Hao, Dunyuan

Liu, Zhongling

Williams, Adrian

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress A Monitoring System to Aid Decision Making in Grassland Management in Arid Areas of China Zhongling Liu University of Inner Mongolia, China Adrian Williams Pendragon Dryland Management Services, Australia Dunyuan Hao University of Inner Mongolia, China 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/21/4-1/7 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 ]565　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands Resources and Ecology ——— Indicators for Sustainable Use and Conservation of Grasslands/Rangelands ResourcesA monitoring system to aid decision making in grassland management in arid areas of ChinaL iu Zhongling1 , A drian W illiams2 and H ao Dunyuan31 Institute o f Nature Resource , University o f Inner Mongolia , Hohhot , Inner Mongolia .2 Pendragon Dry land ManagementServ ices , B ridgetown , WA , A ustralia . E‐mail : adrianrw1＠ yahoo .com .au3 Department o f Mathematics , University o fInner Mongolia , Hohhot , Inner MongoliaKey words : dynamic grassland , rangeland monitoring techniquesIntroduction In ２００４ a grassland monitoring system was devised and established in sub‐project areas of the Alxa LeagueEnvironmental Rehabilitation and Management Project ( ALERMP ) , Inner Mongolia‐a project funded by AusAID , andmanaged by Cardno Acil . The aim of the system was to better inform managers of the effects of grazing management decisions .The objectives of the monitoring system were to provide : (１ ) precision in biomass and soil cover estimates , (２ ) an assessmentof the dynamic changes occurring within grassland and their causes , and (３) an assessment of soil changes .Materials and methods Site selection in September ２００４ followed the usual search for �representativeness摧 within the chosengrassland type . Two ５０m tapes were laid out on the chosen site such that they crossed at right angles at their centres . One waslaid across the slope while the other lay up and down slope . Vegetation patch types ( shrub , grass , bare soil) were measuredand recorded along each ５０m transect , from which cover％ was calculated . The transects were utilised for Landscape FunctionAnalysis after the method of Tongway ( ２００３ ) . The second part of the site layout was a １０m x １０m square whose right top( north east) corner coincides with the intersection of the ５０m transects . Two parallel transects １０m x ２m were located withinthe １０m square . A measuring tape was laid along the １０m midline of each of these transect . Using the beginning of the tape (０ .００m) as a reference , the location of every shrub within each １０m transect was recorded , along with its species name , plantheight and two plant widths taken at right angles . Plant location was recorded as distance along the tape and distance offsetfrom the tape right or lef t . Grass plants were recorded where they fell immediately under the measuring tape . The ends of alltransects were permanently marked . At subsequent annual monitoring , the transects and individual plants were exactlyrelocated . The Alxa sites included １１ pairs of fenced and unfenced ( grazed ) sites . Biomass was measured by destructivesampling ( quadrats for grasses or representative plants for shrub species) , and related to the plant densities on the central １０mx １０m site . Exact relocation of sites allowed measurements of individual plant grow th , deaths and recruitment . Sites wererecorded in September in ２００４ , ２００５ and ２００６ .Results and discussion Concentrating on the ５ pairs of fenced and unfenced sites in Right Banner , seasonal conditions ２００４‐２００６were found to affect the rate of overall plant recruitment ( p ＜ ０畅０１) , plant deaths ( p ＜ ０畅０５) , and edible biomass changes ( p ＜０ .０５) . Within the monitoring period , plant recruitment , plant deaths , biomass changes ２００４‐２００５ and soil cover in ２００６ werenot significantly affected by grazing . Grazing ２００４‐２００５ was noted to affect the sum of the volumes ( Height x Width x Width)of certain plant species within transects , particularly Reaumuria soongorica , Potaninia mongolica and Caragana stenophy lla ,but did not appear to affect the sum of the plant volumes of the grasses Stip a glareosa or Cleistogenes soongorica . Grazing hada marginally significant effect on biomass changes ２００５‐２００６ ( p ＝ ０ .０８) .Conclusions The system described makes possible an understanding of grassland dynamics and the causes of change . Such asystem would be a useful tool in assessing and promoting wise and sustainable grassland use . It would be an aid to studyinggrassland rehabilitation , and assessing when and at what intensity grassland could be re‐opened following a grazing ban .ReferenceTongway , D .J . , (２００３ ) . Reading the landscape : a training course in monitoring rangelands by landscape function analysis .CS IRO , Canberra .

A Monitoring System to Aid Decision Making in Grassland Management in Arid Areas of China

https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2667&amp;context=igc

A Monitoring System to Aid Decision Making in Grassland Management in Arid Areas of China

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