Herders' Stocking Rates and Shift of Grass-Animal Balance Model in Northern Grassland of China

From the herders' perspective,with survey research,field test and model simulation,taking typical herders from three counties of meadow steppe,typical steppe and desert steppe as research object,the herders' grass-animal balance decision behavior was studied.The results showed that herders have their own mental stocking rates,and it tells herders how to make livestock-breeding decisions fundamentally;herders of different economic levels showed different adjust behavior regarding grassland shift,but grassland ecological condition for herders of different economic levels showed convergence,which reflected the convergence of mental stocking rates of herders of different economic levels;the distance to nearest highway,the age and ethics property of household head,whether works in Gacha council and the number of stock sheep were factors significantly affecting herders' mental stocking rates,which affected herders whether to continue to breed more livestock;based on above analysis,it was proposed that it is necessary to accurately grasp time scale,and specific ways of how to reduce livestock and make use of scale advantages through cooperation,and identify the factors that influence herders' grass-animal balance decision behavior.Besides,it should provide policy and technological support for transferring herders' mental stocking rates to ecological stocking rates.These results will provide a practical and theoretical basis for grassland degradation governance and grass-animal balance.