Wang Suizi, Fan Jiangwen, Wang Miaomiao, Tang Rui, Jiang Nan-Ji
Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; Institute of Digital Agriculture, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, 350003, China.
J Environ Manage. 2025 Feb;374:124141. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.124141. Epub 2025 Jan 18.
Grassland ecosystems, critical for ecosystem services like forage supply, face threats from climate change and grazing pressure. This study investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics of forage supply and grazing intensity in the Yellow River Source Area (YRSA) from 2000 to 2020, focusing on the relative contributions of climate factors and grazing. Our result revealed that forage supply exhibited a southeast-to-northwest decline and increased slightly overall, with variability among grassland types. Using a Livestock Carrying Pressure Index (LCPI), which incorporating seasonal grazing practices and supplementary feeding, we found that grazing intensity showed spatial heterogeneity, with moderate grazing pressure (1.5<LCPI<2.5) to heavy grazing pressure (LCPI>2.5) in the northeast, and understocked (LCPI<0.9) in central and southern regions. Precipitation was identified as the dominant factor positively influencing forage supply in northern and western YRSA, while grazing intensity negatively affected forage supply in most area. We further quantified the relative contributions of these factors, revealing that precipitation played the most significant role in the north and west, while grazing intensity was the primary driver in specific central and southern areas. Grazing intensity dominates 42.4% of grasslands, surpassing precipitation (40.7%) and temperature (16.9%). These findings underscore the need for climate-adaptive grazing management strategies to optimize forage production and safeguard the YRSA's ecological functions.
草原生态系统对于诸如草料供应等生态系统服务至关重要，但面临着气候变化和放牧压力的威胁。本研究调查了2000年至2020年黄河源区（YRSA）草料供应和放牧强度的时空动态，重点关注气候因素和放牧的相对贡献。我们的结果显示，草料供应呈现出从东南向西北递减的趋势，总体略有增加，不同草地类型之间存在差异。使用结合了季节性放牧实践和补饲的载畜压力指数（LCPI），我们发现放牧强度呈现出空间异质性，东北部为中度放牧压力（1.5<LCPI<2.5）至重度放牧压力（LCPI>2.5），中部和南部地区则载畜不足（LCPI<0.9）。降水被确定为对黄河源区北部和西部草料供应有积极影响的主导因素，而放牧强度在大多数地区对草料供应有负面影响。我们进一步量化了这些因素的相对贡献，结果表明降水在北部和西部发挥了最重要的作用，而放牧强度是中部和南部特定地区的主要驱动因素。放牧强度主导了42.4%的草地，超过了降水（40.7%）和温度（16.9%）。这些发现强调了需要采取适应气候的放牧管理策略，以优化草料生产并保护黄河源区的生态功能。
