Sustainable Chinese Grasslands ACIAR MONOGRAPH 210 Sustainable Chinese Grasslands Editor David Kemp Associate editors Zhang Yingjun, Wu Jianping, Hou Xiangyang, Hou Fujiang, Han Guodong 2020 The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) was established in June 1982 by an Act of the Australian Parliament. ACIAR operates as part of Australia’s international development assistance program, with a mission to achieve more productive and sustainable agricultural systems, for the benefit of developing countries and Australia. It commissions collaborative research between Australian and international researchers in areas where Australia has special research competence. It also administers Australia’s contribution to the International Agricultural Research Centres. The Chief Executive Officer of ACIAR reports directly to the Australian Government Minister for Foreign Affairs. ACIAR operates solely on budget appropriation from Australia’s Official Development Assistance (ODA). Where trade names are used this constitutes neither endorsement of nor discrimination against any product by ACIAR. ACIAR MONOGRAPH SERIES This series contains the results of original research supported by ACIAR, or material deemed relevant to ACIAR research and development objectives. Publications in the series are available as hard copy, in limited numbers, and online from the ACIAR website at aciar.gov.au © Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) 2020 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from ACIAR, GPO Box 1571, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia, [email protected] Kemp, D.R. 2019. Sustainable Chinese Grasslands. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra, ACT. 328 pp. ACIAR Monograph No. 210 (MN210) ISSN 1031–8194 (print) ISSN 1447–090X (online) ISBN 978-1-922345-21-9 (print) ISBN 978-1-922345-20-2 (online) Technical editing by Lorna Hendry Design by anthouse.com.au Printing by New Millennium Print Cover: The Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is 3,000–5,000 metres above sea level and is part of the 400 Mha of grasslands in China that support the livelihoods of 16 million herders. Photo: D.R. Kemp Back cover: Grassland in good condition at Taipusi, IMAR, after five years of very limited grazing. Photo: D.R. Kemp ii Sustainable Chinese Grasslands Foreword The vast grasslands of China cover approximately 400 million hectares and support the livelihoods of 16 million herders and their low-income pastoral households. The poor condition of these grasslands after centuries of grazing, with considerable off-site impacts such as soil erosion affecting air and water quality, was the focus of an international conference in 2001. Australian grasslands expert, Professor David Kemp, then from the University of Sydney, was invited to share his experiences at the conference. After a few years of follow-up discussion and planning, in 2004 the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) commenced an applied research program supporting the restoration of degraded grasslands through better management, while improving the income of herder households. The program demonstrated the calibre of Australia’s agricultural science and scientists, and the invaluable role of ACIAR in brokering and facilitating international agricultural research-for-development collaborations. The program was developed with key grassland groups across northern and western China, with ACIAR bringing together the key research institutions in China within a broad, systems approach. Much of the fieldwork was funded by Chinese agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Science and Technology. The editor of this book, Professor David Kemp, developed the program to restore degraded Chinese grasslands with Dr Bill Winter, an ACIAR Research Program Manager. The first ACIAR- supported project associated with the program, ‘Sustainable development of grasslands in western China’ (LPS/2001/094) finished in 2010. Modelling, farm demonstrations and field experiments indicated that a reduction in stocking rates could increase herder incomes and reduce pressure on the grasslands, enabling rehabilitation. However, further work was needed to understand the system changes that would consistently achieve sustainable outcomes. The second phase of the program, from 2011 to 2018, had the goal of improving herder household incomes, alleviating poverty and rehabilitating degraded grasslands, while reducing environmental damage. The next ACIAR-supported project in the program, ‘Sustainable Livestock Grazing Systems on Chinese Temperate Grasslands’ (LPS/2008/048) provided leadership, mentoring, coordinating, modelling and analyses for a large number of Chinese-funded projects. The Australian team from Charles Sturt University’s Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation joined with groups from China Agricultural University, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Institute of Grassland Research (China Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Gansu Agricultural University/Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Lanzhou University to carry out the work. Much has been learned since 2001. Herders have changed and continue to change their practices as they shift from a survival mode to one that is more production oriented. Our understanding of Chinese grassland systems has significantly improved and better guidelines for managing grasslands to achieve a sustainable and resilient state were developed, to the point where herders see a future in livestock production on grasslands. Sustainable Chinese Grasslands iii Foreword Modest investment from ACIAR to support Australian scientists was matched by a much larger investment from China to support the on-ground activities through this program. The systems approach and multidisciplinary, integrative skills of the Australian scientists helped the Chinese research institutes, with their deep technical capabilities but more narrow focus, to work more effectively together on the complex challenges of improving rangeland management in China for multiple objectives. This monograph, Sustainable Chinese Grasslands, presents the current state of knowledge for managing these vast grasslands and what has been learned in the new century. The results apply not only to the 400 million hectares of grasslands in China but also to those in Mongolia, Russia and throughout Central Asia. The principles elicited here are also relevant to grasslands in many other developing countries. Andrew Campbell Chief Executive Officer, ACIAR iv Sustainable Chinese Grasslands Foreword Professor David Kemp (third from left), Dr Bill Winter, former ACIAR Livestock Research Program Manager (fourth from left) and Chris Brittenden, former ACIAR Country Manager (far right,) with herders in eastern Gansu in 2002, during an early visit to plan the grasslands program. Photo: D.R. Kemp Professor Andrew Campbell, Chief Executive Officer, ACIAR and Dr Nyima Tashi, President, Tibetan Academy of Agricultural and Animal Science, pictured at Lake Namtso in the Tibet Autonomous Region of south-west China. The lake is the highest saltwater lake Professor David Connor and Dr Liu in the world at 4718 metres above sea level, and is located on the Guodao, reviewers of the last phase of Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. Photo: D.R. Kemp the program in 2016. Photo: D.R. Kemp Sustainable Chinese Grasslands v Contents Foreword .............................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... xvi Contributors .....................................................................................................................................xvii Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................... xx 1 Sustainable Chinese grasslands ............................................................................................. 1 Building a program ............................................................................................................................6 Theory to practice ..............................................................................................................................8 Program structure ...........................................................................................................................11 Working in China ..............................................................................................................................12 Monograph outline ..........................................................................................................................13 References ........................................................................................................................................15 2 Chinese livestock numbers and grassland impact ....................................................... 17 China .................................................................................................................................................19 Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region .............................................................................................26 Siziwang ............................................................................................................................................29