Theme 1-2: Rangeland/Grassland Ecology--Poster Sessions
Description
The total area of Fescue-forbs rangeland in Mongolia is 10 million hectares, accounting for 8.5% of total rangeland area. The Fescue-forbs rangeland is the main type of rangeland in the mountain steppe. The Mongolian rangeland has degraded in the last two decades mainly due to overgrazing and climate change. The main objective of this study was to determine the change of plant community and reduction of frequency and productivity of the dominant species Festuca lenensis in different degradation states of rangeland. The dominant species and main plant functional groups have completely changed in Fescue-forbs rangeland in all three states of rangelands. The cover of Festuca lenensis was decreased by 98.6-99.5% and biomass percentage was decreased by 95.3-100% in three different degradation degrees compared with the reference site. As a result of species composition, the highest number of species was determined in moderately degraded rangeland, the lowest number of species was determined in heavily degraded rangeland. The similarity coefficient of species was 0.45 between the slightly and moderately degraded rangelands. Heavily degraded rangeland was different from other two types of rangeland. Number of individual species increased in moderately and heavily degraded rangelands in comparison to slightly degraded rangeland. This was depended on increaser and tolerant plant species; these are Arenaria capillaris, Potentilla acaulis, Artemisia frigida, A.commutata, Chamaerodos erecta and Carex duriuscula. Our study revealed the degradation process of Fescue-forbs rangeland in mountain steppe of Mongolia.
Citation
Lkhagvajav, Otgontuya; Namdag, Lkhagvajav; and Chimed, Munkhbat, "Degradation Issue of Fescue-Forbs Rangeland in the Mountain Steppe of Mongolia" (2022). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 11.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/24/1-2/11
Included in
Degradation Issue of Fescue-Forbs Rangeland in the Mountain Steppe of Mongolia
The total area of Fescue-forbs rangeland in Mongolia is 10 million hectares, accounting for 8.5% of total rangeland area. The Fescue-forbs rangeland is the main type of rangeland in the mountain steppe. The Mongolian rangeland has degraded in the last two decades mainly due to overgrazing and climate change. The main objective of this study was to determine the change of plant community and reduction of frequency and productivity of the dominant species Festuca lenensis in different degradation states of rangeland. The dominant species and main plant functional groups have completely changed in Fescue-forbs rangeland in all three states of rangelands. The cover of Festuca lenensis was decreased by 98.6-99.5% and biomass percentage was decreased by 95.3-100% in three different degradation degrees compared with the reference site. As a result of species composition, the highest number of species was determined in moderately degraded rangeland, the lowest number of species was determined in heavily degraded rangeland. The similarity coefficient of species was 0.45 between the slightly and moderately degraded rangelands. Heavily degraded rangeland was different from other two types of rangeland. Number of individual species increased in moderately and heavily degraded rangelands in comparison to slightly degraded rangeland. This was depended on increaser and tolerant plant species; these are Arenaria capillaris, Potentilla acaulis, Artemisia frigida, A.commutata, Chamaerodos erecta and Carex duriuscula. Our study revealed the degradation process of Fescue-forbs rangeland in mountain steppe of Mongolia.
