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Use of Steppe Vegetation by Nomadic Pastoralists in Mongolia

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Book cover The Mongolian Ecosystem Network

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

Abstract

In the Mongolian steppe, which is dominated by high elevations and a severe climate, nomadic pastoralism has survived for thousands of years. To clarify the relationship between sustainability of steppe vegetation and traditional nomadic pastoralism, we conducted a 12-year study from 1999 to 2010. We studied the productivity of the plant community and effects of livestock grazing. We also carried out interviews with nomadic people who pasture livestock around our study sites. We observed that aboveground productivity and species diversity (Shannon–Wiener index) significantly changed over the years. Although livestock grazing in productive years was concentrated on monocotyledons, it did not significantly reduce species diversity. Livestock numbers and aboveground productivity of plants affected the annual migration distance of nomadic pastoral activity. Our results suggest that traditional nomadic pastoralism flexibly regulates to accommodate productivity of plant communities and that this regime plays an important role in the sustainability of the Mongolian steppe ecosystem.

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Acknowledgments

I thank Dr. T. Hirose, Dr. L. Jargalsaikhan, Sh. Dugarjav, Tserendash, Tsooj, Tuvshintogtokh, and the many people who invested their time and energy to make this research possible. This research was supported by the Social Welfare Corporation NANKO AIRINKAI, Institute of Botany of the Mongolian Academy of Science, Tohoku University Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University Study Center for North East Asia, the Japan Science Society, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Meiji University, the Toyota Foundation, Niigata University, the Arid Land Research Center of Tottori University, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the National Museum of Ethnology, and the Research Institute for Humanity and Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Okayama University Graduate School of Environmental Science, Okayama, Japan

    Urianhai Galzuud Nachinshonhor

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  1. Urianhai Galzuud Nachinshonhor
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Correspondence to Urianhai Galzuud Nachinshonhor .

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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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Nachinshonhor, U.G. (2013). Use of Steppe Vegetation by Nomadic Pastoralists in Mongolia. 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_12

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