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Journal of Integrative Agriculture
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Trade-offs between artificial forage yield and quality under multiple mowing enhance grass-livestock system balance on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Jing Zhang1, 2, Shuaijun Hou1, 2, Muhammad Usman1, 2, Fujiang Hou1, 2#, Zhibiao Nan1, 2

1 State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Technology Research Center for Ecological Restoration and Utilization of Degraded Grassland in Northwest China, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730020, China.

2 College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China

 Highlights 

· Multiple mowing increases forage yield and quality

· The trade-off strategies between forage biomass and quality has been explored

· Provides reference for the selection of artificial grassland varieties on QTP

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摘要  

全球草地生态系统正面临严峻考验,约49%的草地呈现不同程度的退化。解决可利用牧草与牲畜需求之间的不平衡是草地生态系统面临的一个重大问题。将处于生态崩溃边缘且修复成本极高的天然草地转变为刈割草地,既能解决牧草短缺问题,又能降低长距离运输成本。探索青藏高原东南缘多次刈割草地的饲草产量品质,对于确定其建设规模至关重要。为此,本研究在青藏高原东南缘开展了多品种牧草种植与多次刈割试验。结果表明,相较于生长季末一次性收获,多次刈割策略能显著提升牧草的产量与营养品质,并且随着刈割过程的推进,牧草生长策略逐渐由产量优先向品质权衡。基于此,我们以当前牲畜越冬损失率为基准,从能量供需平衡角度构建了不同补饲情景模型。测算显示,在自由采食模式下,实现草畜能量平衡需将人工草地面积扩大至当前的2.22-9.38倍;而在限制饲喂模式下,则需扩大1.55-9.38倍,并相应减少3.96%-16.75% 2.77%-16.75% 的天然草地面积以满足能量需求与供给。本研究结果为青藏高原的草地管理规划提供了数据支持,并为改善青藏高原的草畜动态提供了可行性参考。



Abstract  

Globally grassland ecosystems are facing unprecedented threats from continuous degradation and about 49% of grasslands are experiencing varying degrees of degradation. Resolving the imbalance between available forage and livestock demand is a major issue for grassland ecosystems. Transforming natural grasslands, which are on the brink of ecological collapse and have extremely high repair costs, into mowing grasslands can simultaneous address forage deficiency and also reduce the cost of long-distance transportation. Exploring the biomass yield and forage quality of multiple-mowing grasslands on the QTP is essential for calculating its construction scale. For this purpose, we conducted a grass-legumes cultivation experiment on the southeastern edge of the QTP and performed multiple mowing experiments. The results showed that compared to one-time harvesting during the growth period, multiple mowing significantly improved the biomass yield and nutritional quality of the grass, and gradually balanced towards quality as the mowing process progressed. Based on the experimental results, we used the current livestock loss rates in the QTP as a reference and further established different supplementary feeding modes from an energy supply perspective. Finally, we conclude that under the premise of no restriction on feeding, the artificial grassland needs to be increased to 2.22-9.38 times the current area. Under the restriction on feeding, the QTP needs to increase by 1.55-9.38 times, and the corresponding natural grassland area needs to be reduced by 3.96-16.75% and 2.77-16.75% respectively to meet the energy demand-supply. These results provide data support for grassland management planning in the QTP and inform the development of feasible strategies for improving the grass-livestock dynamics in the QTP.

Keywords:  mowing       Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau       cultivate grasslands       trade-off       supplementary feeding       “crop-livestock engineering"  
Online: 04 September 2025  
Fund: 

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant/Award Number: U21A20242, the National Key Research and Development Program of China, Grant/Award Number: 2021YFD1300504, the Innovative Research Team in University, Grant/Award Number: IRT_17R50, ‘Lanzhou City’s Scientific Research Funding Subsidy to Lanzhou University, Grant/Award Number: GSRCZC2021001.

About author:  Jing Zhang, E-mail:jingzhang21@lze.edu.cn; # Correspondence Fujiang Hou, E-mail: authors: cyhoufj@lzu.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

Jing Zhang, Shuaijun Hou, Muhammad Usman, Fujiang Hou, Zhibiao Nan. 2025. Trade-offs between artificial forage yield and quality under multiple mowing enhance grass-livestock system balance on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Doi:10.1016/j.jia.2025.09.010

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