource Ecol Lab, Ft Collins, CO 80523 USA
[2] Chinese Acad Sci, Ecol Res Ctr, Inst Bot, Beijing 100093, Peoples R China
来源
JOURNAL OF RANGE MANAGEMENT | 2003年 / 56卷 / 04期
关键词
grazing management; modeling; thresholds; sustainability and resilience; typical steppe; Inner Mongolia; VEGETATION DYNAMICS; CHINENSE STEPPE; RANGE CONDITION; STABLE STATES; DEGRADATION; THRESHOLDS; STABILITY; CLIMATE;
D O I
10.2307/4004034
中图分类号
S8 [畜牧、 动物医学、狩猎、蚕、蜂];
学科分类号
090502 [动物营养与饲料科学];
摘要
The sustainability and resilience of an Asian typical steppe grazing ecosystem was assessed by determining thresholds and stable states with an ecosystem simulation model. This analysis used the Savanna model to simulate spatial climate, vegetation, and livestock grazing dynamics, at 14 different stocking rates (5.5-59.8 AUY km(-2)). Grazing effects on vegetation were assessed, including effects on primary production, vegetation composition, and root biomass. Simulations were run for 100 years: 50 years to examine sustainability and 50 years to examine resilience of the system. Results showed that a grazing intensity (1-g/u; g = biomass in grazed area, u = biomass in ungrazed area) of 0.49 was sustainable for this particular system. This region was resilient to grazing up to the intensity of 0.49, where the system remained dominated by herbaceous production. Grazing intensities higher than 0.49, in combination with low precipitation events, resulted in decreased herbaceous net primary production and root biomass, and increased shrub net primary production and root biomass. Herbaceous vegetation was unable to gain a competitive advantage over shrubs in areas where grazing intensities were above 0.49; consequently, the system shifted to a stable shrub-dominated state that could not return its original composition even without further grazing.
引用
收藏
页码:319 / 327
页数:9
相关论文
共 64 条
[1]
STATE-OF-THE-ART OF MODELS OF PRODUCTION DECOMPOSITION LINKAGES IN CONIFER AND GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEMS [J].
AGREN, GI ;
MCMURTRIE, RE ;
PARTON, WJ ;
PASTOR, J ;
SHUGART, HH .
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, 1991, 1 (02) :118-138
[2]
Crested wheatgrass and shrub response to continuous or rotational grazing [J].
Angell, RF .
JOURNAL OF RANGE MANAGEMENT, 1997, 50 (02) :160-164
[3]
[Anonymous], 1993, Ecosystems of the World
[4]
[Anonymous], 1992, GRASSLANDS GRASSLAND, DOI [10.17226/1942, DOI 10.17226/1942]
[5]
MECHANISMS OF SHRUBLAND EXPANSION - LAND-USE, CLIMATE OR CO-2 [J].
ARCHER, S ;
SCHIMEL, DS ;
HOLLAND, EA .
CLIMATIC CHANGE, 1995, 29 (01) :91-99
[6]
Archer S, 1995, TROP GRASSLANDS, V29, P218
[7]
A biogeophysical approach for automated SWIR unmixing of soils and vegetation [J].
Asner, GP ;
Lobell, DB .
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT, 2000, 74 (01) :99-112
[8]
Ball J.T., 1988, Ph.D. Thesis
[9]
Bilik N., 1996, CULTURE ENV INNER AS, P134
[10]
Addressing management questions for Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, using the SAVANNA modelling system [J].
Boone, RB ;
Coughenour, MB ;
Galvin, KA ;
Ellis, JE .
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, 2002, 40 (02) :138-150