Formation causes and recovery of the “Black Soil Type” degraded alpine grassland in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The formation causes and ecological rebuilding of the Black Soil Type  degraded alpine grassland are summarized. The formation of the Black Soil Type  degraded grassland was caused mainly by climate warming, decreasing glaciers, overgrazing, and damage by rats. The ecological restoration of the Black Soil Type  degraded alpine grassland relies not only on grassland building, but also on reasonable management and planning of grassland resources. Guaranty measures for developing the alpine grassland animal husbandry in a healthy way include intensifying the educational investment in pasture regions, practicing long-term contracts for grassland, and strengthening the grassland legislation. The authors believe that the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau ecosystem has a special characteristic inertia or inert gases , which weaken the self-renewing capability of the ecosystem and makes its structure frail. The inertia characteristic may be the important reason that makes ecological rebuilding so difficult; in addition, other problems need to be studied deeply to provide scientific bases for the ecological building in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Keywords

Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, headwater area of Yangtze-Yellow Rivers, “Black Soil Type” degraded grassland, inert ecosystem