The on-farm impact of alternative grazing management options to improve sustainability in western Chinese grasslands

Chinese grasslands are suffering considerable pressures from human and livestock populations. It has been estimated that 90% of Chinese grasslands are suffering from light to heavy levels of degradation. Allied to this is the low household income of herders and farmers dependant upon livestock products for their livelihood. Although a range of reasons have been proposed for the high levels of grassland degradation, principal among these are the high stocking rates adopted by farmers. This not only results in high utilisation rates of the pasture biomass, leading to bare areas and soil erosion, but individual animal productivity rates also decline. This paper presents the results of a modelling study of a grassland system in Gansu Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in northern China. This shows that reducing stocking rates leads to not only an increase in livestock productivity, but whole-farm returns are also increased. From a sustainability perspective, the greater pasture biomass remaining on the grassland also reduces the incidence of soil erosion in the areas.sustainable grazing, bioeconomic model, China, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Alpacas and Ecosystems Management

Alpacas are a species that present physiological, anatomical, morphological and behavioural distinctive characteristics compared to other species used in animal production. Empirical observation of a herd, grazing under time management controlled conditions, allowed to approximate some initial observations about the effect of alpacas in the management of ecosystems. Larger green matter availability in the paddocks grazed by alpacas, evident natural weed control, better plants distribution and increasing stocking capacity were the relevant observed issues. It is considered that the special behavioural characteristics of alpacas in terms of excretion habits, low hoof pressure, food conversion efficiency and grazing habits should be factors to be rigourously studied to explore the value of alpacas as an environmentally friendly species.Sustainable farm management, farming systems research, alpacas, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,

Grasslands for Production and the Environment

Key points 1. To manage grasslands for production and enhanced environmental values requires a redefinition of the frameworks within which management decisions are made, and a tailoring of practices to suit the ways that farmers operate. 2. Improving the perenniality and permanence of grasslands usually leads to better environmental and production outcomes. 3. There is a case for a more conservative approach to utilising grasslands in order to sustain the functioning of local ecosystems and to improve water quality, nutrient and energy cycling and biodiversity. 4. A landscape rather than paddock focus is more appropriate for meeting current grassland management objectives. Grasslands can be triaged to better focus R&D and management, though this could challenge society’s preferences for products from more environmentally friendly ecosystems. 5. There is a need to find payment and/or market systems that mean environmental values are enhanced and farm income does not suffer

Grasslands\u3csup\u3e1\u3c/sup\u3e for Production and the Environment

To manage grasslands for production and enhanced environmental values requires a redefinition of the frameworks within which management decisions are made, and a tailoring of practices to suit the ways that farmers operate. Improving the perenniality and permanence of grasslands usually leads to better environmental and production outcomes. There is a case for a more conservative approach to utilising grasslands in order to sustain the functioning of local ecosystems and to improve water quality, nutrient and energy cycling and biodiversity. A landscape rather than paddock focus is more appropriate for meeting current grassland management objectives. Grasslands can be triaged to better focus R&D and management, though this could challenge society’s preferences for products from more environmentally friendly ecosystems. There is a need to find payment and/or market systems that mean environmental values are enhanced and farm income does not suffer

The Effects of Grazing Management and Fertilization on Grassland Diversity and Productivity

The effects of management practices on plant species diversity and productivity within a naturalised grassland was studied as part of a large-scale experiment designed to investigate issues of sustainability in temperate Australia. Fertiliser increased the production but reduced the diversity of the sward. The main decline was in exotic weed species. Strategic grazing resulted in a small increase in pasture diversity but a reduction in productivity. There was a consistent decline in diversity as productivity increased, across all treatments

Sustainable Grasslands: Resolving Management Options for Livelihood and Environmental Benefits

To help solve the major issues of improving livelihoods and environmental services, grassland research needs to be evaluated within the context of relevant farm systems. Treatments need to show that they not only have significant effects but that they have effects that are meaningful in the context of the relevant farm system. Research often defines an optimum criterion for management that is a single point, but that is difficult to achieve in practice, especially when there are several components in a grassland system that need to be optimised. It is argued that an appropriate criterion for optimising management is a range of values wherein management should aim to maintain the grassland. Typically grasslands comprise many species and appropriate frameworks are needed to determine suitable management practices so that the desirable species dominate. Examples of quantifiable frameworks are presented. A theory of animal production from grassland is then used that shows how optimising stocking rates and then considering the implications can lead to defining managing criteria that create a win-win circumstance for sustaining livestock, household livelihoods and environmental services. Traditionally farmers have thought in terms of the animal carrying capacity on areas of grassland as their main management criteria; which is only a measure of demand. A central component in many relationships is the grassland herbage mass and it is argued that this should be the primary criterion for managing grasslands; herbage mass is a net measure of supply and demand and better links to a wide range of measures of environmental services

Greenhouse Sheds for Increasing Livestock Bodyweight in Taipusi, Inner Mongolia

Grasslands in many developing countries around the world are suffering from degradation, principally as a result of greater grazing pressure from increasing livestock numbers (Kemp and Michalk 2007). In Taipusi County (41°35′ to 42°10′N; 114°51′ to 115°49′ E) of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, traditional winter grazing on pastures with virtually no herbage mass is thought to be exacerbating the grassland condition, as well as being counter-productive to animal production (Zheng et al. 2010). This paper describes a feasibility study of utilizing existing sheds to house sheep during the winter

Implications of Herder Attitudes for Stocking Rates in China and Mongolia

Over-grazing of the grasslands in China and Mongolia is a common problem. Herders typically aim to increase their animal numbers to then hopefully, improve their status and incomes. Various studies have shown that stocking rates often need to be halved to restore grasslands to a sustainable state. Governments have been enacting policies to achieve a reduction in stocking rates, especially in China. However, in both countries, herders have freedom to set their own stocking rates. A survey was done of ~900 herders in Inner Mongolia, on the five main grassland types, to define their styles, attitudes and intentions for stocking rates, their desired stocking rates and how that related to actual and recommended stocking rates and the implications for policies designed to rehabilitate degraded grasslands. Most herders only provide minimal inputs to livestock relying primarily on grasslands for fodder. Herders were grouped into four main types, those who intended to increase or decrease stocking rates Vs their actual stocking rates as a function of their desired stocking rates (+/-). They varied from those who had less than their desired stocking rates yet intended to reduce them further, to those who had more than their desired stocking rates and were intending to increase them. There was a general relationship within villages between the ratio of desired to actual stocking rates and actual number of animals held by the household. This general relationship indicated that within a village the herder’s actual ‘desire’ was for a specified number of animals, rather than a specified stocking rate. Similar attitudes prevail in Mongolia where herders do not think about animals per hectare. The policy implications are discussed