Identifying and prioritising climate change adaptation actions for greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) conservation in Nepal

Climate change has started impacting species, ecosystems, genetic diversity within species, and ecological interactions and is thus a serious threat to conserving biodiversity globally. In the absence of adequate adaptation measures, biodiversity may continue to decline, and many species will possibly become extinct. Given that global temperature continues to increase, climate change adaptation has emerged as an overarching framework for conservation planning. We identified both ongoing and probable climate change adaptation actions for greater one-horned rhinoceros conservation in Nepal through a combination of literature review, key informant surveys (n = 53), focus group discussions (n = 37) and expert consultation (n = 9), and prioritised the identified adaptation actions through stakeholder consultation (n = 17). The majority of key informants (>80%) reported that climate change has been impacting rhinoceros, and more than 65% of them believe that rhinoceros habitat suitability in Nepal has been shifting westwards. Despite these perceived risks, climate change impacts have not been incorporated well into formal conservation planning for rhinoceros. Out of 20 identified adaptation actions under nine adaptation strategies, identifying and protecting climate refugia, restoring the existing habitats through wetland and grassland management, creating artificial highlands in floodplains to provide rhinoceros with refuge during severe floods, and translocating them to other suitable habitats received higher priority. These adaptation actions may contribute to reducing the vulnerability of rhinoceros to the likely impacts of climate change. This study is the first of its kind in Nepal and is expected to provide a guideline to align ongoing conservation measures into climate change adaptation planning for rhinoceros. Further, we emphasise the need to integrating likely climate change impacts while planning for rhinoceros conservation and initiating experimental research and monitoring programs to better inform adaptation planning in the future.

Nature-Based Solutions Benefit the Economic–Ecological Coordination of Pastoral Areas: An Outstanding Herdsman’s Experience in Xilin Gol, China

Grassland has always had a difficult economic–ecological relationship, as coordination between its ecological conservation and the sustainable development of animal husbandry is required. Nature-based Solutions (NbS), who make full use of the natural ecosystem services, have successfully solved some economic–ecological issues, but still have unclear implementation prospects for grassland management. The Xilin Gol grassland is one of the most typical pastoral areas in China; there is a village chief named Bateer, who has already used NbS for grassland management. To confirm whether the solutions employed by Bateer have been effective for both increasing economic profits and protecting grassland ecosystem, we interviewed him, and many other herdsmen, using questionnaires about their livelihood. Based on these questionnaires, we calculated and compared their income–cost ratios. Meanwhile, we analyzed the NDVI variations inside their rangelands through high-resolution remote sensing images. The results showed that the herdsmen in Bateer’s village had a much higher disposable income and income–cost ratio than others, and their rangelands also had a higher value and a more obvious increasing trend of NDVI. Bateer’s success proves that the NbS can also play a positive role in grassland management, which can provide a valuable guidance for economic–ecological coordination in pastoral areas.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Carbon Budget and the Response to Grazing in Qinghai Grasslands

Estimating the grassland carbon budget is critically important for ensuring that grassland resources are used sustainably. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics of the carbon budget and the response to grazing have not yet been characterized in Qinghai grasslands. Here, we estimated the gross primary productivity (GPP) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) in Qinghai grasslands using the improved Biome-BGCMuSo model to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of the carbon budget and the response to grazing in this region from 1979 to 2018. The GPP of Qinghai grasslands fluctuated during the study period, with an average annual value of 118.78 gC/m2. The NEE of Qinghai grasslands fluctuated from 1979 to 2018, with an average value of −5.16 gC/m2. After 2,000, GPP increased, and NEE decreased in a fluctuating manner. There were clear regional differences in GPP and NEE. GPP was low in most areas of Qinghai, and GPP was high in eastern and southern Qinghai. The southern, southeastern, and northeastern parts of Qinghai were mainly carbon sinks, and the northwestern part of Qinghai and the region between the southeastern and northeastern parts of Qinghai were mainly carbon sources. Grazing generally decreased GPP and increased NEE in Qinghai grasslands from 1979 to 2018. There was spatial heterogeneity in the effect of grazing on GPP and NEE. Under grazing, GPP and NEE were significantly decreased mainly in eastern Qinghai, and GPP and NEE were significantly increased mainly in southern and eastern Qinghai. NEE was most affected by grazing in eastern Qinghai. The results of this study aid our understanding of the mechanism driving variation in the grassland carbon budget and provide new data that could be used to support local grassland management.

A Handheld Grassland Vegetation Monitoring System Based on Multispectral Imaging

Monitoring grassland vegetation growth is of vital importance to scientific grazing and grassland management. People expect to be able to use a portable device, like a mobile phone, to monitor grassland vegetation growth at any time. In this paper, we propose a handheld grassland vegetation monitoring system to achieve the goal of monitoring grassland vegetation growth. The system includes two parts: the hardware unit is a hand-held multispectral imaging tool named ASQ-Discover based on a smartphone, which has six bands (wavelengths)—including three visible bands (450 nm, 550 nm, 650 nm), a red-edge band (750 nm), and two near-infrared bands (850 nm, 960 nm). The imagery data of each band has a size of 5120 × 3840 pixels with 8-bit depth. The software unit improves image quality through vignetting removal, radiometric calibration, and misalignment correction and estimates and analyzes spectral traits of grassland vegetation (Fresh Grass Ratio (FGR), NDVI, NDRE, BNDVI, GNDVI, OSAVI and TGI) that are indicators of vegetation growth in grassland. We introduce the hardware and software unit in detail, and we also experiment in five pastures located in Haiyan County, Qinghai Province. Our experimental results show that the handheld grassland vegetation growth monitoring system has the potential to revolutionize the grassland monitoring that operators can conduct when using a hand-held tool to achieve the tasks of grassland vegetation growth monitoring.

Grassland management as the factor increasing the effectiveness of swards in the Magadan region

Использующаяся на сегодняшний день в хозяйствах Магаданской области система кормопроизводства не покрывает потребностей животноводческого комплекса в полной мере и в большинстве случаев ограничивается выращиванием силосных культур, корнеплодов и однолетних трав, в частности овса. Посевы однолетних кормовых трав позволяют получать в благоприятные по погодным условиям периоды довольно высокие урожаи, но отличаются крайне нестабильной продуктивностью по годам, что исключает их использование как основу для развития системы регионального кормопроизводства. В статье приводится анализ результатов многолетних исследований, проводимых в ФГБНУ «Магаданский НИИСХ», по разработке адаптивных технологий кормопроизводства аборигенных многолетних трав и формированию на их основе устойчивых, продуктивных и долголетних лугов. В основу региональной практики вошли пять видов дикорастущих многолетних злаковых трав: арктагростис широколистный (Arctagrostis latifolia (R. Brown) Griseb.), бекмания восточная (Beckmannia syzigachne (Steudal) Fern.), лисохвост тростниковый (Alopecurus arundinaceus Poir. (A. ventricosus Pers.), колосняк мягкий (Leymus mollis (Trinius) Hara), арктомятлик высокий (Arctopoa altus). Характерной особенностью этих видов, наряду с высокими качественными и количественными показателями продуктивности, является их приспособленность к суровым условиям Севера. Использование аборигенных трав в системе местного кормопроизводства позволит значительно сократить материальные затраты на регулярную закупку кормов и семян кормовых трав, увеличить экологический ареал эффективного луговодства за счёт их высокой способности к адаптации в сложных местных условиях на фоне снижения антропогенного воздействия на окружающую среду. Формирование лугов на основе долголетних, нередко длиннокорневищных северных экотипов многолетних трав, создающих плотную дернину, с густым высоким травостоем с преобладанием при регулярной подкормке вегетативных побегов, наряду с обеспечением отрасли животноводства полноценными кормами собственного производства позволит защитить почву от деградации, воздействия водной и ветровой эрозии. Currently the sphere of forage production doesn’t fully satisfy the needs of animal husbandry in the Magadan region and mostly provides silage, root crops and perennial grasses such as oats. Annual crops produce rather high yields but only under favorable conditions. This article reports on the long-term investigation conducted at the Magadan Agricultural Research Institute. The aim was to develop a cultivation technique for wild perennial grasses to obtain stable and high-productive swards. Five wild gramineous were used in the experiment: Arctagrostis latifolia (R. Brown) Griseb., Beckmannia syzigachne (Steudal) Fern., Alopecurus arundinaceus Poir. (A. ventricosus Pers.), Leymus mollis (Trinius) Hara, Arctopoa altus. Along with high forage quality and productivity these species are well adapted to severe northern environment. Introduction of wild grasses into local forage production system is able to reduce significantly purchase costs for forage and seeds, broaden the area of grassland management due to their high resistance, and decrease anthropogenic impact on the environment. Northern ecotypes of perennial grasses often have long roots forming dense sod layers and tall swards with high proportion of vegetative shoots under regular fertilization. These qualities can protect soil from degradation as well as water and wind erosions.