Kakinuma, K.

Takatsuki, S.

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress Changes in Plant Communities by Grazing in Northern Mongolian Grassland and Assessment of Nomads K. Kakinuma University of Tokyo, Japan S. Takatsuki Azabu University, Japan Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/1-5/10 The 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅰ 　 瞯 ]209　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands Resources and Ecology ——— Ecology of Grasslands/RangelandsChanges in plant communities by grazing in northern Mongolian grassland and assessment ofnomadsK . K akinuma１ and S . Takatsuki２１ Graduate School o f A gricultural and L i f e Sciences , University o f Tokyo , １‐１‐１ Y ayoi , Bunkyo‐ku , Tokyo １１３ ８６５７ ,Japan , E‐mail : aa０７６２９４ ＠ mail .ecc .u‐tokyo .ac .j p , ２ School o f Veterinary Medicine , A z abu University , Fuchinobe １‐１７‐７１ ,Sagamihara , K anagaw a , Japan .Key words : grazing intensity , grazing management , livestock , pastoralists , vegetation changeIntroduction Due to a regime change in １９９２ , the Mongolian economic system experienced a drastic shif t , which resulted in thechanges in the life style of nomads . The nomads were concentrated to particular places and became less mobile ( Fernandez‐Gimenez , ２００４) . This resulted in vegetation degradation ( Okayasu , ２００７) . Despite warnings of scientists , this is not resolvedbut is being intensified . One of the reasons is that Mongolian nomads do not recognize imminent threats to the resources or totheir future livelihood ( Fernandez‐Gimenez , ２０００ ) . If so , studies on only vegetation are not enough , but need to includeevaluations by nomads . We , therefore , studied both grazing effects on vegetation and nomads� assessment of plantcommunities .Study area and methods The study area is , Bulgan Aimag ( Prefecture) , located in the forest‐steppe zone in the north‐centralpart of Mongolia . We divided the area into three levels of grazing intensities according to ger locations and number of livestock .We examined ６ light grazing sites , ５ moderate grazing sites , and ５ heavy grazing sites . Each site contained five １m × １mquadrats . In each quadrat , we recorded the coverage ( ％ ) and the height ( cm ) of all plant species , and clipped the plants toobtain the standing biomass ( g ) . For nomads摧 assessment , we visited the sites with them and interviewed their assessments ofthe grassland conditionsResults Total number of species , height of plants , and total standing biomass decreased as grazing pressure increased . Perennialforbs such as Geranium spp . and Galium verum in heavy grazed sites greatly decreased in cover and in biomass . Graminoidssuch as Carex and Elymus kept fairly constant levels of coverage and biomass regardless of grazing pressure . According tointerviews , nomads seemed to consider heavy grazing sites were relatively good . They called graminoids �thin plants" andregarded them as good forage for livestock . These plants had greatest coverage in heavily grazed sites . These results imply thatnomads do not consider heavily grazed sites problematic and this recognition does not stop heavy grazing .ReferencesFernandez‐Gimenez , M . E . ( ２０００ ) . The role of Mongolian nomadic pastoralists摧 ecological knowledge in rangelandmanagement . Ecological A p p lications , １０ ; １３１８‐１３２６ .（２００２） ．Spatial and social boundaries and the paradox of pastoral land tenure : a case study from postsocialist Mongolia .Human Ecology , ３０ ; ４９‐７８ .Okayasu , T . , M . Muto , U . Jamsran & K . Takeuchi ( ２００７ ) . Spatially heterogeneous impacts on rangeland af ter socialsystem change in Mongolia . L and Degradation & Development , １８ ; ５５５‐５６６ .

Changes in Plant Communities by Grazing in Northern Mongolian Grassland and Assessment of Nomads

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Changes in Plant Communities by Grazing in Northern Mongolian Grassland and Assessment of Nomads

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