Bao, Yuhai

Chen, Zhaorigetu

Hasibagan,

Rankin, Mary Ann

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress The Cause of Grassland Desertification and Its Managing Strategies in Inner Mongolia, P. R. China (Session: A6) Zhaorigetu Chen University of Texas at Austin Hasibagan University of Tokyo, Japan Yuhai Bao Inner Mongolia Normal University, China Mary Ann Rankin University of Texas at Austin 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/21/6-1/47 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 ]769　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands Resources and Ecology ——— Reclamation of Grasslands/RangelandsThe cause of grassland desertification and its managing strategies in Inner Mongolia , P .R .China (Session :A6)Zhaorigetu Chen1 , H asibagan2 , Y uhai Bao3 , and Mary A nn Rankin11 Section o f Integrative Biology , University o f Texas at A ustin , USA 78712 , E‐mail : c jorigtoo＠ yahoo .com ; 2 Institute o fIndustrial Science , University o f Tokyo 4‐6‐1 Komaba , Meguro , Tokyo 153‐8505 , Jap an ; 3 The K ey L aboratory o f RemoteSensing , Inner Mongolia Normal University , Hohhot , Inner Mongolia , China 010022Key words :Grassland desertification , Human activities , Managing strategies , Inner MongoliaIntroduction Over ３５％ of pasture land has degraded or desertified in Inner Mongolia in the past ５０ years ( Erdenijab , １９９６) andthe degrading rate is much faster ( ～ １２％ ) in some area such as Qigen Gacha , Ongnuud Banner , and Inner Mongolia in recentyears . The cause of grassland degradation and desertification was investigated and analyzed in the paper .Materials and methods We surveyed changes of human population , livestock number , pastureland , living style , etc . in InnerMongolia and specifically in Qigen Gacha , Ongnuud Banner Inner Mongolia , China . Data was recorded and analyzed . Thesatellite images of Horqin desert of Inner Mongolia were obtained by China Remote‐Sensing Satellite Ground Station on １１August １９８７ and ２４ July ２００４ with ３０m spatial resolution .Results A case study in Qigen Gacha , Ongnuud Banner , Inner Mongolia showed that human population , livestock number ,open land for cultivation increased , and the usable grassland decrease over time ( Table １ ) . It is the case in whole InnerMongolia , China . Human population in Inner Mongolia increased dramatically from ２ million in １９４７ to ２４ million in ２００４( Table １) . With the increasing human population in the region , open land for cultivation increased about ８００ times in １９９５compared to that in １９５７ in Inner Mongolia [ Table ２ ; Erdenijab ( １９９６ ) & Heilig ( １９９７ ) ] . Due to grassland desertification ,fresh water including lakes and rivers are disappearing ( Figure １ ) .Table 1 Changes o f Population , L ivestock , and Grasslandin Qigen Gacha , Ongnuud Banner in Inner Mongolia overtime .Year Population Livestock Grassland( mu) Open Land( mu)１９４７ 垐２２０(２M ) 倡 １０４０  １００ ,０００ 1０ ┅１９８０ 垐５８５  ５１００ ８５ ,０００ ３０００ 铑２００４ 垐８００(２４M ) 倡 ９７００  ６０ ,４００ １５０００倡 Number in braokets represent human population in InnerMongolia ; M :millionTable 2 Open land f or cultiv ation in Inner Mongolia overtime[ From Erdeni j ab(１９９６ ) & Heilig(１９９７ )] .Year １９５７ 佑１９６１ 2１９７６ 悙１９８５ 镲１９９５ oOpen land１０００ ha １０ ゥ５００  ９２０ y６８３４ 镲７６１２ o　 　 Figure 1 Satellite images o f grasslanddeserti f ication in Horqin , Inner Mongolia f or１８ years .Conclusion We conclude that grassland degradation in Inner Mongoliais caused by human activities including : １ . A large increase in humanpopulation ; ２ . Opening land and cultivation ; ３ . Cutting trees andgrasses for fuel ( Data not shown) ; ４ . Increase in livestock number(１０％ in Qigen Gacha , Inner Mongolia by ２００４ ) ; ５ . Changing theherding style ( from nomadic to semi‐nomadic to settled , withoutrotation) ; ６ . Rodent and insect infestation (Data not shown) . Basedon these causes and comparison to the grassland managementstrategies in the USA , we believe that recovering the plant diversityand reforestation in the deserted area is the only way to controlgrassland desertification and prevent further grassland degradation inthe area . It is obvious that controlling the situation is a long‐term battle requiring a comprehensive effort . This will requireestablishing a world‐wide net‐work and getting more international support for controlling the�environmental disaster" in InnerMongolia , P . R . China .ReferencesErdenijab , E . (１９９６) . An economic assessment of pasture degradation . In Humphrey , C . , and Sneath , D . ( eds .) , Cultureand the Environment in Inner Asia : １ The Pastoral Economy and the Env ironment , White Horse Press , Cambridge , UK ,pp . １８９‐１９４ .Heilig , G . １９９７ . Anthropogenic factors in land‐use change in China . Population and development rev iew ２３ (１ ) ;１３９‐１６８ .1987-8-11 2004-7-24 

The Cause of Grassland Desertification and Its Managing Strategies in Inner Mongolia, P. R. China (Session: A6)

https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2856&amp;context=igc

The Cause of Grassland Desertification and Its Managing Strategies in Inner Mongolia, P. R. China (Session: A6)

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Kentucky