A Perspective on the Impact of Grassland Degradation on Ecosystem Services for the Purpose of Sustainable Management

Abstract

Grassland degradation seriously threatens the ability of grassland to provide ecosystem services. Grassland ecological restoration and sustainable management decision making depends on an accurate understanding of the impacts of grassland degradation on ecosystem services. Based on the assessment of grassland degradation and four key ecosystem services, including the net primary production (NPP), ecosystem carbon pool (EC), soil conservation (SC), and soil loss by wind (SL), the impacts of grassland degradation on ecosystem services and their relationships were analyzed. The impacts of climate change and grazing pressure on the relationship between grassland degradation and ecosystem services were revealed. Based on the “climate change and grazing pressure-grassland degradation-ecosystem services” network, the study puts forward specific suggestions on grassland ecological restoration and sustainable management under the premise of fully balancing ecological restoration and stakeholder relationships. The results showed that grassland degradation had a significant impact on ecosystem services and their relationships, but it varied with the types of ecosystem services. Although the degraded grassland in the study area has been in a state of recovery and ecosystem services have been improving in the past 20 years, the degradation of grassland in some areas has intensified, and there are still ecological risks, so it is necessary to continue to carry out ecological restoration work. On this basis, taking the local conditions into consideration, grassland ecological restoration and sustainable management policy suggestions were proposed. The study can provide a scientific reference for ecological protection and sustainable development in arid and semi-arid areas, and help to improve human well-being.