Pastoralism and Rangeland Management on the Tibetan Plateau in ...

variety of rangel<strong>and</strong>s, which provide seasonal grazing grounds for animals, <strong>and</strong>
cut-grass pastures, provides sound material conditions for rangel<strong>and</strong> animal
husb<strong>and</strong>ry <strong>and</strong> also for forming an important ecological shelter in Xinjiang.
2.2.2 Vast desert rangel<strong>and</strong>, fragile ecosystem, <strong>and</strong> low bearing capacity
Gross vegetation coverage <strong>and</strong> net vegetation coverage of various types of desert
rangel<strong>and</strong> in Xinjiang are 26.9 <strong>and</strong> 20.5 million hectares respectively, accounting
for 46.2 % <strong>and</strong> 42.6 % in their own classes. But the stocking level is low.
It only accounts for 17 % of the carrying rate in Xinjiang. 30.9 % of the desert
rangel<strong>and</strong> has some utilization value, while the remaining 69.1 % is low quality
desert rangel<strong>and</strong> with low coverage, grass yield, <strong>and</strong> grass quality. The desert
rangel<strong>and</strong> ecosystem is fragile. Once destroyed, it will be difficult to recover in
a short time period.
2.2.3 Rich <strong>and</strong> high-quality rangel<strong>and</strong> plants, <strong>and</strong> diverse, good-quality
grazing grass
According to the rangel<strong>and</strong> resources survey of the 1980s, there were 108 families
in the area with 687 categories <strong>and</strong> 3,270 species of higher plants, including
2,930 species of grazing plants. 382 of these species could be found in relatively
large quantities <strong>and</strong> with high quality. Almost all the world’s recognized quality
grazing grasses can be found in Xinjiang, such as timothy, bromegrass, Dactylis
glomerata, yellow clover, red clover, field peas, Onobrychis viciifolia <strong>and</strong> others.
3 Importance of Xinjiang’s Rangel<strong>and</strong>s
3.1 Relationship between Xinjiang‘s rangel<strong>and</strong> resources <strong>and</strong> other
resources
The vast area of natural rangel<strong>and</strong>s in Xinjiang is the main water conservation
site <strong>and</strong> natural shelter for artificial oases. Xinjiang’s environmental structure is
made up of mountain ecosystems, an oasis ecosystem, <strong>and</strong> a desert ecosystem
constituting an interdependent <strong>and</strong> mutually restraining whole.
The mountains in Xinjiang cover an area of 63.7 million hectares, accounting
for 38.4 % of the total l<strong>and</strong> area. They receive 204.8 billion cubic meters of precipitation,
accounting for 84 % of the total <strong>and</strong> have 79.3 billion cubic meters of
runoff, 90 % of the 88.4 billion-cubic-meter surface water total in Xinjiang (the
remainder comes from the outside). It is a runoff formation zone. The mountain
ecosystems are the basis for human survival. Without mountain runoff in
Xinjiang, there would be no way to survive. The oasis ecosystem takes up 4 %
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