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The activity of small mammalian herbivores influences grassland ecosystem services in arid and semi-arid regions. Plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) was considered to be a focal organism to investigate the effect of small mammalian herbivores on meadow ecosystem services in alpine regions. In this study, a home-range scale was used to measure the forage available to livestock, water conservation, carbon sequestration and soil nutrient maintenance (total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) in the topsoil layer, and a quadrat scale was used to assess the biodiversity conservation of alpine meadows. This study showed that the forage available to livestock and water conservation was 19 % and 16 % lower in the presence of plateau pikas than in their absence, and biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, soil nitrogen and phosphorus maintenance was 15 %, 29 %, 10 % and 8.9 % higher in the presence of plateau pikas than in their absence. In contrast, it had no impact on soil potassium maintenance of meadow ecosystems in alpine regions. The forage available to livestock, biodiversity conservation and soil nutrient maintenance of meadow ecosystems in alpine regions had maximum values as the disturbance intensity of plateau pikas increased; the water conservation tended to decrease linearly with the increasing disturbance intensity of plateau pikas. These results present a pattern of plateau pikas influencing the ecosystem services of meadow ecosystems in alpine regions, enriching our understanding of the small mammalian herbivores in relation to grassland ecosystem service.

Currently, the restoration and reestablishment of grassland in China is facing many new opportunities and challenges. A large area of grassland in China has been suffered from the unreasonable utilization status, leading to many ecological problems associated with grassland degradation and low efficiency of pastoral animal husbandry production. To tackle these problems, we should absorb any advanced successful ideas on grassland animal husbandry management, and design current development strategy by using the system theory and sustainable development perspective. Then, an integrated management strategy is needed to boost the transfer of grassland animal husbandry from conventional rough management practices to modern integrated management strategies based on the standardization of demonstration ranches. The standardization demonstration ranch is the basis for the transition from the conventional grazing grassland to the modern grassland animal husbandry. Based on one or joint-family operation systems, a standardization demonstration ranch is considered an efficient and systematic value-chain production system for modern grassland animal husbandry. This refers to standardizing the procedures in forage production, nursing animals and animal production, and product processing and quality control through following integrated technologies and standard procedures. In this paper, we will review and summarize the development process, construction necessity, and standards and benefits of standardization demonstration ranches. We also took the grassland animal husbandry of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau as an example and proposed strategic orientation and developmental thoughts for the standardization demonstration ranch, which will boost fundamental change of relations of production towards more responsive and sustainable production, leading to sustainable upgrades and transformation of plateau animal husbandry in the future. © 2016, Science Press. All right reserved.

Salinisation caused by irrigation is threatening the forage yield of lucerne pasture in the arid and semi‐arid areas of west China. To select lucerne cultivars with good salt tolerance, the relative salt tolerance of five lucerne cultivars was assessed based upon shoot dry weight, shoot KV Na+ ratio, leaf malondialdehyde (MDA) content and relative membrane permeability (RMP) at the seedling stage. NaCl reduced the shoot dry weight and shoot K+/Na+ ratio, and enhanced the leaf MDA content and RMP in all cultivars, but the degree of either reduction or enhancement differed between these lucerne cultivars. Under 200 mM NaCl for 5 days, ‘Rambler’ had significantly greater shoot dry weight (only dropped 17.2% to 0.17 g plant‐1) than other cultivars, and also maintained a better ion status, with higher K+ content, lower Na+ content, and thus a higher relative shoot K+/Na+ ratio. ‘Daye’ was healthier because neither the MDA content nor the RMP was significantly increased in its leaves. Through combining...

Monitoring and estimating potential snow disasters in pastoral areas of northern Xinjiang Province are important for decision‐making in hazard reduction and prevention. In this paper, four scenes of NOAA/AVHHR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) images were combined with ground observation data in the north of Xinjiang Province to establish a model for monitoring snow depth. Using a linear spectral decomposition method, the pixel‐based snow coverage and snow classification were studied. The spatial characteristics of snow, grassland, animal and climate factors were used to develop two new quantified indices for estimating the potential snow hazard grade and for integrated evaluation of snow disasters to grassland animal husbandry. The criteria for snow hazard grade and snow disaster evaluation were established. Results indicated that: (i) a pixel‐based index K1 , based on grassland yield, animal capacity, utilisable grassland area coefficient and seasonal grazing utilisation scenarios, can...

This trial was conducted to assess the suitability of one local and eight introduced lucerne (Medicago sativa) cultivars to seasonally dry conditions in the semi‐arid region of west China. The foliage yield, root biomass, decline in plant density and proline accumulation in leaf were significantly different between the nine lucerne cultivars after two dry seasons. ‘Ameristand201 and ‘Algonquin’ cultivars performed well based on foliage yield. Root biomass of ‘Ameristand201’ and ‘Sandili’ was significantly greater than that of the other seven cultivars. ‘Ameristand201’ was the best cultivar in drought resistance, with higher proline accumulation in its plant leaves. ‘ Sandili’ and ‘Longdong’ cultivars both had good persistence and a low decline in plant density with time. Adopting the Analytical Hierarchy Process, a new procedure for evaluating lucerne genotypes for semi‐arid land was proposed by combining these indicators based on experts’ and farmers’ suggestions. The suitability of the nine cul...

Lucerne root growth not only affects the ability of lucerne cultivars to assist soil conservation, but is the primary pathway for the plants to absorb water and nutrients. Therefore, the study of root development is important for assessing the suitability of lucerne cultivars to semi-arid environments. A field experiment was conducted during 2000-01 in the semi-arid and arid region of west China to study the suitability of one local and seven introduced lucerne (Medicago sativa) cultivars by comparing their root development. The total number of secondary roots and taproot length were significantly different between lucerne cultivars after only one dry season. Sixty-five percent of secondary roots were present during vegetative growth, and 40% of secondary roots arose within the 10-20 cm depth. Root biomass and fine root volume were also significantly different between the eight cultivars, and the increase in the rate of development of fine root volume and root biomass in the cultivars 'Sandili' and 'Amerigraze401+Z' was significantly faster than those of the other six cultivars, indicating that 'Sandili' and 'Amerigraze401+Z' were better adapted to semi-arid conditions. Fine root volume and root biomass of all cultivars decreased with depth, except for those of 'Sandili' and 'Amerigraze401+Z' where fine root volume and root biomass at 20-30 cm depth was greater than that at 10-20 cm. Using secondary roots, taproot length, fine root volume, and root biomass as analysis factors, cluster analysis results suggested that 'Sandili' and 'Amerigraze401+Z' are suitable for sowing in the semi-arid and arid conditions of west China due to their strong root development.

Grassland is multi‐functional. On the basis of the different functions performed by different grassland types, and regional development demands for grassland functions, the classification management concept of grassland was designed to ensure the sustainability of grassland ecosystems. Principles, financial mechanisms, and properties of classification management are introduced in this paper. To aid management of grassland, Gansu grassland is classified into two main management sectors. One is conservation grassland, mainly devoted to ecological and social values; the other is productive grassland, where attention is focused on economic benefits through moderate or intensive production, and contributing to social value by income generated. Conservation grassland makes up 6.05 × 106 ha, or 38% of Gansu Province. Productive grassland is 10.02 × 106 ha, 62% of Gansu Province, in which 8.93 × 106 ha is moderately grazed grassland and 1.09 × 106 ha is intensively grazed grassland. Management strategies...