Strategies for Nature Management and Vegetation Conservation

Our analysis of modern plant cover dynamics has shown bi-directional successions in various plant communities with some ecosystems recovering and some being degraded currently in Mongolia. Across Mongolia the largest areas are occupied by plant communities that have been exposed to human-associated effects to varying extents and which are at different degradation stages. This vegetation degradation is a result of immediate and long-term human-associated modifications, the widespread effects of natural climatic cycles, water erosion processes, and strong wind movement of soils. Human effects of great importance now are: an expanded and intensive economic exploitation of natural resources; population growth caused by new enterprises to develop mineral resources; the growth of cities; and the widespread construction of new built-up areas. These are illustrated in the maps Ecosystems of Mongolia (1995) partially shown in Figure 5.1, which demonstrate some ecosystem disturbances with respect to vegetation degradation. Figure 5.1 shows some affects on plant cover with reference to grazing livestock breeding, to tree fellings, and to fires in forest steppes.