如何拯救一片草原？©WWF / CX|保护区|封育|植被|牧草|草场

©WWF /CX

今天是2022年6月18日星期六，

是我国第六个“草原保护日”。

“天苍苍，野茫茫，风吹草低现牛羊”，

一首耳熟能详的《敕勒歌》描绘出了古人亲历的草原之苍茂和壮美。

然而，如今你我目之所及的草原可能只有“浅草才能没马蹄”。

草原是地球上最重要的生态系统之一，

它却是最被忽略的生态系统没有之一。

草原退化已成为全球草原面临的生态问题。

这个草原日，我们就聊聊如何拯救“地球的皮肤”。

作者简介

焉志远，研究员。就职于黑龙江省科学院自然与生态研究所，研究方向包括植物资源，植物多样性和恢复生态学等。自2006年至今开展松嫩平原草地生态恢复相关研究。

草原为什么重要？

草原生态系统是地球上仅次于森林生态系统的第二大生态系统，具有防风固沙、保持水土、涵养水源、固碳、保护生物多样性、调节气体、净化环境等多项生态功能。2001年，谢高地等参考Costanza的方法，经计算得出全国草地生态系统每年的服务价值为1500亿美元，草原蕴含着巨大的生态价值。

呼伦贝尔草原©WWF / Jiao Xiaotong

草原也是我国面积大、分布广、生态环境多样的最大陆地生态系统，是欧亚大草原的重要组成部分，约占国土面积的40.9%，主要分布在我国西部和北部的半干旱、干旱和高寒山区，是国家重要的绿色生态屏障。草原是农牧民赖以生存和发展的基本生物资源。保护草原、发挥它的生态功能，对促进草原牧区经济的可持续发展、对我国的草原生态文明建设具有重要作用。

我国草地基本上分成三大区域: 北方温带草原、青藏高寒草地、南方草山草坡。其中北方温带草原有呼伦贝尔草原、松嫩草原、科尔沁草原、锡林郭勒草原、阿拉善草原(包括乌兰察布草原)、阿尔泰草原、伊犁草原、巴音布鲁克草原、青海环湖草原、甘南草原、川西北草原、那曲草原等，构成了中原大地重要的生态屏障。

内蒙古草原上的草原雕 ©Staffan W. / Wild Wonders of China / WWF

草原怎么就退化了？

由于气候变化和长期不合理利用，草原面临着巨大的威胁，草原生态功能受到不同程度的破坏，造成许多草原野生动植物的减少、甚至濒临灭绝，同时，旱灾、火灾、沙尘暴、鼠虫害等自然灾害频发。

严重退化的草原©WWF / CX

近代以来，草原出现了大规模的面积缩减现象，并在上个世纪加速缩小，如全国草地面积从上世纪80年代的4亿公顷缩减到2008年的2.97亿公顷。同时，惊人的数据是全球75%的草原，处于退化、沙化和盐碱化状态，以及有严重的鼠害等一系列生态问题。我国绝大多数草原均存在不同程度的退化问题，尤其是草原的沙化导致了剧烈的扬尘和沙尘暴等极端天气。

土地盐碱化 ©WWF / CX

草原退化的标志之一是草地生产力的下降。据调查，全国各类草原的产草量普遍比50-60年代下降30-50%；草原退化的标志之二是草地质量上的变化，可食性牧草减少，毒草和入侵种增加，导致草原承载力下降。

草原生态系统为什么会大面积退化？科学家们一直在探索其原因，并认为影响草原生产力、生物多样性和生态功能的原因主要包括两个方面，第一是气候变化的影响；第二是人类活动的干扰不合理的利用和管理不善。

土壤板结©WWF / CX

气候变化被公认为是影响草地生态系统的一个重要自然因素，如科学家一致认为气温升高和干旱是蒙古国草原荒漠化的重要原因。但气候变化对于我国北方草原的影响尚存在争议，例如有观点认为气温增高一定程度加剧了北方草原的退化和沙化；而另一些长期监测研究表明，虽然2000-2017年期间蒙古荒漠草原区的年均温和季节均温呈升高趋势，但年降水量却没有明显的减少趋势，季节降水量除夏季外均呈不显著增加趋势，同时1982-2015年期间,内蒙古草地总体实际净初级生产力是增加的。在区域降水量增加、草地状况恢复的同时，草地的退化面积却呈现增加趋势，在这些退化情况中，人类活动对草地退化的贡献率是80%以上。因此，可以看出，人类活动是草原生态受到威胁的主要原因。

过度放牧 ©WWF / CX

人类活动对草原的破坏主要包括：

（1）超载放牧导致草原退化；（2）高强度刈割与毁灭性采收药材；（3）农业垦殖导致草原面积缩减，导致草原干旱和沙化；（4）矿产开发引起草原环境污染和结构破坏；（5）历史上对野生动物的捕猎导致种群数量减少等原因。

如何拯救一片草原？

随着《中华人民共和国草原法》等相关法律法规政策的陆续出台，以及各级草原保护区的建设和保护努力，我国草原生态系统的保护和恢复取得了一定进展，但由于部分地区草原退化面积较大，退化程度比较严重，并且在局部地区仍然有严重恶化的趋势，因此亟待采取各种措施对草原进行长期有效的保护与恢复。

蒙原羚 ©WWF / He Jiale

加强草原类型保护区建设。

从草原保护区建设来看，建设起步时间较晚，相较于其他生态系统保护区建设相对落后，在国家级保护区中与草原和草甸保护相关的比例最低，面积仅为第三，并且草原保护区地处边远落后地区，管理和科研人员缺乏，亟待加强草原保护区能力建设。

划定草原保护红线。

“草原红线”是近些年来我国提出的草原保护概念，基本思路是坚持生态优先、协调发展原则，在摸清草原状态、完善草原数据库的基础上，选取典型区域，结合当地生态承载力和畜牧业发展现状，科学划定草原保护红线，并通过法律保障红线地位，纳入地方激励考核机制。“保护红线”需要进一步明确保护地各方职责，多方协调落实。

草原生物多样性调查 ©WWF / CX

持续加强草原生态恢复工程建设。

草原生态恢复是一项系统工程，目前，就退化草原生态恢复共性问题来看，其技术与管理对策日趋成熟，但是仍有多方面问题亟需研究与实践验证。

首先草原生态草种种质资源是优先考虑的问题，可通过保护乡土野生草种资源，构建本土野生优良草种驯化选育与扩繁技术体系来实现；其次，因地制宜采用适合的工程修复措施；最后，在草原经营管理对策上，在遵循草场不退化的原则基础上，采用适度的放牧和刈割管理制度，对牲畜幼崽和出栏比例进行季节性调控，根据牧草和放牧家畜对气候变化的响应及经济利润的变化分析，确定区域草场最佳放牧率，权衡风险和利润，以促进牧区生态环境与经济协调发展。

未来退化草原修复应结合生态恢复领域的新技术和新材料，综合多方面研究成果，不断创新，形成多元化、集成化的技术体系，使退化草原生态修复治理趋于精细化管理。

修复退化草原©WWF / CX

4. 建立退化草原修复试点，探索和推广具体的、有针对性的保护方案。

目前退化草原生态修复常用措施主要包括围栏封育、补播、施肥、机械松土和构建人工草地等方式，可依据不同的草地类型、草地退化程度结合立地条件，使用主要恢复措施或多种恢复方法配合。

围栏封育

围栏封育是使用围栏建设将草地封存停止利用，使得草地得到休养，让其自然更新演替，增强草地植物的生产力，是广泛被使用的促进退化草地生态恢复的重要措施。围栏封育简便易行、投资少，能最大程度减少外力干扰，保证植物的正常生长发育免受继续干扰破坏，但对于严重退化草原来说，由于草原生态系统破坏严重，自身修复功能下降，并且自然演替过程极其缓慢，在不施加工程辅助的情况下，自身恢复速度甚至不及退化的速度，因此需要在使用围栏封育时结合其它恢复措施。

补播

由于过度放牧和刈割等干扰，大量的草种被家畜采食，导致种子库缺乏，进而影响群落植被的更新和群落结构组成。草种补播是解决土壤种子库匮乏的有效途径，在对原生植被不破坏或少有破坏的前提下，应播种适应性强的优良牧草。补播可以改善草地植物群落结构配置，恢复斑块裸地和退化地，促进退化草地的正向演替，提高草地的生产能力和植被多样性。

补播的羊草中自然生长的绵枣儿©WWF / CX

补播措施最大的优点在于见效快且成本相对低，能快速补充当年退化草原生态位的空缺，但此时的群落不稳定。补播通常情况下会与机械松土措施结合使用。

机械松土

退化草原在长期过渡利用下土壤板结，紧实度增加，使通透性降低，阻碍根系的发育，特别是根茎的伸长，使牧草的生长发育受到限制。机械松土是运用农业机械对土壤进行不同程度的疏松处理，改变土壤理化性质和对根系进行刺激增殖，达到植被恢复目的的改良方式，是改良退化草原土壤状况进而加快植被恢复或重建的有效措施，主要包括浅翻、耙地、切割草皮等。

机械松土 ©WWF

施肥

施肥是一种快速、有效的补充天然草原营养损失、改善土壤条件、恢复草原生态系统功能直接而根本的措施。但过量施用化肥会引起一系列生态问题，严重威胁了草原生态系统功能。近年来，有机肥、菌肥和微生物肥料等新型肥料受到越来越多的重视。

草地建植

严重退化状态下，草原原生植被层薄弱极度矮小，覆盖度基本消失，草地退化由量变进入质变，草原生态系统依靠自身恢复力不能够恢复，对这部分草地的利用多是重新翻耕播种。建植人工草地在群落盖度、密度、高度和生物量等方面一般优于天然草地，尤其在快速恢复严重退化的草地和撂荒地的植被方面具有优异的能力，也是解决当前我国草地畜牧业缺乏牧草的重要措施，是生态修复内容中不可缺失的一部分。但需要注意的是人工草地建植需要较好的水热条件，以及后期需要严格的管理措施，来维持草地生产力和提高生物多样性。

草地建植©WWF / CX

提高生态保护意识。

草原地区多属于欠发达地区，生物多样性保护等生态观念缺失，致使没有较强的保护意识，缺乏公众参与的机制和基础。因此，对于地区和部门的管理机构，应开展并完善草原教育的制度性体系建设等工作，通过组织各种宣传和公众活动促进人们保护草原意识和观念的提升。

有一片“欢欢的草原”

在松嫩平原腹地的吉林省乾安县，熊猫君和合作伙伴们在伊利金典品牌的支持下，探索性的“拯救”了一片草原。这里是“草原恢复与可持续管理试点”，曾经是一片严重退化和盐碱化的草原，三年多的修复努力让这片草场再次焕发生机。

监测相机拍到的赤狐家庭 ©WWF

40多种植物竞相生长，生物多样性缓慢提升，赤狐、雉鸡等野生动物频繁“出没”，为本来斑驳的草场带来了欣欣向荣的活力与朝气，这里的变化给我们带来了喜悦与希望。 “欢欢的草原”如此得名，如《说文解字》中“欢，喜乐也。” 我们期待继续探索草原恢复和可持续管理模式，并加以应用和推广。

我们将恢复的过程记录下来

请围观《欢欢的草原》

草原恢复不应局限于恢复草原植被和生物多样性等生态指标，也要为当地社区居民开发可持续的草原利用和管理模式。也就是说，我们修复草原的目标不仅仅是遏止草原退化，恢复草原生态系统功能，也要实现农牧民可持续利用草原的目标。

欢欢的草原 ©WWF / Liu Chunlei

如果退化草原得到有效的治理，但无法满足当地居民生产生活的需求，那么退化草原的恢复也是无法持续的。草原恢复是一个持久的过程，草原也需要经历长期的自然演替才能真正焕发生机。我们期望用纤纤细草，重筑生态屏障，重现“风吹草低见牛羊”的美好画面——草长莺飞可牧羊。

欢欢的草原 ©WWF

特别鸣谢合作伙伴对WWF“草原恢复与可持续管理项目”的长期支持：

伊利金典

黑龙江省科学院自然与生态研究所

乾安县老科学技术工作者协会

吉林省农业科学院

乾安县草原管理站

作者：焉志远、GZ、 CX

参考文献

李建东,方精云等.中国草原的生态功能研究.北京:科学出版社,2017.

谢高地，张钇锂，鲁春霞等。中国自然草地生态系统服务价值[J]．自然资源学报，2001，16(1)：47-53．

《国家重点保护植物名录》（第一批）.1999.

李辉,红英,邓国荣等.1982-2015年气候变化和人类活动对内蒙古草地净初级生产力的影响[J].应用生态学报,2021,32(2):415-424.

董晓宇.2000-2017年内蒙古荒漠草原植被物候和净初级生产力对气候变化的响应[D].西安:长安大学,2021:1-2.

汪诗平,王艳芬, 陈佐忠.内蒙古草地畜牧业可持续发展的生物经济原则研究[J].生态学报.2001,21(4)：617-623.

拯救草原 ©WWF / CX

了解更多信息，请访问WWF阿穆尔黑龙信息中心：

https://amurinfocenter.org/cn/

SaveOur Grasslands

Hulunbuir Grassland ©WWF /CX

Today is June 18, 2022.

Today is China’s Grassland Conservation Day.

“Under the boundless sky, on vast plains, cattle and sheep can be seen when the wind blows, and grass lowers,”

A familiar poem depicts the lushness and beauty of the grasslands as experienced by the ancients.

However, the grasslands you can see today may only have “shallow grass to hide the horses’ hooves.”

Grasslands are one of the most important ecosystems on the planet.

Yet, it is one of the most neglected ecosystems of all.

Grassland degradation has turned to be a global ecological problem.

On this Grassland Conservation Day, let’s talk about how to save the “skin of the earth”!

Author Bio

Yan Zhiyuan, a researcher, works withthe Institute of Nature and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences. His research interests include plant resources, plant diversity and restoration ecology. Since 2006, he has been conducting research related to ecological restoration of grasslands in the Songnen Plain.

Hulunbuir Grasslands ©WWF / Jiao Xiaotong

Why do grasslands matter?

Grasslands ecosystem is the second largest ecosystem on earth after the forest ecosystem. It has many ecological functions, such as wind and sand control, soil and water conservation, water source conservation, carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, gas regulation and environmental purification. In 2001, referring to Costanza’s method, Xie Gaodi et al. calculated that the annual service value of the grassland ecosystem in China was about $150 billion, indicating that the grasslands contain a huge ecological value.

Grasslands are also the largest terrestrial ecosystem with a large area, wide distribution, and diverse ecological environment in China. As an integral part of the Eurasian steppe, it accounts for 40.9 percent of the total land area, mainly distributed in semi-arid, arid, and alpine mountains in western and northern China. It is also an essential green ecological barrier in the country. Grasslands are the primary biological resources on which farmers and herders depend for their survival and development. Protecting grasslands and giving full play to their ecological functions play an important role in promoting the sustainable development of the grassland pastoral economy and in building a grassland ecological civilization in China.

China’s grasslands are divided into three central regions: the temperate grasslands in the north, the alpine grasslands of Qinghai and Tibet, and the grassy slopes of the south.

The northern temperate grasslands include the Hulunbuir Grasslands, the Songneng Grasslands, the Horqin Grassland, the Xilinguole Grasslands, the Alashan Grassland (including the Ulanqab Grassland), the Altay Grassland, the lli Grasslands, the Bayinbruck Grassland, the grasslands surrounding Qinghai Lake, the Gannan Grasslands, the northwest Sichuan grasslands and the Naqu Grasslands, which form an important ecological barrier in the Central Plains.

Grassland sculpture on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia ©Staffan W. / Wild Wonders of China / WWF

Why the grasslands go degraded?

Due to climate change and unreasonable long-term use, grasslands are under significant threat. Their ecological functions have been damaged to varying degrees, reducing and even endangerment of many grasslands, wildlife, and plants. At the same time, natural disasters such as droughts, fires, sandstorms, and rodent and insect pests are frequent.

Severely degraded grassland ©WWF / CX

In recent times, grasslands have seen massive shrinkage and have accelerated in the last century, for example, the national grassland area shrank from 400 million hm2 in the 1980s to 297 million hm2 in 2008. The alarming figure of 75 percent of the world’s grasslands are in a state of degradation, desertification and salinization, as well as having serious rodent infestations and a range of other ecological problems. The vast majority of our grasslands are degraded to varying degrees, with the desertification of grasslands, in particular, leading to extreme weather such as violent dust and sandstorms.

Land salinization ©WWF / CX

One of the signs of grassland degradation is the decline in grassland productivity. According to surveys, the grass production of all types of grasslands across the country has generally decreased by 30-50 percent compared to the 1950s and 1960s; the second is the change in the quality of grasslands, with a decrease in edible forage grasses and an increase in poisonous and invasive species, leading to a reduction of the carrying capacity of grasslands.

Why is there widespread degradation of grassland ecosystems? Scientists have been exploring its causes and have concluded that the reasons affecting grassland productivity, biodiversity and ecological functions include two main aspects, the first being the impact of climate change. The second is the interference of human activities’ irrational use and mismanagement.

Soil consolidation ©WWF / CX

Climate change has been recognized as an essential natural factor affecting grassland ecosystems. For example, scientists agree that rising temperatures and drought are crucial causes of desertification in Mongolia’s grasslands. However, the impact of climate change on the northern grasslands of China is still controversial, for example, some argue that the increase in temperature has to some extent, increased the degradation and desertification of the northern grasslands. Other long-term monitoring studies have shown that the annual and seasonal mean temperatures in the Mongolian deserted grasslands showed an increasing trend from 2000 to 2017, but there was no significant decrease in annual precipitation. Seasonal precipitation showed a non-significant trend except in summer, while the overall net primary productivity of Inner Mongolia grasslands increased from 1982 to 2015. While regional precipitation increased and grassland conditions recovered, the degraded area of grassland showed an increasing trend, with human activities contributing 83 percent and 87 percent to grassland degradation in these cases. Therefore, it can be seen that human activities are the main reason for the threat to grassland ecology.

Overgrazing ©WWF / CX

The damages caused by human activities mainly include: (1) Overgrazing leads to grassland degradation; (2) High-intensity cutting and destructive harvesting of medicinal materials; (3) Agricultural reclamation leads to grassland area reduction, resulting in grassland drought and desertification; (4) Environmental pollution and structural damage of grassland caused by mineral exploitation; (5) The hunting of wild animals in history led to a decreased population.

With the successive introduction of the Grassland Law of the People’s Republic of China and other relevant laws and policies, as well as the construction and protection efforts of grassland reserves at all levels, specific progress has been made in the protection and restoration of grassland ecosystems in China. However, due to the large area of grassland degradation in some areas, the degree of degradation is relatively severe, and there is still a trend of serious deterioration in some areas. Therefore, it is urgent to take measures to protect and restore the grassland effectively for a long time.

Montagnard gazelle ©WWF / He Jiale

We have strengthened the development and construction of grassland protected areas.

The construction of grassland reserves starts late and relatively under-developed compared to other ecosystem reserves, with the lowest proportion of national reserves related to grassland conservation and only the third largest area. Moreover, grassland reserves are located in remote and under-developed areas, and there is a lack of management and scientific personnel, so there is an urgent need to strengthen the capacity building of grassland reserves.

A Red Line strategy for grassland conservation.

The “Grassland Red Line” is a concept of grassland protection put forward by China in recent years. Adhering to the principles of ecological priority and coordinated development, we have selected distinct areas based on mapping the grasslands’ status and improving the grassland database, combined with the current situation of local ecological carrying capacity and livestock development, to delineate the red line for grassland protection scientifically. The status of the Red Line should be guaranteed by law and incorporated into the local incentive assessment mechanism. The “Protection Red Line” requires further clarification of the responsibilities of all parties in the protected areas and coordination among all parties involved for implementation.

Continued strengthen grassland ecological restoration projects.

Grassland ecological restoration is a systematic project. Currently, in terms of the common problems of ecological restoration of degraded grassland, its technology and management strategies are becoming mature. However, there are still many problems that need to be studied and verified in practice.

Firstly, ecological grass seed quality resources are a priority, which can be achieved by protecting native wild grass seed resources and building a technical system for domestication, selection and expansion of indigenous wild fine grass seeds. Secondly, suitable engineering restoration measures should be adopted according to local conditions.Finally, on the basis of following the principle of non-degradation of grassland, the management system of grazing and mowing is adopted to adjust the proportion of young livestock and the proportion of stocking seasonally. Based on the analysis of the response of herbage and livestock to climate change and the change of economic profit, the optimal grazing rate of regional grassland was determined, and the risks and profits were weighed to promote the coordinated development of ecological environment and economy in pastoral areas.

In the future, degraded grassland restoration should integrate research results from various aspects, and continuously innovate to form a diversified and integrated technology system by combining new technologies and materials in the field of ecological restoration, so that the ecological restoration and management of degraded grassland will tend to be finely managed.

Establish pilot projects to restore degraded grasslands, and explore and promote specific and targeted conservation programmes.

Standard measures for ecological restoration of degraded grasslands include, among others, fencing and sealing, reseeding, fertilization, mechanical loosening and construction of artificial grasslands, etc. Depending on the type of grassland, the degree of grassland degradation combined with the site conditions, the main restoration measures or multiple restoration methods can be used in conjunction.

Fencing enclosure

Fencing enclosure is an important measure widely used to promote ecological restoration of degraded grassland, which can seal up and stop the use of grassland, make grassland recuperate, renew and replace itself naturally, and enhance the productivity of grassland plants.Simple, easy and inexpensive, fencing minimizes external disturbance and ensures that the normal growth and development of plants is not damaged by continued disturbance.But for severely degraded grasslands, as the grassland ecosystem is severely damaged, its self-repair function is reduced, and the natural succession process is prolonged, in the absence of engineering assistance, the rate of self-recovery is not even as fast as the rate of degradation, so other restoration measures need to be combined with fencing.

Reseeding

Due to overgrazing and mowing, many grass seeds are taken by livestock, resulting in a lack of seed banks, which in turn affects the renewal of the community vegetation and the composition of the community structure. The reseeding of grass seeds is an effective way to address the lack of soil seed bank and should be done by sowing well-adapted forage grasses with little or no damage to the native vegetation. Reseeding can improve the structural configuration of grassland plant communities, restore patches of bare and degraded land, promote positive succession in degraded grasslands, and increase grassland productivity and vegetation diversity.

The most significant advantage of reseeding is that they are quick and relatively inexpensive and can quickly replenish the ecological niche of a degraded grassland in the current year. Still, the community is not stable at this time. Often, reseeding is applied in combination with mechanical loosening measures.

Mechanical scarification

In the degraded grassland, the soil thickens and compactness increases under long-term over-utilization, which reduces the permeability, hinders the development of roots, especially the elongation of roots and restricts the growth and development of herbage. Mechanical loosening is an improvement method that uses agricultural machinery to loosen the soil to varying degrees, change the physical and chemical properties of the ground and stimulate the root system to increase vegetation restoration.

It is an effective measure to improve the condition of degraded grassland soils and thereby speed up the recovery or reestablishment of vegetation and mainly includes shallow tilling, harrowing, cutting turf, etc.

Fertilization

Fertilization is a direct and fundamental measure to supplement nutrient loss, improve soil condition and restore grassland ecosystem function quickly and effectively. However, excessive chemical fertilizer application will cause a series of ecological problems and seriously threaten the grassland ecosystem function. In recent years, new fertilizers such as organic fertilizer, bacterial fertilizer and microbial fertilizer have received more and more attention.

Grassland establishment

In a severely degraded state, the native vegetation layer of grassland is weak and extremely short, and the cover has disappeared, so the degradation of grasslands has changed from quantitative to qualitative, and the grassland ecosystem is unable to recover on its own. The planting of artificial grassland is generally better than natural grassland in terms of community cover, density, height and biomass, especially in the rapid recovery of severely degraded grassland and abandoned land, and is also an important measure to solve the current lack of pasture in China’s grassland livestock industry, and is an indispensable part of ecological restoration. However, it is essential to note that artificial grassland establishment requires good water and heat conditions and strict management measures later to maintain grassland productivity and improve biodiversity.

Raise awareness of grassland conservation.

Grassland areas are mostly under-developed and lack ecological concepts such as biodiversity protection, resulting in a lack of solid protection awareness and a lack of mechanism and basis for public participation. Therefore, regional and departmental management agencies should carry out and improve the construction of the grassland education system and organize various publicity and public activities to promote people’s awareness and concept of grassland conservation.

“Joyful” Grasslands

In Qian’an County, Jilin Province, in the heart of the Songnen Plain, WWF and its partners, with the support of the SATINE, YILI Group, have been exploring ways to ‘save’ a grassland. Once a severely degraded and saline grassland, this is now a “pilot grassland restoration and sustainable management project”, where more than three years of restoration efforts have brought the grasslands back to life.

More than 40 plants are growing, biodiversity is slowly increasing, and wildlife like red foxes and pheasants frequent the area, bringing vibrant energy and vitality to the otherwise drab meadows. The changes here bring us joy and hope. The grasslands of Huanhuan or the Joyful Grasslands are so named, as the Origin of Chinese Characters, a Chinese work of language tools, said, “Huan means joyful.” We look forward to exploring grassland restoration and sustainable management models and applying and replicating them.

We document the recovery process

Please seeJoyful Grassland.

Grassland restoration should not be limited to restoring ecological indicators such as grassland vegetation and biodiversity but also developing sustainable grassland use and management models for local community residents. In other words, we aim at not only to halt grassland degradation and restore grassland ecosystem functions but also to achieve sustainable grassland use by farmers and herders.

If the degraded grassland is effectively managed but cannot meet the production and living needs of residents, the restoration of degraded grassland will not be sustainable.

Grassland restoration is an ongoing process, and the grassland also needs to go through long-term natural succession before it can truly flourish. We hope to rebuild the ecological barrier with fine grass and reproduce the beautiful picture of “wind blowing grass sees cattle and sheep” -- The grass grows and birds fly, and sheep can be grazed.

Special thanks to our partners for their long-term support of WWF's “Grassland Restoration and Sustainable Management Programme”.

SATINE, YILI

Institute of Nature and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences

Qian’an County Association of Senior Scientists and Technologists

Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Qian'an County Grassland Management Station

Author: Yan Zhiyuan, GZ, CX

References

Li Jiandong, Fang Jingyun et al. Ecological Functions of Grasslands in China, Beijing: Science Press,2017.

Xie Gaodi, Zhang Yili, Lu Chunxia et al. Ecosystem Service Values of Natural Grasslands in China [J]. Journal of Natural Resources, 2001, 16(1): 47-53.

List of National Key Protected Plants (First Batch).1999.

Li Hui,Hong Ying, Deng Guorong et al. Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on Net Primary Productivity of Grasslands in Inner Mongolia from 1982-2015[J]. Journal of Applied Ecology,2021,32(2):415-424.

Dong Xiaoyu. Response of Vegetation Phenology and Net Primary Productivity to Climate Change in Inner Mongolia Desert Grasslands from 2000-2017[D]. Xi'an: Chang'an University,2021:1-2.

Wang Shiping, Wang Yanfen, Chen Zuozhong. Bioeconomic Principles for Sustainable Development of Grassland Animal Husbandry in Inner Mongolia[J]. Journal of Ecology.2001,21(4):617-623.

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