Optimizing the Alpine Grazing System to Improve Carbon Management and Livelihood for Tibetan Herders

The grazing system is the largest human-ecosystem to link to the indigenous livelihood on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau where livestock has been the basis for local and regional economies. However, the grassland on the plateau has been undergoing degradation to various extents mainly due to overgrazing. Grazing exclusion is a widely-used restoration approach and has proven to be effective on stimulating plant growth and soil carbon accumulation, however response of soil carbon accumulation lagged behind. It emerged that the optimum stocking density was 1.77 head ha−1 in the warm-season pasture and 0.72 head ha−1 in the cold-season pasture. Almost 100% of the cold-season pasture was overgrazed, compared to about 37% in the warm-season. Adjustment of the proportion of seasonal grazing area, accelerating livestock turnover, and supplementary feeding during winters would be effective approaches to reach sustainable balance of husbandry development and ecosystem functions on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.