Plant Diversity and Productivity of Mongolian Nomadic Pasture in Relation to Land Use

Abstract

About 40 % of the population of Mongolia is involved in nomadic pastoralism. Thus, maintaining productive pasture through regulation is an important topic of research. To gain a better understanding of the ecological interactions between pasture plants and livestock, we conducted a field study of Mongolian pasturelands. We found that intermediate disturbance by livestock grazing maximized both species richness and annual productivity of pasture plants, although the optimal intensity of grazing differs with soil moisture and fecundity. However, too intensive continuous grazing decreases plant species richness and aboveground annual production within several years. Intensive grazing may lead to nearly irreversible changes associated with dominance of grazing-tolerant plants unpalatable to animals and soil alkalization. Pasture degradation is often attributed to a recent increase in goats kept for cashmere production. We confirmed some difference in food preferences between goats and sheep, but both can cause severe damage to pasture plants.