Temporal-spatial Changes in Inner Mongolian Grassland Degradation during Past Three Decades

[Objective] This study aimed to analyze the temporal-spatial variation of Inner Mongolian grassland degradation during past three decades. [Method] The dis- tribution characteristics of grassland were described by land use types supervised classification with TM/ETM. Then, temporal-spatial changes of grassland coverage were quantified by the mean of maximum vegetation coverage in last 30 years. Lastly, the grassland degradation reasons were explored through statistic analysis between the grassland coverage and precipitation, temperature and grazing intensity. [Result] The grassland degradation index of Inner Mongolia was increased from 1.38 to 1.68, and the smallest was 1.28 in 2005s. Grassland degradation and improve- ment were concurrent after 1980s, but grassland degradation was the major change trend for Inner Mongolia grassland. The area of grassland degradation was enlarged from 18.08×10^4 km2 in 1980s to 22.47×10^4 km2 in 2010s on the whole and distribu- tion range was shifted from central-eastern to west in Inner Mongolia that mainly distributed on Hulun Buir and Xilin Gol grassland in 1980s and Ordos and Alax grassland in 2010s. The grassland area of degradation had a rising trend form 1980s to 1995s, then reduced to 10.8x104 km2 in 2005s, and decreased in 2010s, which mainly speared in the west of Xilin Gol grassland. [Conclusion] Inner Mongo-lian grassland degradation were become more seriously in last 30 years because that temperature, precipitation and graze intensities change, which not performance on decreasing coverage but grassland areas.

Grassland degradation in the ＂Three-River Headwaters＂ region, Qinghai Province

Supported by MSS images in the mid and late 1970s,TM images in the early 1990s and TM/ETM images in 2004,grassland degradation in the＂Three-River Headwaters＂region （TRH region）was interpreted through analysis on RS images in two time series,then the spatial and temporal characteristics of grassland degradation in the TRH region were analyzed since the 1970s.The results showed that grassland degradation in the TRH region was a continuous change process which had large affected area and long time scale,and rapidly strengthen phenomenon did not exist in the 1990s as a whole.Grassland degradation pattern in the TRH region took shape initially in the mid and late 1970s.Since the 1970s,this degradation process has taken place continuously,obviously characterizing different rules in different regions.In humid and semi-humid meadow region,grassland firstly fragmentized, then vegetation coverage decreased continuously,and finally＂black-soil-patch＂degraded grassland was formed.But in semi-arid and arid steppe region,the vegetation coverage decreased continuously,and finally desertification was formed.Because grassland degradation had obviously regional differences in the TRH region,it could be regionalized into 7 zones, and each zone had different characteristics in type,grade,scale and time process of grassland degradation.

Characteristics of grassland degradation and driving forces in the source region of the Yellow River from 1985 to 2000

The source region of the Yellow River is located in the middle east of the Tibetan Plateau in northwest China. The total area is about 51,700 km^2, mainly covered by grassland （79%）, unused land （16%） and water （4%）. The increasing land utilization in this area has increased the risk of environmental degradation. The land use/cover data （1985 and 2000） provided by the Data Center of Resources and Environment in the Chinese Academy of Sciences were used to analyze the land cover change in the source region of the Yellow River. DEM （1：250,000） data, roads and settlement data were used to analyze the spatial characteristics of grasslands degradation. The ArcGIS 9 software was used to convert data types and do the overlay, reclassification and zonal statistic analysis. Results show that grassland degradation is the most important land cover change in the study area, which occupied 8.24% of the region＇s total area. Human activities are the main causes of the grassland degradation in the source region of the Yellow River： 1） the degradation rate is higher on the sunny slope than on the shady slope; 2） the grassland degradation rate decreases with an increase in the elevation, and it has a correlation coefficient of -0.93; 3） the nearer to the settlements the grassland is, the higher the degradation rate. Especially within a distance range of 12 km to the settlements, the grassland degradation rate is highly related with the distance, with a coefficient of -0.99; and 4） in the range of 4 km, the degradation rate decreases with the increase of distance to the roads, with a correlation coefficient of -0.98. Besides some physical factors, human activities have been the most important driving forces of the grassland degradation in the source region of the Yellow River since 1985. To resolve the degradation problems, population control is essential, and therefore, it can reduce the social demand of livestock products from the grassland. To achieve sustainable development, it needs to improve the management of grassland ecosystem.

Effects of Grassland Degradation and Re-vegetation on Carbon and Nitrogen Storage in the Soils of the Headwater Area Nature Reserve on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,China

Both overgrazing and climate change contribute to grassland degradation in the alpine regions of China and negatively affect soil carbon and nitrogen pools. We quantified changes in soil organic carbon （SOC） and total nitrogen （TN） in black soil beach （BSB）. We measured SOC and TN in severely degraded and non-degraded grasslands to calculate differences in carbon and nitrogen storage, and field survey results were extrapolated to the entire headwaters area of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau （36.3xlos krn~） to determine SOC and TN losses from these grasslands. We also evaluated changes in SOC and TN in severely degraded grasslands that were artificially re-vegetated five, seven and nine years ago. Totally 92.43 Tg C and 7.08 Tg N were lost from the BSB in the headwater area, which was approximately 50% of the original C and N soil pools. Re-vegetation of the degraded grasslands in the headwater area would result in a gain of 32.71 Tg C in the soil after five years, a loss of 5.5a Tg C after seven years and an increase of 44.15 Tg C after nine years. The TN increased by 53.09% and 59.98% after five and nine years, respectively, while it decreased by 4.92% after seven years of re-vegetation. The results indicate that C and N stocks followed a ＂V＂ shaped pattern with re- vegetation time. Understanding plant-soil interactions during succession of artificially planting grassland ecosystems is essential for developing scientifically sound management strategies for the effectively re-vegetated BSB.

Nematode Faunal Response to Grassland Degradation in Horqin Sandy Land

The responses of soil nematode communities to grassland degradation were studied under undegraded grassland (UG), degraded grassland (DG),and improved grassland (IG),in Horqin Sandy Land,Inner Mongolia,Northeast China.Soil samples were collected at depths of 0-10,10-20,and 20-30 cm.Total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) exhibited positive effects on the total number of nematodes and trophic groups.Significant treatment effects were found in the total number of nematodes,plant parasites,and omnivores-predators.Measures taken in the improved grassland could improve the number of omnivore-predators,especially in the deeper soil layers.Nematode richness was lower in the DG treatment than in the IG and UG treatments.The food web structure index (SI) was significantly higher in the UG and IG treatments than in the DG treatment.A higher SI suggested a food web with more trophic linkages and relatively healthy ecosystems.

Grassland degradation in Northern Tibet based on remote sensing data

This study selected vegetation cover as the main evaluation index, calculated the grassland degradation index （GDI） and established the remote sensing monitoring and evaluation system for grassland degradation in Northern Tibet, according to the National Standard （GB19377-2003）, based on the remote sensing data such as NDVI data derived from NOAA/AVHRR with a spatial resolution of 8 km of 1981-2000, from SPOT/VGT with a spatial resolution of 1 km of 2001 and from MODIS with a spatial resolution of 0.25 km of 2002-2004 respectively in this area, in combination with the actual condition of grassland degradation. The grassland degradation processes and their responses to climate change during 1981-2004 were discussed and analyzed in this paper. The result indicated that grassland degradation in Northern Tibet is very serious, and the mean value of GDI in recent 20 years is 2.54 which belongs to the serious degradation grade. From 1981 to 2004, the GDI fluctuated distinctly with great interannual variations in the proportion of degradation degree and GDI but the general tendency turned to severe-grade during this period with the grassland degradation grade changed from light degraded to serious degraded in Northern Tibet. The extremely serious degraded and serious degraded grassland occupied 1.7% and 8.0% of the study area, the moderate and light degraded grassland accounted for 13.2% and 27.9% respectively, and un-degraded grassland occupied 49.2% of the total grassland area in 2004. The grassland degradation was serious, especially in the conjunctive area of Naqu, Biru and Jiali counties, the headstream of the Yangtze River lying in the Galadandong snow mountain and glaciers, the area along the Qinghai-Tibet highway and railway, and areas around the Tanggula and Nianqingtanggula snow mountains and glaciers. So the snow mountains and glaciers as well as their adjacent areas in Northern Tibet were sensitive to climate change and the areas along the vital communication line with frequent human activities experienced relatively serious grassland degradation.

Degradation significantly decreased the ecosystem multifunctionality of three alpine grasslands: evidences from a large-scale survey on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Owing to the joint effects of ecosystem fragility,anthropogenic disturbance and climate change,alpine grasslands(alpine meadow,alpine steppe and alpine desert)have experienced serious degradation during the past several decades.Grasslands degradation has severely affected the delivery of ecosystem multifunctionality(EMF)and services,and then threatens the livelihood of local herdsmen and ecological security of China.However,we still lack comprehensive insights about the effects of degradation and climatic factors on EMF of alpine grasslands,especially for alpine desert ecosystem.Therefore,we applied a large-scale field investigation to answer this question.Our results suggested grassland degradation significantly decreased the belowground ecosystem multifunctionality(BEMF)and EMF of alpine grasslands and aboveground ecosystem multifunctionality(AEMF)of alpine meadow,while did not reduce the AEMF of alpine steppe and desert.Except for the insignificant difference between degraded steppe and degraded desert in AEMF,the alpine meadow showed the highest AEMF,BEMF and EMF,alpine steppe ranked the second and alpine desert was the lowest.AEMF,BEMF and EMF of health alpine grasslands were strongly affected by mean annual precipitation(MAP)(19%-51%)and mean annual temperature(MAT)(9%-36%),while those of degraded meadow and degraded desert were not impacted by precipitation and temperature.AEMF and BEMF showed a synergistic relationship in healthy alpine grasslands(12%-28%),but not in degraded grasslands.Our findings emphasized the urgency of implementing the feasible ecological restoration project to mitigate the negative influences of grassland degradation on EMF of alpine ecosystems.

Frontier Grassland Degradation and Its Countermeasures

Firstly, the status quo of Hulunbuir Grassland degradation was introduced, and then the main reasons for the degradation were discussed, such as overgrazing, excessively mining mineral resources and so forth. Finally some targeted countermeasures, like improving grassland legislation and policy as well as grassland ecological compensation system, actively implementing ecological animal husbandry and reasonably exploiting mineral resources, were put forward to restore the ecological environment of Hulunbuir Grassland.

Review of the Impact of Grassland Degradation on Ecosystem Service Value

In recent years, grassland degradation has become one of China’s most critical environmental problems due to the interaction of natural environmental factors and human causes. Based on the systematic analysis of the spatial characteristics of grassland degradation and the current research status of environmental drivers, this paper summarizes and summarizes the research methods on the impact of grassland degradation on natural ecological service function and social and economic value to understand further the natural ecological service function of grassland degradation and its impact on social and economic benefits. The results show that since the function of grassland ecosystem service is much larger than the biomass value it provides, we should focus on the effective management of grassland from the design concept of ecological service function to achieve the sustainable development of grassland. We should do an excellent job in the comprehensive application of various ecosystems and service value evaluation methods in the future.

Overview of Grassland Degradation Research Based on Remote Sensing Monitoring

In recent years, grassland degradation has become one of the most important ecological problems in China under the interwoven influence of environmental and human factors. Based on the analysis of the spatial-temporal characteristics and driving factors of grassland degradation and in order to deeply understand the research status of grassland degradation monitoring methods and evaluation index system, this paper mainly investigates the research progress of grassland degradation remote sensing monitoring methods and evaluation indicators. Furthermore, this paper summarizes the more commonly used remote sensing monitoring methods and evaluation methods, analyzes the problems existing in the evaluation indicators of grassland degradation, and points out the research direction of the evaluation indicators in the future. Finally, a comprehensive remote sensing monitoring and evaluation system are established in this paper. Research findings: because of the variety of grassland degradation types and the emergence of remote sensing monitoring and evaluation methods, establishing a comprehensive remote sensing monitoring and evaluation system to classify and summarize the research methods of different grassland degradation can lay a foundation for the development of grassland degradation evaluation and monitoring in the future and provide research ideas. It is the trend of grassland degradation remote sensing research in the future.

RS-and-GIS-Supported Forecast of Grassland Degradation in Southwest Songnen Plain by Markov Model

By taking Daan city in Jilin Province as a research object and by using TM image in 1989 and ETM + image in 2001 from American LANDSAT satellite,all kinds of maps and documentation,information of grassland,saline-alkalized land,cropland,water area and forestland is extracted by man-computer interactive interpretation method with ArcView and ArcInfo GIS software, and statistics data is acquired. On the basis of this the changing trend of land use types in the next ten years is forecasted and analyzed with Markov model. The results indicate that the problem of grassland degradation in the study area is quite serious.

Food-Chain Model of Grassland Degradation and Its Restoration Process in Northern Tibet Plateau:A Case Study in Nierong County

Based on the model of grassland climate ecological productivity, the process of grassland degradation and its restoration mechanism in northern Tibetan Plateau were discussed by the model of food-chain in which the environmental and human factors were corrected. The results of case study in Nierong County showed that： ① the climate trend of becoming warmer, more droughts and gales were conflicted with the restoration of grassland degradation, even under level of perfect management the climate ecological productivity was declined from 89. 3 kg/m^2 of 1983 to 71.8 kg/m^2 of 2003; ② from 1983 to 2003, the population increased fast, while the variation of livestock on hand was little, and the cost of its maintaining is rapid grassland degradation; ③ on the present condition of overgrazing, the livestock on hand can be maintained on the level of theoretical carrying capacity in 2033 by applying the mechanism of food-chain in grassland ecological system controlled with expected coefficients, so that to realize the policy of determining the quantity of livestock according to grass growth.

Research progress and prospect of grassland degradation based on bibliometrics analysis during 1970–2020

To understand the research trends and areas of focus on the grassland degradation(GD),a bibliometric study based on the Science Citation Index-Expanded(SCI-E)was performed.This study presented a comprehensive overview of the field based on the annual papers,research areas,temporal trends in keywords,marked journals,institutions,and authors.In the SCI-E database,GD publications first appeared in1970.Thus,we chose the study period between 1970 and 2020.The results showed that the annual number of publications increased in exponential model,with an especially rapid increase after 2009.Dong S.K.,Wang S.P.,and Liu S.L.were the most competitive authors based on their large numbers of papers and citations.A keyword analysis indicated that“grazing,alpine grassland,soil carbon and nitrogen,plant diversity,vegetation restoration”was the most popular study area.The institution with the greatest research publications and most citations was the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Journal of Arid Environments was one of the most popular journals for researchers to publish their research and had greater influence in the field with larger citations than other journals.Environmental science and ecology,soil science,plant science,biodiversity protection,geoscience,and water resources were the most popular Web of Science research areas.The keywords knowledge map mainly divides into four clusters,which are“vegetation”,“soil carbon”,“climate change”,and“grazing”.The ten clusters of the author’s co-occurrence analysis showed that the research areas of GD mainly concentrate on alpine grassland of Qinghai Tibetan Plateau and temperate steppe of Inner Mongolia.Especially under global climate change and the increasing human activities,they were continually increasing close attention to the present.The research methods are mainly in the combination of micro and macro view,such as high-throughput sequencing of the microbial community,remote sensing,quantitative analysis of models,etc.The current international research frontiers are alpine meadow degradation and the assessment of ecosystem service in degraded grassland.To distinguish human activities and climate change to the GD rate is also a new research hotspot in recent years.As the first bibliometrics paper in GD,this paper presents an attempt to better understanding of the progress on GD research.

Analysis for Soil Characteristics of Degraded Grassland on Alpine Meadow

[Objective]The aim of this study is to explore the effects of grassland degradation on soil physical and chemical properties.[Method]The ratio of plant root to soil and soil texture on Alpine Meadow were investigated in this study,and soil available N,P,K,Cu,Zn,organic matter and pH value were also analyzed by routine analysis of soil nutrients in different degraded grasslands.[Result]With the intensification of degraded gradient and the soil depth,the ratio of plant root to soil was decreased gradually.The highest ratio of plant root to soil was in 0-10 cm depth of soil in grassland with different degraded gradients,while its ratio of plant root to soil changed from 0.001 to 0.040 with soil type of loam.Soil chemical characteristic changed in different degraded gradients.The content of available N,P,K reduced significantly with the soil depth and the intensification of degraded gradients.The content of Cu and Zn was relatively lack in degraded grassland.[Conclusion]There is no significant correlation between nutrition content or pH value and the succession degree of degraded grassland.

Effect of Different Soak Treatments on Breaking Seed Dormancy in Soil Seed Bank from Different Degraded Grasslands

[Objective] The aim was to study the effect of different soak treatments on breaking seed dormancy in soil seed bank from different degraded grasslands. [Method] Different concentrations of H2SO4,GA3 and KNO3 were used for soaking the seeds in the soil seed bank from different degraded grasslands,and the germination number of seeds was detected. [Result] When the seeds from soil seed bank were soaked with 60%,70%,80% and 90% H2SO4,the germination number of seeds was 0,indicating that the germination of seeds was inhibited; when the seeds were soaked with GA3,the germination number of seeds increased with the concentration of GA3 increasing. When the concentration of GA3 increased to 0.10%,the germination of seeds was inhibited; when the seeds were soaked with 0.2% KNO3,the germination number of seeds was greater than the blank control. [Conclusion] The number of remaining seeds was more in the soil seed banks collected from moderately degraded grassland and heavily degraded grassland; while the number of remaining seeds was small in the soil seed banks collected from lightly degraded grassland and extremely degraded grassland.

Restoration Prospects for Heitutan Degraded Grassland in the Sanjiangyuan

In many ecosystems ungulates have coexisted with grasslands over long periods of time. However, high densities of grazing animals may change the floristic and structural characteristics of vegetation, reduce biodiversity, and increase soil erosion, potentially triggering abrupt and rapid changes in ecosystem condition. Alternate stable state theory provides a framework for understanding this type of dynamic. In the Sanjiangyuan atop the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (QTP), grassland degradation has been accompanied by irruptions of native burrowing animals, which has accentuated the loss of ground cover. Severely degraded areas of alpine meadows are referred to as 'Heitutan'. Here, using the framework of alternate stable state theory, we describe the proximate and ultimate drivers of the formation of Heitutan on the QTP, and we assess prospects for recovery, in relation to the degree of biophysical alteration, of these alpine meadows. Effective rehabilitation measures must address the underlying causes of degradation rather than their symptoms. Heitutan degradation is not uni-causal. Rather it reflects different mechanisms operating at different spatio-temporal scales across this vast region. Underlying causes include overly aggressive exploitation of the grasslands (e.g. overgrazing), amplification of grazing and erosion damage by small mammals when outbreaks occur, and/or climate change. Given marked variability in environmental conditions and stressors, restorative efforts must vary across the region. Restoration efforts are likely toyield greatest success if moderately and severely degraded areas are targeted as the first priority in management programmes, before these areas are transformed into extreme Heitutan.

Using Remote Sensing and GIS Technologies to Estimate Grass Yield and Livestock Carrying Capacity of Alpine Grasslands in Golog Prefecture,China

Remote sensing data from the Terra Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and geospatial data were used to estimate grass yield and livestock carrying capacity in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Golog, Qing-hai, China. The MODIS-derived normalized difference vegetation index (MODIS-NDVI) data were correlated with the aboveground green biomass (AGGB) data from the aboveground harvest method. Regional regression model between the MODIS-NDVI and the common logarithm (LOG10) of the AGGB was significant (r2 = 0.51, P < 0.001), it was, there-fore, used to calculate the maximum carrying capacity in sheep-unit year per hectare. The maximum livestock carrying capacity was then adjusted to the theoretical livestock carrying capacity by the reduction factors (slope, distance to water, and soil erosion). Results indicated that the grassland conditions became worse, with lower aboveground palatable grass yield, plant height, and cover compared with the results obtained in 1981. At the same time, although the actual livestock numbers decreased, they still exceeded the proper theoretical livestock carrying capacity, and overgrazing rates ranged from 27.27% in Darlag County to 293.99% in Baima County. Integrating remote sensing and geographical information system technologies, the spatial and temporal conditions of the alpine grassland, trend, and projected stocking rates could be forecasted for decision making.

Effects of fencing on vegetation and soil restoration in a degraded alkaline grassland in northeast China

In order to restore a degraded alkaline grassland, the local government implemented a large restoration project using fences in Changling county, Jilin province, China, in 2000. Grazing was excluded from the protected area, whereas the grazed area was continuously grazed at 8.5 dry sheep equivalent（DSE）/hm2. In the current research, soil and plant samples were taken from grazed and fenced areas to examine changes in vegetation and soil properties in 2005, 2006 and 2008. Results showed that vegetation characteristics and soil properties improved significantly in the fenced area compared with the grazed area. In the protected area the vegetation cover, height and above- and belowground biomass increased significantly. Soil pH, electrical conductivity and bulk density decreased significantly, but soil organic carbon and total nitrogen concentration increased greatly in the protected area. By comparing the vegetation and soil characteristics with pre-degraded grassland, we found that vegetation can recover 6 years after fencing, and soil pH can be restored 8 years after fencing. However, the restoration of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations needed 16, 30 and 19 years, respectively. It is recommended that the stocking rate should be reduced to 1/3 of the current carrying capacity, or that a grazing regime of 1-year of grazing followed by a 2-year rest is adopted to sustain the current status of vegetation and soil resources. However, if N fertilizer is applied, the rest period could be shortened, depending on the rate of application.

Attribution analysis and multi-scenario prediction of NDVI drivers in the Xilin Gol grassland,China

Grassland degradation is influenced by climate change and human activities,and has become a major obstacle for the development of arid and semi-arid areas,posing a series of environmental and socio-economic problems.An in-depth understanding of the inner relations among grassland vegetation dynamics,climate change,and human activities is therefore greatly significant for understanding the variation in regional environmental conditions and predicting future developmental trends.Based on MODIS(moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer)NDVI(normalized difference vegetation index)data from 2000 to 2020,our objective is to investigate the spatiotemporal changes of NDVI in the Xilin Gol grassland,Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,China.Combined with 12 natural factors and human activity factors in the same period,the dominant driving factors and their interactions were identified by using the geographic detector model,and multiple scenarios were also simulated to forecast the possible paths of future NDVI changes in this area.The results showed that:(1)in the past 21 a,vegetation cover in the Xilin Gol grassland exhibited an overall increasing trend,and the vegetation restoration(84.53%)area surpassed vegetation degradation area(7.43%);(2)precipitation,wind velocity,and livestock number were the dominant factors affecting NDVI(the explanatory power of these factors exceeded 0.4).The interaction between average annual wind velocity and average annual precipitation,and between average annual precipitation and livestock number greatly affected NDVI changes(the explanatory power of these factors exceeded 0.7).Moreover,the impact of climate change on NDVI was more significant than human activities;and(3)scenario analysis indicated that NDVI in the Xinlin Gol grassland increased under the scenarios of reduced wind velocity,increased precipitation,and ecological protection.In contrast,vegetation coverage restoration in this area was significantly reduced under the scenarios of unfavorable climate conditions and excessive human activities.This study provides a scientific basis for future vegetation restoration and management,ecological environmental construction,and sustainable natural resource utilization in this area.

Seedling germination technique of Carex brunnescens and its application in restoration of Maqu degraded alpine grasslands in northwestern China

Carex brunnescens(Pers.)Poir.is considered to be the only clonal herb found to date that can develop and form fixed dunes in Maqu alpine degraded grasslands of northwestern China.However,due to strong dormant characteristics of C.brunnescens seeds,the sand-fixing effect of the plant is severely limited.This study explores a technique that can rapidly promote the seed germination of C.brunnescens,and also investigates the adaptation and sand-fixing effect by cultivating C.brunnescens seedlings to establish living sand barriers in the sand ridges of moving sand dunes.Results show that the seed germination rate obtained a maximum of 63.7%or 65.1%when seeds were treated with 150 mg/L gibberellic acid(GA3)for 24 h followed by soaking in sulfuric acid(98%H2SO4)for 2.5 min or sodium hydroxide(10%NaOH)for 3.5 h,and then germinated(25°C in daytime and 5°C at nighttime)in darkness for 10 d.After breaking seed dormancy of C.brunnescens,the living sand barrier of C.brunnescens(plant spacing 15−20 cm;sand barrier spacing 10−20 m)was established in the perpendicular direction to the main wind in the middle and lower parts of the sand ridges on both sides of the moving sand dunes.When the sand ridges were leveled by wind erosion,the living sand barrier(plant spacing 15−20 cm;sand barrier spacing 0.5−1.0 m)of C.brunnescens was reestablished on the wind-eroded flat ground.Finally,a stable sand-fixing surface can be formed after connecting the living sand barriers on both sides,thus achieving a good sand-fixing effect.These findings suggest that rapid seed germination technology combined with the sand−fixing method of C.brunnescens can shorten the seed germination period and make the seedling establishment become much easier which may be an effective strategy to restore and reconstruct Maqu degraded grasslands.