Does grazing exclusion enhance grassland restoration? evidence from northern China. (May 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Han; Gong, Yazhen; Li, Yarui; Liu, Shilei; Yu, Zhijian; Zhao, Ruozi
• Is Part Of: Ecological indicators. Volume 149(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-05
• Subjects: Grazing exclusion -- Grassland restoration -- Large-scale -- Remote sensing; Environmental monitoring -- Periodicals; Environmental management -- Periodicals; Environmental impact analysis -- Periodicals; Environmental risk assessment -- Periodicals; Sustainable development -- Periodicals; 333.71405
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110166
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1470-160X

Abstract

Highlights: Impacts of grazing exclusion were studied in North China over a 15-year period. Changes in grassland area, ANPP, NDVI and vegetation biomass were studied using remote sensing data. Grassland area significantly increased in areas of grazing exclusion. This effect varied spatially depending on economic development level. The success of grazing exclusion policy is closely tied to farmer compensation. Abstract: Grazing exclusion programs have been widely implemented worldwide for decades to address the negative impacts of overgrazing and promote grassland restoration. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of understanding of the causal links between grazing exclusion and grassland restoration. To explore these interactions in greater detail, we examined a large-scale georeferenced dataset focusing on a grazing exclusion program implemented in North China. The main analysis in the study showed that grazing exclusion significantly increased grassland area while having no significant effect on the improvement in grassland quality, measured by average net primary productivity (ANPP) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Our analysis also showed the heterogeneous effect of grazing exclusion on grassland restoration in regions with varying initial grassland conditions and levels of local economic development. In particular, our study suggests that grazing exclusion should first be promoted in regions with high levels of income, and we suggest to pay more attention to newly restored grassland and select proper post-restoration management. Finally, we provide new evidence of the importance of moderately increasing ecological compensation.