Grazing pressure index considering both wildlife and livestock in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
Grassland is not only the natural habitats for the survival of wild animals, but also the material guarantees for livestock husbandry. However, the previous studies on grassland carrying capacity are mostly only considering livestock but wild herbivores were ignored. In this study, the population of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22008111 |
| _version_ | 1818049707256053760 |
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| author | Zhenyuan Cai Pengfei Song Junbang Wang Feng Jiang Chengbo Liang Jingjie Zhang Hongmei Gao Tongzuo Zhang |
| author_facet | Zhenyuan Cai Pengfei Song Junbang Wang Feng Jiang Chengbo Liang Jingjie Zhang Hongmei Gao Tongzuo Zhang |
| author_sort | Zhenyuan Cai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Grassland is not only the natural habitats for the survival of wild animals, but also the material guarantees for livestock husbandry. However, the previous studies on grassland carrying capacity are mostly only considering livestock but wild herbivores were ignored. In this study, the population of large wild herbivores, Tibetan wild ass, Tibetan gazelle and Tibetan antelope, and livestock were surveyed, and the grassland forage yield was estimated by a remote sensing-process coupled model in Qumahe Township in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan in 2020. The actual carrying capacity (AC) was calculated from the both wildlife and livestock and the theoretical carrying capacity (TC) in the term on edible herbage and crude protein was estimated. Grazing pressure index was measured by the ratio of AC to TC in this region. The results showed the AC was contributed by about 20,700 standard sheep units (SHU) from wild large herbivores, and 256,500 SHU from the livestock. The theoretical carrying capacity of edible herbage, which is 274,800 SHU, was lower than the theoretical carrying capacity of crude protein in the region. If only considering livestock, the grazing capacity pressure index is 0.93, but the index will be 1.01 if the both wildlife and livestock were considered, and wildlife contributes 7.5% to the grazing pressure. This study suggested the wildlife population should be calculated in grassland ecological carrying capacity estimation though domestic livestock contributed much more to grazing pressure than wild herbivores. The new indicator would be useful in grassland management to maintain ecosystem and biodiversity balance, and society-economy sustainability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T10:41:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5c5d7af207e74dcca7a901cc43ec649f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T10:41:51Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-5c5d7af207e74dcca7a901cc43ec649f2022-12-22T01:52:16ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2022-10-01143109338Grazing pressure index considering both wildlife and livestock in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan PlateauZhenyuan Cai0Pengfei Song1Junbang Wang2Feng Jiang3Chengbo Liang4Jingjie Zhang5Hongmei Gao6Tongzuo Zhang7Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810001, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining 810001, ChinaKey Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810001, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaKey Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810001, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining 810001, ChinaCollege of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, ChinaKey Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810001, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaKey Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810001, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining 810001, ChinaKey Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810001, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining 810001, China; Corresponding author.Grassland is not only the natural habitats for the survival of wild animals, but also the material guarantees for livestock husbandry. However, the previous studies on grassland carrying capacity are mostly only considering livestock but wild herbivores were ignored. In this study, the population of large wild herbivores, Tibetan wild ass, Tibetan gazelle and Tibetan antelope, and livestock were surveyed, and the grassland forage yield was estimated by a remote sensing-process coupled model in Qumahe Township in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan in 2020. The actual carrying capacity (AC) was calculated from the both wildlife and livestock and the theoretical carrying capacity (TC) in the term on edible herbage and crude protein was estimated. Grazing pressure index was measured by the ratio of AC to TC in this region. The results showed the AC was contributed by about 20,700 standard sheep units (SHU) from wild large herbivores, and 256,500 SHU from the livestock. The theoretical carrying capacity of edible herbage, which is 274,800 SHU, was lower than the theoretical carrying capacity of crude protein in the region. If only considering livestock, the grazing capacity pressure index is 0.93, but the index will be 1.01 if the both wildlife and livestock were considered, and wildlife contributes 7.5% to the grazing pressure. This study suggested the wildlife population should be calculated in grassland ecological carrying capacity estimation though domestic livestock contributed much more to grazing pressure than wild herbivores. The new indicator would be useful in grassland management to maintain ecosystem and biodiversity balance, and society-economy sustainability.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22008111Grassland carrying capacityThree-River HeadwatersLarge wild herbivoresGrazing pressure indexLivestock |
| spellingShingle | Zhenyuan Cai Pengfei Song Junbang Wang Feng Jiang Chengbo Liang Jingjie Zhang Hongmei Gao Tongzuo Zhang Grazing pressure index considering both wildlife and livestock in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Ecological Indicators Grassland carrying capacity Three-River Headwaters Large wild herbivores Grazing pressure index Livestock |
| title | Grazing pressure index considering both wildlife and livestock in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau |
| title_full | Grazing pressure index considering both wildlife and livestock in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau |
| title_fullStr | Grazing pressure index considering both wildlife and livestock in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau |
| title_full_unstemmed | Grazing pressure index considering both wildlife and livestock in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau |
| title_short | Grazing pressure index considering both wildlife and livestock in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau |
| title_sort | grazing pressure index considering both wildlife and livestock in three river headwaters qinghai tibetan plateau |
| topic | Grassland carrying capacity Three-River Headwaters Large wild herbivores Grazing pressure index Livestock |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22008111 |
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