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

of the l<strong>and</strong> but feeds more than 95 % of the population. It is the key to prioritizing
economic <strong>and</strong> social development. The desert ecosystem maintains <strong>and</strong>
shelters the oasis from the outside. The three ecosystems – mountain, desert,
<strong>and</strong> oasis – make an interdependent whole (Photo 2). In terrestrial ecosystems,
the functions of forests are great, but are subject to specific geographic <strong>and</strong>
environmental constraints. The survival condition for virgin forest in Xinjiang
is poor, with only 844.7 million hectares of the mountain covered in forests
(Xinjiang Forestry Department 2005; Li Hu et al. 2005), only 1.3 % of the
nation’s total. The mountain rangel<strong>and</strong> area, which is the main vegetation in
mountain ecosystems, is 33.3 million hectares, accounting for 52.3 % of the
total area of the mountains. It is of special significance for soil <strong>and</strong> water conservation.
The plain rangel<strong>and</strong> area is 22.7 million hectares. It is an important
part of the desert ecosystem <strong>and</strong> the natural shelter for the man-made oasis.
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