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Annual Production and Species Diversity of Mongolian Pasture Plants in Relation to Grazing Pressure by Livestock

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The Mongolian Ecosystem Network

Part of the book series: Ecological Research Monographs ((ECOLOGICAL))

Abstract

To examine the effects of different pressures by livestock grazing on plant production and species diversity, we conducted mowing experiments using pasture plants at different heights and intervals in an exclosure in a flat valley bottom with high production and on an upper slope with low production in a Mongolian pasture. We transported the trimmings of pasture plants to the laboratory and weighed them. Mowing of pasture plants at different intervals revealed that the optimal annual production occurred when mowing was conducted at intermediate intervals of 30 days. Monthly mowing at heights of 3 and 5 cm revealed higher annual production for the 5-cm height in the flat valley bottom and for the 3-cm height on the upper slope. In another series of experiments, mowing at heights of 0 and 3 cm and at different intervals for 4 years revealed higher annual production and species diversity following mowing at 3 cm in the fourth year. Our results suggest that the annual production and species diversity of pasture plants is optimized by intermediate pressure from livestock grazing.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Professor N. Yamamura (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Japan), Academician C. Dugarjav (Institute of Botany, Mongolian Academy of Science), and Dr. J. Tsogtbaatar (Institute of Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Science) for their kind assistance and advice. This work was financially supported in part by RIHN research project “Collapse and Restoration of Ecosystem Networks with Human Activities.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan

    Noboru Fujita

  2. Institute of Botany, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

    Narantsetsegiin Amartuvshin

  3. Institute of Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

    Erdenegerel Ariunbold

Authors
  1. Noboru Fujita
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  2. Narantsetsegiin Amartuvshin
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  3. Erdenegerel Ariunbold
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Noboru Fujita .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. RIHN, Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan

    Norio Yamamura

  2. RIHN, Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku 457-4, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan

    Noboru Fujita

  3. Jutfaseweg, Utrecht, 3522HJ, Netherlands

    Ai Maekawa

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Fujita, N., Amartuvshin, N., Ariunbold, E. (2013). Annual Production and Species Diversity of Mongolian Pasture Plants in Relation to Grazing Pressure by Livestock. In: Yamamura, N., Fujita, N., Maekawa, A. (eds) The Mongolian Ecosystem Network. Ecological Research Monographs. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54052-6_11

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