Forage-livestock Balance Between Farmingpastoral Areas And Pastoral Areas In Tibet Autonomous Region

Tibet Autonomous Region is not only the main functional area of ecological security barrier,but also the mainly productive region to animal husbandry with the plateau features in China,in which the forage-livestock balance is the basis of grassland ecosystem health and animal husbandry production in this area.Owing to unique landforms,the animal husbandry in Tibet can be divided into farming-pastoral areas and pastoral areas.The different economy level and education level,together with degrees of religious influence,enable the herdsmen to have the differently main goals for raising livestock in farming-pastoral areas and pastoral areas.The previous studies that examined the forage-livestock balance in Tibet have mainly focused on the relationship between fodder demand for livestock and fodder supply in a given administrative unit or geographical unit.These previous studies only paid attention to animal production in which herdsmen considered livestock as economic income,whereas in some place herdsmen considered livestock as living property measured by livestock number rather than economic income.Herdsmen in different regions have different goals for raising livestock,in which daily forage intake is different.The appropriate daily forage intake is key to calculate fodder demand for livestock,which can increase the pertinence and application of the forage-livestock balance.This study took Namling County(in the Yarlung Zangbo River,Nyangqu River and Lhasa River Region,Tibet)as an example of farming-pastoral areas,and Shenza County(in the northern Tibetan Plateau)as an example of pastoral areas to estimate the forage-livestock balance from 2015 to 2019,in which livestock were considered as economic income and living property,respectively.And then this study pointed out the main problems in the forage-livestock balance in two counties.Finally,this study proposed the measures to solve the above-mentioned problems.These results can provide a scientific basis for the divisional management of the forage-livestock balance and grassland health in Tibet.The main conclusions were following:1.No matter the livestock as economic income or living property,fodder supply was short in Namling County and Shenza County,and the shortage was higher in Namling County than in Shenza CountyWhen the forage-livestock balance was estimated with daily forage intake of maintaining livestock number,the shortage of fodder for Namling County was between 146 000 and 207 000 tons from 2015 to 2019,and Shenza County was between 79 400 and 102 000 tons from 2015 to 2019.When the forage-livestock balance was estimated with the daily fodder of maximizing economic income,the shortage of fodder in Namling County was between 303 000 and 393 000 tons from2015 to 2019,and Shenza County was between 236 000 and 267 000 tons from 2015 to 2019.These results show that fodder demand for livestock based on daily forage intake of maximizing economic income were greater than fodder demand for livestock based on daily forage intake of maintaining livestock number.2.This study presented the main problems in the forage-livestock balance of Namling County and Shenza County from the cognition of herdsmen,the differentiation of the goal of raising livestock and the reward program for forage-livestock balanceThe cognition degree of herdsmen in Namling County to the forage-livestock balance was higher than that in Shenza County,because the herdsmen in Namling County were more dependent on livestock than herdsmen in Shenza County.The main goal of raising livestock in Namling County was to maximize economic income,due to the high economy level in the county,whereas the main goal of raising livestock in Shenza County was to maintain livestock number,because the herdsmen in the region were influenced by religious beliefs and customs,and the herdsmen regard livestock as living property and the realistic pursuit of economic income was not strong.Therefore,fodder demand for livestock in the two counties should be estimeated with different daily forage intake.The fodder demand for livestock in the Namling County should be estimated with daily forage intake of maximizing economic income,and the fodder demand for livestock in Shenza County should be calculated with daily forage intake of maintaining livestock number.The reward for balanced grazing was based on the grassland contracting area per capita.Owing to smaller grassland contracting area per capita,the reward for balanced grazing was lesser in Namling County of farming-pastoral areas with greater number of reducing livestock than Shenza County of pastoral areas.3.This study proposed some measures to realize the forage-livestock balance in Namling County and Shenza County from increasing income,strengthening publicity,increasing supply and reducing livestock,and improving policyMore work should be focused on the diversity of the livelihood and income for herdsmen,and the education for herdsmen about the importance of healthy and rational use of grassland.This study proposed the optimal feasibility plan for balancing fodder supply and livestock demand in Namling and Shenza County.Namling County should plant alfalfa(Medicago sativa)in all arable land,and reduce livestock number by 80 900 ～ 197 000 sheep units,and purchase 62 900 ～ 153 000 tons of alfalfa products from other areas.Then,Shenza County should reduce livestock number by 136 000 ～ 175 000 sheep units,and purchase 79 400 ～ 103 000 tons of alfalfa products from other areas.The restriction schemes should be implemented in the reward program for forage-livestock balance.The minimum reward per capita for balanced grazing should be guaranteed in Namling County,while the reward per capita for balanced grazing should be capped in Shenza County.The grassland contracting area per capita of Shenza County that exceeds the grassland contracting area with the maximum reward shall be classified as the national and collective grassland.In summary,this study estimated the relationship between fodder demand for livestock and fodder supply from 2015 to 2019 in Namling County and Shenza County in Tibet,and proposed different estimation method for the forage-livestock balance,that is to distinguish the goals for raising livestock when calculating fodder demand for livestock,and adopt different daily forage intake,so as to propose targeted measures according to local conditions on realizing the forage-livestock balance.These results provided ideas and cases for optimizing the policy formulation of the forage-livestock balance in Tibet.