Precise staged grazing method for grassland

Abstract

The invention discloses an accurate grassland staged pasturing method, and belongs to the technical field of grassland pasturing management. The precise staged grazing method for the grassland comprises the following steps: S1, determining a green establishment period and an edible period of predominant species and non-predominant species of the grassland; s2, determining a pasturing period for predominant species protection; s3, determining a pasturing period for non-dominant species protection; s4, determining an annual grazing period; the dominant species are plants with the highest relative biomass; the non-dominant species are other plants except the dominant species. Compared with a previous one-cutting type pasture method, the method has the advantages that the diversity of plants can be better protected, the total pasture duration is shortened, the economic cost input of herdsmen is reduced, the economic benefit is improved, and the win-win situation of grassland production and ecology can be truly achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of grassland grazing management, and in particular relates to a grassland precise staged rest grazing method. Background Art

[0002] Grassland is an important ecological barrier and livestock base, playing a dual role of production and ecology. Livestock grazing is the core feature of the grass-livestock interface, which directly affects the ecological function of grassland and the production function of livestock. However, due to the traditional extensive grassland grazing management and utilization, grasslands are facing an increasingly prominent "grass-livestock contradiction", resulting in grassland degradation and the decline of grassland ecosystem service functions. Therefore, some areas adopt the control method of enclosure and grazing ban to protect the ecological function of grassland, but grassland is an ecosystem that strongly relies on the disturbance of large herbivores. Grasslands that lack the disturbance of large herbivores for a long time will also face the threat of declining ecological functions. Therefore, even from the perspective of ecological function protection, grasslands must be scientifically grazed and controlled to maintain the ecological service function and sustainable production function of natural grasslands.

[0003] Compared with long-term grazing and long-term enclosure and grazing ban, grazing ban, i.e. short-term grazing ban, is a management method that prohibits grazing in grasslands during the vulnerable period of plant growth and is generally considered to be beneficial to maintaining the normal growth and development of plants. The ecological service function of grasslands strongly depends on the maintenance of plant diversity. The greening and growth of different plants in grasslands are asynchronous. However, most pastoral areas currently only focus on the overall community and adopt a one-size-fits-all continuous grazing ban in the early growing season, which leads to a decrease in plant diversity and grassland production potential. The current one-size-fits-all continuous grazing ban has the following main problems: (1) The dominant species in grasslands are generally perennial grasses, which have an early greening period, while the greening period of other species is relatively delayed. In some areas, the continuous grazing ban is set too short, resulting in non-dominant species that turn green later being eaten by livestock in large quantities when they are young, reducing grassland plant diversity; (2) Some areas adopt a longer grazing ban, and grazing begins after both dominant and non-dominant species in the community have turned green. At this time, the dominant species are too dominant, which is not conducive to the survival of other plants and still leads to a decrease in plant diversity. (3) If the rest period is too long, the nutritional content of dominant species will decrease, which will reduce the nutritional intake of livestock. At the same time, it will also increase the selective feeding of livestock on non-dominant species, which is not conducive to the maintenance of plant diversity. (4) Due to the long rest period, the quality of grassland will decline, the economic benefits of herders will decline, and the phenomenon of herders stealing grazing will become serious, which will lead to the grassland not getting a real rest and the contradiction between grass and livestock will continue to intensify. Under this situation, a more precise grassland rest method that takes into account the asynchronous growth characteristics of different species is urgently needed to improve the level of biodiversity protection and grassland quality. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems of reduced plant diversity, decreased forage quality and intensified grass-livestock conflicts faced by the current one-size-fits-all grazing method that only considers the overall level of plant communities for continuous grazing during the growing season, and to provide a method for flexibly setting grazing periods based on the growth laws and asynchronous characteristics of different plants in grasslands, that is, a phased grazing method that is precisely targeted at the protection of different groups of plants, which can better protect grassland biodiversity while reducing the total grazing time, increase herders' income, and achieve a win-win situation for grassland production and ecology.

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0006] A method for accurately dividing grassland into different stages of rest grazing includes the following specific steps:

[0007] S1: Determine the greening period and edible period of dominant and non-dominant species in grasslands;

[0008] S2: Determine the grazing rest period for the protection of dominant species (species with the highest relative biomass);

[0009] S3: Determine the grazing rest period for the protection of non-dominant species (species other than dominant species);

[0010] S4: Determine the grazing period throughout the year.

[0011] Preferably, the specific steps of S1 are:

[0012] S11: Determine the greening period of different plants.

[0013] Preferably, the specific steps of S11 are:

[0014] S111: Determine the greening period of dominant species in grassland. Dominant species in grassland are generally perennial grasses. Due to their advantages in utilizing soil resources, they usually turn green first in spring, that is, they turn from yellow to green and resume growth. Determine the specific time when more than 50% of the dominant species turn green and grow above the surface litter layer. It is generally around early April each year. Local areas can determine the specific time based on grassland conditions and climate characteristics.

[0015] S112: Determine the greening period of non-dominant species. Non-dominant species generally begin to green after dominant species. Determine the specific time when more than 50% of non-dominant species turn green and grow above the surface litter layer. This is generally around mid-May each year. Local areas can determine the specific time based on grassland conditions and climate characteristics.

[0016] S12: Determine the edible period of different plants.

[0017] Preferably, the specific steps of S12 are:

[0018] S121: Determine the period when the dominant species in the grassland can be eaten. Generally, this is when the perennial grasses begin to sprout and joint, and livestock can compensate for their growth after eating them. At this time, proper livestock grazing will have little effect on their productivity. This is generally around the beginning of May each year. Local areas can determine the specific time based on grassland conditions and climate characteristics.

[0019] S122: Determine the period when non-dominant species in grassland can be eaten. Generally, when perennial weeds have axillary buds or side branches, livestock can eat them to compensate for their growth. At this time, proper livestock grazing will have little effect on their productivity. This period is generally around mid-June each year. Local areas can determine the specific time based on grassland conditions and climate characteristics.

[0020] Preferably, the specific steps of S2 are: determine a grazing rest period with the main purpose of protecting dominant species, generally between the greening period and the edible period of dominant species, ensure that the dominant species are utilized only when the biomass accumulation is large enough, and ensure that the utilization of dominant species is maximized. The specific time should be adjusted annually according to the changes in plant growth phenology caused by climate factors such as temperature and precipitation.

[0021] Preferably, the specific steps of S3 are: determine a grazing rest period with the main purpose of protecting non-dominant species, generally between the greening period and the edible period of non-dominant species, to ensure that the utilization of non-dominant species begins only when the biomass accumulation is large enough to maintain the diversity of grassland plants. The specific time should be adjusted annually according to the changes in plant growth phenology caused by climate factors such as temperature and precipitation.

[0022] Preferably, the specific steps of S4 are: the remaining period except the grazing period mainly for the protection of dominant species and the grazing period mainly for the protection of non-dominant species is the annual grazing period, and the specific time should be adjusted annually according to the changes in plant growth phenological periods caused by climate factors such as temperature and precipitation.

[0023] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0024] (1) Since species growth has asynchronous characteristics, the grazing management measures previously formulated based on the greening period of the entire community species will lead to excessive dominance of dominant species or excessive grazing of non-dominant species by livestock, which is not conducive to the maintenance of grassland plant diversity. The present invention makes full use of the asynchronous growth characteristics of dominant species and non-dominant species, and formulates precise grazing periods for the protection of dominant species and non-dominant species respectively, which can more effectively achieve grass-livestock coupling and maintain grassland plant diversity.

[0025] (2) The present invention provides a grazing period between the grazing period for the dominant species and the grazing period for the non-dominant species, thereby increasing the feed intake of livestock during the period when the dominant species are more palatable, which is beneficial to the improvement of livestock productivity. At the same time, it can avoid the reduction of the nutritional quality of the dominant species during the grazing period caused by the one-size-fits-all grazing ban method in the prior art, and can increase the feed intake of the dominant species by livestock, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of forage resources by livestock.

[0026] (3) The present invention reduces the total grazing period by accurately setting the grazing rest period for dominant species and non-dominant species, thereby protecting biodiversity and improving grassland quality while reducing the economic cost of herders, improving economic benefits, alleviating the phenomenon of herders stealing grazing, and helping to truly achieve a win-win situation for grassland production and ecology. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the precise grassland staged grazing rest method in Example 1.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a comparison chart of the effects of free grazing, staged rest grazing and traditional continuous rest grazing on grassland plant diversity in Example 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Example 1

[0030] A hierarchical rest grazing method in the Stipa breviflora desert steppe in Inner Mongolia (106°41′-108°54′ east longitude, 38°18′-40°11′ north latitude), see Table 1 and Figure 1 , including the following steps:

[0031] Step 1: Determine the greening period and edible period of different plants. Specifically: First, determine the asynchrony of the greening period between dominant species and non-dominant species. The dominant species in Stipa brevifolia desert steppe generally begins to turn green around April each year, starts to sprout stems and joints around May, and can be eaten by livestock; non-dominant species generally begin to turn green on a large scale in mid-May and reach the edible stage in mid-June.

[0032] Step 2: Determine the grazing ban period for the protection of dominant species. Specifically, the grazing ban period for the protection of dominant species is set from the beginning of the dominant species turning green until they can be eaten, that is, from early April to early May every year.

[0033] Step 3: The grazing ban period for the protection of non-dominant species is as follows: The grazing ban period for the protection of non-dominant species is set from the beginning of the non-dominant species turning green until they can be eaten, that is, the grazing ban period is set from mid-May to mid-June.

[0034] Step 4: Determine the annual grazing period, specifically: excluding the grazing period for the purpose of protecting dominant species (April each year) and the grazing period for the purpose of protecting non-dominant species (mid-May to mid-June), the remaining period is the annual grazing period, that is, January to March, early May to mid-May, and mid-June to December each year. The specific time should be adjusted annually according to the changes in plant growth phenology caused by climate factors such as temperature and precipitation.

[0035] Table 1 Grassland grazing rest methods in different stages

[0036]

[0037] Figure 2 The figure shows the changes in grassland plant diversity under different grazing patterns at the end of the growing season in August 2024. The number of grazing livestock in free grazing, staged grazing and continuous grazing is the same. Free grazing is free grazing throughout the year, continuous grazing is continuous grazing during the greening period (from April to mid-June), and staged grazing is intermittent grazing during the greening period (from early April to early May, and from mid-May to mid-June). The rest of the time is free grazing. The letters (a, b) represent significant differences between treatments (P≤0.05). Compared with free grazing (0.655) and the continuous grazing during the growing season currently used in the local area (0.678), the staged grazing method (0.692) can significantly improve grassland plant diversity.

[0038] It can be seen from the above data that the grassland staged rest grazing method can improve grassland biodiversity on the basis of reducing the overall rest grazing time, which has greater advantages than the traditional growing season continuous rest grazing method currently used in the local area. The present invention is of great significance for the management of large-scale long-term grazing grasslands in my country.

[0039] The embodiments described above are only descriptions of the preferred modes of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Without departing from the design spirit of the present invention, various modifications and improvements made to the technical solutions of the present invention by ordinary technicians in this field should all fall within the protection scope determined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for accurate staged rest grazing on grasslands, characterized in that: The grassland precise staged rest grazing method comprises the following steps: S1: Determine the greening period and edible period of dominant and non-dominant species in grasslands; S2: Determine the grazing rest period for the protection of dominant species; S3: Determine the grazing rest period for the protection of non-dominant species; S4: Determine the grazing period throughout the year; The dominant species is the plant with the highest relative biomass; The non-dominant species are plants other than the dominant species.

2. The grassland precise staged rest grazing method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The step S1 comprises: respectively determining the greening period of the dominant species and the non-dominant species, that is, the specific time when more than 50% of the species turn green and grow through the litter layer on the ground; determining the edible period of the dominant species and the non-dominant species, that is, the specific time when the perennial grass begins to shoot and joint is the edible period of the dominant species, and the specific time when the axillary buds or side branches of the perennial weeds occur is the edible period of the non-dominant species.

3. The grassland precise staged rest grazing method according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The step S2 is: setting the period between the greening period and the edible period of the dominant species as a grazing rest period for protecting the dominant species.

4. The grassland precise staged rest grazing method according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The step S3 is: setting the period between the greening period and the edible period of the non-dominant species as a grazing rest period for protecting the non-dominant species.

5. The grassland precise staged rest grazing method according to claim 4 is characterized in that: The step S4 is: excluding the grazing rest period of the dominant species and the non-dominant species, the remaining time is set as the year-round grazing period.

6. The grassland precise staged rest grazing method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The grassland is a desert grassland.

7. The grassland precise staged rest grazing method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The grazing ban period for protecting dominant species is from early April to early May.

8. The method for precise staged rest grazing on grassland according to claim 7 is characterized in that: The grazing ban period for protecting non-dominant species is from mid-May to mid-June.

9. The grassland precise staged rest grazing method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The dominant species is Stipa breviflora.

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