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Ning Datong
The distribution of rangelands in China is influenced by factors such as climate, soil, and terrain. As a result, China's rangelands may be roughly divided into five major regions as follows (from Northeast to Southwest):
1) The Northeast Prairie;
2) The Inner-Mongolia-Ningxia-Gansu Rangeland (this region can, in turn, be divided into five belts running from east to west - the forest steppe, the dry steppe, etc.);
3) The Xinjiang Rangeland;
4) The Qinghai-Tibet Rangeland;
5) The Southern China Rolling Rangelands and Mountain Slopes.
China has rangeland area of approximately 400 Mha.1 Of the 400 Mha, approximately 293 Mha are pasturage, and 100 Mha are rolling rangeland, mountain slopes, and coastal wetlands. This survey has found that of the 400 Mha of existing rangeland, 291 Mha are exploitable.2
The quantity of forage produced by China's rangelands gradually decreases as one moves from the Southeast to the Northwest. Decreasing forage is a result of steadily declining precipitation levels which cause a shift from forest, to prairie, to desert conditions. Obviously, in drier regions greater forage area per head of sheep is necessary. For example, on an annual basis, the average sheep requires 0.48 to 0.53 ha of meadowland, 0.80 to 0.93 ha of prairie-land, 1.60 ha of desert rangeland, and 2.70 to 4.00 ha of desert or steppes.3
The nutrient level of China's various rangelands was generally quite high prior to the start of rangeland deterioration. For example, during the growing season, the dominant grass had a raw protein content of approximately 10 percent, and raw lipid content of approximately 3 percent.
Overgrazing has had an extensive damaging effect on China's environment (Table 1). Since the 1950s approximately 87 Mha of pasturage in China has been degraded. Pasturage degradation is continuing at approximately 2 Mha per year.4
| Region |
Total Usable Area of Prairie |
Degraded Area (1,000 ha) |
Reduction of Grass Output (1,000 kg) |
Output of Dry Grass (kg/ha) |
Annual Reduction of Grass Output (%) |
Rangeland Degradation Rate (%) |
|
Entire Country | 240,000 | 67,920 | 1,100,000 | 660 | 2.45 | 28.3 |
|
Inner Mongolia | 68,000 | 20,400 | 353,500 | 675 | 2.4 | 30.0 |
| Qinghai | 38,587 | 7,533 | 128,000 | 585 | 2.9 | 19.5 |
| Gansu | 17,932 | 7,133 | 84,000 | 562.5 | 2.1 | 39.8 |
|
Southern Ningxia | 1,683 | 600 | 9,500 | 262.5 | 2.5 | 35.7 |
There are approximately 80 Mha of rangeland in Inner-Mongolia. Of the 80 Mha, approximately two fifths suffer from varying levels of degradation.5 A look at the regional breakdown of rangeland degradation in Inner-Mongolia presents the following picture:
| Region | Degraded Rangeland (%) |
| Hulunbuir | 17.82 |
| Wulanchabu | 34.82 |
| Erduosi | 73.85 |
| Zhelimu | 67.23 |
| Chifeng District | 83.84 |
| Aohanqi | nearly 100 |
In addition to the degradation occurring in these regions, there are 12 banners and counties where rangeland degradation has reached over 90 percent. 6
Rangeland desertification occurs mainly in arid and semi-arid regions. The highest rate of desertification is found in areas exploited for both animal husbandry and agriculture. Presently, desertification has caused the loss of 42,700 km2 of rangeland, equivalent to 3.6 percent of the entire area of Inner- Mongolia. The Inner-Mongolian rangeland continues to deteriorate at an average annual rate of 0.92 percent. As a result of the constantly expanding desertification process, 66 counties, banners and cities in Inner-Mongolia are threatened. In Qinghai province, areas undergoing desertification increase in size by 67,000 ha annually. Thus, while 5.967 Mha were affected thirty years ago, today desertification affects 7.9 Mha.7 The situation in Ningxia Autonomous Region and Gansu Province is less serious than that confronting Inner-Mongolia and Qinghai.
In some cases low-lying prairie rangeland faces increased salinization as a result of overgrazing. Twenty five point four percent of Inner-Mongolia has undergone such a process. The situation is far more serious in Jilin province where salinization has caused 69.12 percent of rangelands to become unfit for use.8
Precipitation levels over rangelands in China tend to be fairly low. However, in cases where vegetation has been degraded by overgrazing, rangelands become prone to soil erosion during periods of heavy rainfall. Twenty two point four percent of Inner-Mongolia's territory suffers from such soil erosion, with the most seriously affected regions in Zhungeer Banner of Yikezhao League. The Yikezhao League sits on the loess plateau, an area highly susceptible to soil erosion. This area of the loess plateau is so seriously eroded that it supplies approximately 10 percent of the entire silt load of the Yellow River.9
Rangeland deterioration can be assessed according to the Market Value Replacement method. On average, one head of sheep requires one ha of pasturage per annum. In cases where rangeland deterioration has occurred, one head of sheep requires three ha.10 Since the estimated value of one head of sheep is 100 yuan, the value of the one ha of rangeland required to sustain one head of sheep is also 100 yuan. However, in the case of degraded rangeland, the value per ha will drop to 33.3 yuan (since three ha will be required per sheep). Were the rangeland to deteriorate to the point of desertification, its value as sheep pasturage would be completely lost with resultant economic losses of 100 yuan per ha.
At present, the annual rate of rangeland degradation and desertification in China is 2 Mha.11 Based on the Market Value Replacement method used above, total economic losses resulting from degradation and desertification of China's rangelands is approximately 200 million yuan. Loss of livestock is measured by estimating the affect of decreased pasturage on livestock. Estimates suggest that 30 percent of total animal mass is lost due to decreased pasturage in the winter and spring months. This loss is equivalent to the loss of 30 million head of cattle,12 valued at 3 billion yuan. Therefore, the total economic loss due to rangeland degradation is approximately 3 billion yuan.
Based on the above estimates, total economic losses resulting from rangeland deterioration equal approximately 3.2 billion yuan, 6.2 percent of which is a result of desertification, and 93.8 percent of which is a result of rangeland degradation
| Item | Estimated Value (millions of yuan) | Percent |
| Losses to Animal Husbandry | 3,000 | 93.8 |
|
Losses to Rangeland Desertification and Degradation | 200 | 6.2 |
| Total | 3,200 | 100 |
Li Bo (ed.), China Grassland (Chinese Science and
Technology Publishing House 1987).
Also see Zhu Yunxi, "Soil Erosion
and Land Conservation," Popular Tribune (No.10, 1994).
Also
see Chen Zuozhong, "Degradation and Control of Natural Grassland Ecosystem,"
Prevention and Cure of China's Land Deterioration (1990).
Li Bo (ed.), Ibid., and; Li Yutang, "A Leading Role of Grassland in Integrative Remedy for Deteriorated Land," Prevention and Cure of China's Land Deterioration (1990).
Mao Wenyong et al. (eds.), Datum Handbook in Common Use for Resource and Environment (Chinese Science and Technology Publishing House, 1992).
Li Yutang, Prevention and Cure of China's Land Deterioration , and Li Keguo, Environmental Economics (Science and Technology Literature Press, 1993).
Mao Wenyong et al. (eds.), Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid., and, Xu Guangshan et al., "Woodland and Grassland Degradation and the Effect on Eco-Environment," Prevention and Cure of China's Land Deterioration (1990).
Mao Wenyong et al. (eds.), Ibid.
Ibid., and Li Yutang, Prevention and Cure of China's Land Deterioration.
Zhang Hui Qin, et al., A System Analysis of Environmental Economics: Planning Methods and Models (Tsinghua University Press, 1993).
Chen Changdu et al., "North China's Grasslands Confronted with Serious Ecological Crisis," Collected works on China's Natural Conservation (China Environmental Sciences Press, 1990).
Ibid.
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