全 文 ：文章编号: 1007-0435( 2003) 02-0178-05
中国北方草原畜牧业限制因素以及管理策略分析
李青丰1, David M ichalk2 , 陈　良3 , 张　萍3, 佟绍敏3
( 1. 内蒙古农业大学生态环境学院,呼和浩特 010019, 中国; 2.奥兰治农业试验站, 新南威尔士州,澳大利亚 ;
3.中澳草地保护项目办公室,乌兰浩特 137400,中国)
摘要: 根据对内蒙古一个有关草地保护和管理项目的调研,分析了影响草原资源可持续利用和草原畜牧业发展的
一些限制因素。调研发现, 草原地承包及租赁体制、饲草料生产和供给策略、家畜放牧制度等是影响本地区畜牧业
生产体系和草原可持续性的主要因素。基于本研究结果,提出了“春季休牧”(或称之为“延迟放牧)的生产方式。同
时, 推荐了一些可缓解冬春季节严重饲草料不足的措施。
关键词: 内蒙古草原;草原管理; 春季休牧;延迟放牧
中图分类号: S 812. 5　　　文献标识码: A
Analysis of Constrains and Management Strategy for Animal
Production in Grassland of Northern China
1
LI Q ing-feng 1, David M ICHALK 2 , CHEN Liang3 , ZHANG Ping 3 , T ONG Shao-m in3
( 1. College of Ecology and Environm ental Science, In ner Mongol ia Agricultural University, Huhhot 010019, Inner M ongolia
Autonomous Region , Ch ina; 2. NSW Agriculture, Orange, NSW, Aust ralia; 3. Grassland Conservat ion Project Of f ice,
Ulan hot 137400, In ner Mongol ia Autonomous Region, China)
Abstract: Based on a survey of a grassland conservat ion and management pro ject in Inner Mongolia, some
constr aints to the sustainable use o f g rassland resources and improving livestock pr oduct io were f igured
out . It w as ident ified that grassland tenur e sy stem, feed supply and for ag ing st rateg y, animal g razing
regimes w ere all among the main factors af fect ing the animal product ion system and grassland
sustainability. Based on the f inding s, a st rateg ic “non-spring g razing”( deferred spring grazing ) sy stem
w as proposed and some other measures to alleviate the acute feed shortage in w inter-spring season were
recommended.
Key words: Inner Mongolia grassland; Grassland management ; Non-spring g razing ; defer red spring
gr azing .
1　Background
　　T his repor t w as mainly based on an evaluat ion
survey for the first phase of the Inner M ongo lia
Grassland Conservat ion Pr oject , a joint pro gram
by A stralian Agency for Internat ional Developmet
( AusA ID ) and Inner Mongolia Gover nment in
Xingan League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region. One of the majo r object ives of the Project
w as to impr ove the ef ficiency of l iv estock
product ion so as to o ff set reduced incomes f rom
收稿日期: 2002-08-29; 修回日期: 2002-12-17
Fund project: J oint ly supported by Chin ese Academy of S cien ces S pecial Fund ( KSCX1-08-01) , a research Project “Deferred Sprin g Grazing”
f rom Inn er Mongolia Science and T echnology Fund and the Inn er Mongolia Grass land Conservat ion Project
作者简介:李青丰( 1959-) ,男,河北元氏人。教授,博士。近年来主要从事草原及牧草方面的研究,已发表文章 60余篇
Senior author: LI Qing-feng ( 1959-) , Male, Profess or/ Ph. D. mainly en gaged teaching and res earch on gras sland man agemen t an d forage
product ion
第 11卷　第 2期
　Vo l. 11　　No. 2
草　地　学　报
ACT A AGRESTIA SIN ICA
　2003 年　6月
　June 　2003
reduced livestock number s as sustainable gr assland
use w as achieved. It w as ident if ied in previous
studies that one of the major const raints to
improving product iv ity from livestock w as the poor
quality and inadequate quant ities of sto red winter
and early spring fodder
[ 1]
. Spring feed sho rtag e
also leads to the fast degr adation o f natur al
gr assland through overg razing and heavy t rampl ing
by animals. In the sur vey an ef fort w as made to
ident ify the pr oper for ag ing stategy to o vercome
the acute sho rtag e of w inter-spring feeds.
Alternat ive forage sources and supply pat tern, as
w el l as the natural grassland management opt ion
w er e evaluated and the main outcomes w ere
pr esented as follow s.
2　Main findings from the survey
2. 1　Land use and tenure system
In the pasto ral areas of China, a so-called
“T w o Rights and One Sy stem”land tenure system
w er e applied since the late 1980s. T he basic
pr inciples of the sy stem are pract iced as “the
gr assland ownership r emains as the States
pr operty , the user rights of the lands are given to
pr iv ate individuals ( instead of the communit ies) ,
and the user r ight can be tr ansferred on a user-paid
basis”. In this sy stem, the key operat ion is the
allocation of the former ly public community ow ned
lands to the individual househo lds- g rassland user
right ( GUR) t ransfer. As it is an impor tant , but
sensit ive issue in the implementation of the
Pro ject , the GU R issues w ere review ed and
compar ed w ith the implementation practiced and
the dif ficult ies encountered in the neighbor ing
Xilinguole League.
The allocat ion of GU R in Xilinguo le League
w as much earlier than in Xingan League. A human
populat ion based system ( 60% - 70% count for the
househo ld number and 30%- 40% count for the
number of people in the household) w as pract iced
in the Xilinguole League. In Xingan League,
animal populat ion, as w ell as the human
populat ion, w as counted. Animal number, ev en
varied in dif ferent Project locat ions, of ter took
20%～ 50% of the counting in land allocat ion.
T his pract ice enlar ges the gap betw een the poor
household and the rich househo ld. Resistances for
r eal implementat ion of GU R( fencing the allocated
land) come from two sides. Both the rich and the
poor do not w ant to actual allocate their ow ner.
While the poor househo ld may have f inancial
diff icult is to set fence sparat ing with the others,
the r ich household, how ever , are of ten reluctant
o t set fences separat ing his animal f rom g razing on
o thers pasture or public g razing lands, w hich
creates great pressure on the public grassland
areas. Fast degeneration of gr assland in larg e scale
is likely to happen if a solution canno t be found and
the real allo cat ion of land resources are delay ed.
2. 2　 Feed available and animal demanding in
natural grassland
　　 Balance betw een feed available and animal
demanding w as analy zed based on the data
collected in the four Sumu “Village”in M ongolia
T ownships. It was found that the natural gr asland
could only provide, on average, 59. 0% o f the total
feed r equirement by liv estock in the Pro ject region
( Figure 1) . A substant ial quant ity of animal feed
needs to be dr aw n from outside the nat ive
g rassland system , mainly the cropping system .
M or e impo rtant is the fact that grassland
product iv ity concentrates on the four summer
months f rom M ay to August ( over 90% o f the
product ion ) . While some 30% of the pasture
product ion exceeds the l iv esto ck demand during
the summer month, a big gest feed def icit occurs in
the ear ly spr ing months o f April to M ay. Winter
forag e also has a low nutrit io nal value. Winter
nutr it ion shortage, as w ell as w inter feed
shortage, is a const raint that needs to be
addressed.
179第 2期 李青丰等:中国北方草原畜牧业限制因素以及管理策略分析
2. 3　Feed supply and foraging strategy
In the surv ey , it w as found that lesser
emphasis w as placed on alter nat ive forag ing
st rategies from nat ive forage species and gr assland
resources. While it is tr ue that fo rage crops ( e. g. ,
alfalfa and milk vetch ) in cultiv at ion may
contribute a great total quant ity of the feed for
livestock, the supply pat ter n f rom forage crop
pr oduct ion, w hich concentrates in the summer
months, limits it s value for a seasonally balanced
supply for livestock to o ver come the acute winter -
spring feed deficit period. Some local gr asses
should be sought for their w ide adaptabilty,
easiness to establish, long g row ing period,
compar at ive high yield to use either as a forag e/
hay crop ar as a g rassland over -sow ing grazing
one.
For a more pr act ical approach to resolve the
acute feed shor tag e in w inter / spring time, a g rain
based alternate w as thought . A preliminar y
analysis on ag ricultur al product ion sector s( animal
product ion and cr op production ) fo r the Project
area of Xingan League and its neighbor ing leagues
( Table 1 and T able 2) show s that w hile Xingan
League has the smallest allocat ion of nat ive
g rassland both fo r people and for livestock, it has
the highest average grain crop production per
person [ 2] . compared w ith a nat ional average of 400
kg and Reg ional average o f 670 kg , the Xingan
f igure of 1100 kg grain per person is much higher
than the average and implies an abundant and
r eliable feed source for the animal production
sector in the future.
Table 1　Grassland carrying capacities in Xingan and other Leagues
Locat ion
gr assland
( 10000mu)
Grassland
( mu/ per son)
G rassland
( mu/ LU )
1960s 1980s 1985 1998 1985 1998
Inner Mongo lia 101029. 4 95386. 6 69. 32 67. 87 13. 75 10. 07
Xingan League 5527. 6 3918. 3 37. 97 35. 59 8. 20 6. 20
Xilinguole League 27557. 7 26491. 4 515. 40 518. 93 18. 29 11. 53
Y ikezao League 6617. 9 7183. 8 75. 30 75. 95 10. 24 9. 03
Hulunbeer League 13499. 1 14970. 7 183. 24 164. 68 34. 44 18. 12
Table 2　Cropping and grain production in Xingan and other Leagues
Locat ion
Cropping land
( 1000ha)
G ra in cr op
( 1000ha)
Grain pr oduction
( 1000 ton)
Population
( 1000)
Grain Product ion
( kg/ per son)
Inner Mongolia 3967 431. 1 15754 23448. 8 670
X ingan League 670 67. 4 1777. 02 1609. 2 1100
X ilinguo le League 294 23. 6 272. 98 920. 4 300
Y ikezao League 371 27. 6 984. 4 1280. 7 770
Hunlunbeer League 1256 107. 6 1825. 18 2717. 4 670
3　Recommended grassland manage-
ment and foraging strategies
Grassland management and for ag e supply in
the Project are tw o equally impo rtant components,
and the developing st rategy of the Pr oject should
r ely on an overall review of the two sides, not only
the ones dealing w ith overly specific subjects. T he
scope o f the Pro ject should t ry to cover a series of
topics in bo th the nat ive grassland system and the
forag e pr oduct ion/ supply system. In fact , the tw o
180 草　地　学　报 第 11卷
sy stems in a cropping-pastor al interlacing area of
the Pro ject are so clo sely related tog ether to
conform to an integrated animal product ion
sy stem. No ef fo rt should be made to separate these
tw o sy stems in their combined st reng th for the
animal product ion in the Pr oject areas.
Based on the above f indings, efforts in the
pr oject implementat ion should emphasize:
· A, Increasing the product ion potent ial of
the nat ive gr assland sy stem;
· B, M aking balanced feed pr oduct ion to
match the animal demand pattern;
· C, Forage supply more relying on cropping
and supplementar y feeding system;
· D, Foraging policy concentrat ing on non-
gr ow ing season feed product ion/ storag e/ supply.
Some recommended opt ions for gr assland
management / pasture supply system are
summarized as follow s.
3. 1　Fencing
Reasons: Fencing is the first option to be
considered in that it is the basis for almost all other
measures to be effect ive and for the actual
realization of the GU R in the Pr oject areas. It is
also a key measure to direct the incentives of the
land users to invest on and pro tect their allocated
land r esources.
Main constraints for farmers to constr uct
fences are the cost considerat ion and the resistance
fr om the “big livestock holders”( rich household
ow ning more livestock ) . While some small
livestock holder s have diff icult ies in fencing the
pastures, the big livesto ck holder s ar e reluctant to
fence them , since under the current system
( communal use o f grazing land ) , big livestock
holders take big advantag es from the unfenced
gr azing land.
The main problem in the curr ent fencing set
up is that the immobile objects( plants) , instead of
mobile ones ( animals) , are fenced, result ing in too
small areas o f fenced pastures are protected and
lar ge areas of unfenced pastues suf fer f rom more
sever e grazing pr essures.
Recommendation: at least , boundar y fencing
should be encouraged.
3. 2　 Restraining grazing in spring ( deferred
spring grazing/ non-spring grazing)
Reasons : Spring pasture is to o vulnerable to
g razing. Spring g razing may cause severe damage
to the grassland and reduce the subsequent summer
g row th of pastur e plants. Preliminary results o f a
deferred spring experiment f rom the neighboring
Xilinguo le League suggest a tw o-fold pasture yield
increase over the spring grazed control [ 3] . Ano ther
r eason for the “deferr ed spring grazing”is that
g razing animals may lose body w eight ( instead of
g aining) during the spring period w ith nearly bare
g round in the grassland. T his measure may also
encourage the farmers to r ely on mo re feed supply
f rom the other sour ces instead of the sole nat ive
g rassland.
Constraints fo r this measur e to take place:
Fencing cost and feed supply in the suggested 30～
60 days of spr ing non-grazing per iod may be the
main obstacles. Technical/ managerial skills for
this gr azing st rateg y is also a w eak point needed to
be str engthened.
Recommendation: Demonst rat ions for this
st rateg ic g razing are st rongly recommended.
3. 3　Rotational grazing
Reasons : A further development of st rateg ic
deferred spring g razing is the rotat ional g razing
system which may take various fo rms to suit
different situat ions. In a sophist icated rotational
system , land resour ces ar e used in a planned
manner to ensure it s sustainability in terms of high
output product ivity and durability.
Constraints fo r this measur e to take place:
Capital input ( fencing , shed, w ater supply
facilit ies ) for set t ing up an operat ional rotational
g razing system for the ordinary herding households
181第 2期 李青丰等:中国北方草原畜牧业限制因素以及管理策略分析
in the Pro ject areas may currently be beyond the
financial capacity o f the households. Wel l t rained
technical / manager ial persons ar e needed to operate
the system .
Recommendation: Some primit ive models for
these types of activit ies can be encouraged.
3. 4　Grassland over-sowing
Reasons: there are tw o purpo ses for ov er -
sowing g rassland. The first is to increase the
overall production by int roducing improved high
yielding pasture species ( such as Elymus spp. and
Br omus spp. ) . T he second is to st retch the grazing
season by introducing some species ( such as
A gropy ron spp. ) which have a dif ferent g row th
pat tern to the nat ive ones.
Possible problems : Sow ing act ivit ies in a
nat ive grassland of ten face the problems of cost ,
establishment risk, compet it io n from nat ive
species, adaptability, etc.
Recommendation: Based on the prev ious plant
int roducto ry results, both f rom the Project areas
and other areas of similar environmental
condit ions. complete technical packages,
part icularly the cult iv ation/ managerial techniques,
should be int roduced together w ith the species.
4　References
[1]　LI Qing-fen g, HU Chuna-yuan , WANG Min g-jiug. Analyses
on causes of land degenerat ion and counter measur es in
Hunchandake sandy land, Resources and E nvironmen t in Arid
Region , 2001( 3) : 9～16.
[2]　Inner Mongolia Stat is tics Bureau. Inner M ongolia s tat ist ics in
Year 2000, C hinese Stat ist ics Press , Beijing, 2000: 203～227
[ 3]　LI Qin g-feng, LI Fu-sheng, S irigulen, DUAN Xin-qiao. A
prelim inary report on spr ing rest ing experiment in sandy
grass land, Grass land of China, 2001. 23( 5) : 41～45
Fig. 1　Past ur e available and liv estock dem anding in Project areas
182 草　地　学　报 第 11卷