'Three-grassland' model heals Qinghai ecosystems

High up on the "roof of the world", Chinese researchers are easing pressure on the fragile grassland ecosystems relied on for generations by nomadic Tibetan herders. To protect this high-altitude environment in the three-river-source region of Northwest China's Qinghai province, researchers have introduced more efficient varieties of forage, improved livestock management and high-tech grassland monitoring — all while increasing incomes for local herders.

Known as the "water tower" of Asia, the region feeds the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers, and harbors rare plateau wildlife. But decades of overgrazing, severe weather and climate change have stripped the native grasslands, triggering soil erosion and threatening local livelihoods.

To fix it, scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have pioneered a "three-grassland" model that links protected wild zones, regulated grazing pastures and high-tech cultivated forage fields.

Xu Shixiao, director of the Plateau Ecology Research Center at the Three-River-Source National Park Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the model ensures ecological conservation, sustainable livestock production and that local livelihoods are supported.

"Through coordinated resource allocation and closer links between the functions of different grasslands, we hope to achieve balanced development of ecology, production and daily life," Xu said.

The model is being applied in two areas.

The first covers areas inside and surrounding the national park. Cultivated forage produced outside the park can be supplied to livestock, reducing grazing pressure on natural grassland within protected zones.

The second includes farming-pastoral transition areas in the Guinan and Tongde counties of the Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, where soil, water and climate conditions are more suitable for developing high-yield cultivated grassland.

Xu said the key to addressing a long-standing constraint on plateau animal husbandry is the shortage and poor nutritional quality of forage during the cold season. A more reliable supply of high-quality feed can shorten livestock-rearing cycles, improve production efficiency and reduce reliance on natural pastures.

The math behind the strategy is striking: Just 1 hectare of high-yield cultivated grass outside protected zones can spare roughly 20 hectares of natural wild pasture from overgrazing.

In alpine meadow areas, reducing grazing pressure by just one sheep can ease ecological disturbance across about a hectare of natural grassland, Xu said.

"This not only reduces pressure on natural pastures, but also creates more space for wildlife habitats inside the national park," he said.

Herder help

For Lajia, a 43-year-old herder from Qinghai's Madoi county, the impact is visible on both the grassland and on his household income.

Lajia has spent years working as an ecological ranger in the Yellow River source area of the national park, helping protect the region as it shifted toward a greener development model.

He said grazing was once poorly managed. There was little scientific zoning of pastures, no systematic rotational grazing or seasonal grazing bans, and limited access to stored forage. Many herders depended almost entirely on natural grassland and sought to increase their incomes simply by raising more livestock.

"In the past, we did not understand scientific grazing," Lajia said. "Our cattle and sheep depended completely on natural grassland, and we grazed them on the same pastures throughout the year. The grassland had no time to rest and recover."

As grazing pressure increased, vegetation deteriorated. Sandy patches and bare ground expanded, while forage yields declined. Heavy snow or drought often left livestock without enough feed, causing weight loss and sometimes death in the herd, he said.

The result was a cycle in which degraded grassland reduced livestock productivity, low productivity limited herders' incomes, and the need to maintain larger herds placed even greater pressure on the ecosystem.

At the time, Lajia's family raised just over 100 sheep. Losses were high, production was inefficient and household income remained low.

The introduction of the coordinated grassland model changed the way he managed his animals.

Pastures were divided according to their ecological and production functions. Protected grassland was allowed to recover, while rotational grazing and seasonal grazing bans were introduced in designated grazing areas. Herders also received guidance on planting and storing cultivated forage for the cold season.

"The current approach is much more scientific and much better for local people," Lajia said. "It is completely different from the past.

"Protected and grazing grasslands are now clearly divided, and rest grazing and rotational grazing are strictly implemented. Degraded pastures have time to recover, while we are also taught how to grow and store forage. We no longer have to rely entirely on the weather," he said.

Lajia's family now maintains a stable flock of nearly 200 sheep, almost double its former size. Improved feed and livestock management have also raised the quality and value of the animals.

At the same time, his work as an ecological ranger provides a regular salary. The combination of livestock production and ecological conservation has given the family two sources of income.

The scientific model combines ecological monitoring, grassland carrying-capacity assessments, degraded grassland restoration, forage cultivation and balanced livestock feeding. Drones, satellite remote sensing and artificial intelligence-based identification technologies are also used to monitor wildlife, assess habitats and support ecological planning.

Research data show that 67,000 hectares of high-quality cultivated grassland in areas surrounding the three-river-source region can produce 610,000 metric tons of forage each year, helping maintain a more stable balance between livestock numbers and available grassland.

Demonstration projects that have transferred grazing pressure equivalent to 810,000 sheep are estimated to have expanded the habitat available to wild ungulates such as Tibetan antelopes and wild yaks by 3.85 million hectares.

The model has been tested through specialized cooperatives, family ranches, jointly operated ranches and State-owned ranches.

In Guinan county, demonstration projects have improved grassland quality, shortened the feeding cycles of yaks and Tibetan sheep, increased livestock production efficiency and raised herders' incomes.

Monitoring of grassland managed by cooperatives has also shown improvements in vegetation coverage, biomass and plant diversity after measures such as spring grazing bans and seasonal grazing adjustments were introduced with support from cultivated forage.

Shen Yuhu, director of the national park institute's Plateau Eco-agriculture Research Center, said forage breeding is an important part of the ecological strategy.

Agriculture and ecological protection are often regarded as separate issues, Shen said, but they are closely connected in the three-river-source region.

Crop production is restricted in core protected areas, but livestock in surrounding pastoral communities still need feed. Developing cultivated grassland and forage oat production in more suitable areas can supply pastoral regions and reduce pressure on natural pastures.

Shen's team has spent nearly 30 years breeding crops and forage suited to plateau conditions ranging from 3,500 to 4,800 meters above sea level. Its work began with spring wheat and later expanded to highland barley, oats and other forage crops.

The result has been that Qinghai has become an important national base for forage production and oat seed breeding, supplying improved varieties to regions including the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Gansu and Sichuan provinces, and the Xizang autonomous region.

One standout success is Gaoyan 16, a high-protein forage oat variety that recently fetched a record 400,000-yuan ($59,400) technology transfer fee in Qinghai.

In nearby Darlag county of Golog Tibetan autonomous prefecture, improved oat varieties have been used in a practice called "growing grass in livestock pens".

Before moving animals to high summer pastures, herders plant fast-growing oat varieties directly in winter pens. Come autumn, they harvest the crop for cold-weather emergency feed.

The area using the practice in Darlag expanded from more than 133 hectares last year to more than 667 hectares this year. The model is also being promoted in other parts of Golog and Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefectures.

For Shen, keeping the technology affordable for local families remains the primary goal. Locally bred oat seed costs less than 4 yuan per kilogram, compared to 10 to 16 yuan for imported alternatives.

He recalled an experience during a scientific expedition in Gyalze county, Xizang, when local farmers invited his team into their home for butter tea and food after learning that the researchers were conducting fieldwork to improve crop varieties.

"They said we were doing work for farmers," Shen said. "Wherever we go, recognition from farmers and herders is what keeps us moving forward.

"Enterprises can make a profit, but they should not charge too much," Shen said. "Farming already has thin margins. If seed costs are too high, the burden on farmers and herders becomes heavy. A good variety must go to the fields and reach the people. If it can help them increase production and income, that is the greatest recognition a researcher can receive."