Bayer, Wolfgang

Ding, Luming

Guo, Xusheng

Long, Ruijun

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress Sheep on the Tibetan Plateau Flock Structure and Breeding Strategies Luming Ding Lanzhou University, China Ruijun Long Lanzhou University, China Xusheng Guo Lanzhou University, China Wolfgang Bayer 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/21/9-2/30 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 Ⅱ 　 瞯 ]97　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands Production Systems——— Livestock Production SystemsSheep on the Tibetan Plateau flock structure and breeding strategiesDing Luming1 Long Rui j un1 ,3 Guo Xusheng1 Wol f gang Bayer21 International Centre f or T ibetan Plateau Ecosystem Management , L anz hou University , L anz hou , 730000 , PR China ;2 Independent A dv isor in L ivestock Systems Development ,Germany ; 3 Corresponding author , E‐mail : longr j＠ lz u .edu .cnKey words :Qinghai‐Tibetan ,Tibetan sheep ,flock structure ,breed ,breed strategiesIntroduction The Tibetan steppe with its strong continental climate is one of the most severe environments in the world .Tibetanpastoral grazing system is a special system with mixed different animal species ,including yak ,sheep ,goat and horse etc .Eachspecies has its own specific characteristics and adaptations to the environment .Despite the harsh environments ,rangelands onthe Tibetan steppe provide forage for an estimated １２ million yak and ３０ million sheep and goats that support the livelihoods ofabout ５ million pastoralists (Dennis et al . ,２００６) .Yak and sheep are the two main species in the grazing system .The mortalityof sheep is higher than yak during harsh winters and springs ,but with higher restocking rate than yak .Although yakscharacterize Tibetan pastoralism ,sheep are usually more important economically .Sheep are more common than yaks in thewestern regions of Qinghai‐Tibetan plateau because sheep can browse shorter grass than yak and sheep can be sold out muchsooner than yak .An average nomad family may raise ３００ to ４００ sheep in this area .Sheep provide wool and meat and milk .Sheepmeat is the preferred meat among nomads as well as in agricultural and urban areas .The wool from Tibetan sheep is also one ofthe best carpet wools in the world .Because overpopulation and overuse of natural resources are causing fundamental social andeconomic changes among the herding households ,the livestock flock structure is also changing accordingly towards a marketeconomy ,e .g .the proportion of Tibetan sheep with good wool and meat quality increase .Flock structure Tibetan sheep is regarded as a special breed adapting alpine harsh environments ,ex treme cold and low oxygencontent of the air in high altitude and high solar radiation .The body figure of Tibetan sheep is large with thick and long hair ,and high proportion of fine and semi‐fine wool for resisting cold and radiation .A transhumance form of management for Tibetansheep dominates in the Qinghai‐Tibetan plateau because of natural pasture dependent grazing system .The flock structure variesaccording to local environmental conditions and culture .With the introduction of the household responsibility system ,sheepwere allocated to herding households and household heads now made decisions about selection and flock structure .However ,normally there are three groups ,lamb ,ewe and male sheep .Male sheep is split into two portions ,castrated sheep and ram .Castrated sheep is mainly used for meat .Ram is an important group in sheep flocks .Good breeds of ram can ensure goodproperties of lamb .Sheep generally lamb one time in April every year but due to abortion and other factors ,the lambing rate isonly about ６０％ .Ewes represent around ４５％ of the flock as an average ( Miller ,１９９９ ; Lei et al . ,２００４) .According to figure and physiological characteristics and region distribution ,Tibetan sheep is divided into two main types ,Gaoyuan type and Hegu type .Gaoyuan type distributes in the area up the altitude of ４５００ m .And Hegu type was mainly in thearea with the altitude under ４５００ m .Some other breeds ,Xinjiang fine sheep ,Meilinu fine sheep ,Gaojiasuo fine sheep and Cigaisemi‐fine sheep etc .were also introduced to some places in Qinghai‐Tibetan plateau .Because people in the city pay much moreattention to food quality now ,�green�sheep meat in alpine grassland become favorable .Tibetan sheep wool is also attractedmuch attention in the world because of high quality .Tibetan sheep take more and more proportion in the flock structure becauseof so many merits .Breeding strategies Mating season of sheep is from September to November every year .Lambs may not be big enough for sale inthe first year .In some areas ,the lamb will be sold out for lamb meat within １ year old .Generally ,the lamb will be sold out forfatting in １ .５ years old .Sheep breed improvement started in the １９６０s and １９７０s with the introduction of fine wool breeds .Recently biotechnologies were also used for improving breed quality of Tibetan sheep ( Wang et al . , ２００７ ) .With theimprovement of breeding technology ,the proportion of fine wool sheep and ewes are higher and higher .On the other hand ,theproportion of mating male sheep decreases with the improvement of quality .

Sheep on the Tibetan Plateau Flock Structure and Breeding Strategies

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Sheep on the Tibetan Plateau Flock Structure and Breeding Strategies

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