Ecological Response of the Subsidy and Incentive System for Grassland Conservation in China

Huilong Lin, Yuting Zhao and Ghulam Mujtaba Kalhoro
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Huilong Lin: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Yuting Zhao: State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Ghulam Mujtaba Kalhoro: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-23

Abstract: The overexploitation of Grasslands without any return-back and compensation is the major cause of degradation and deterioration of the grassland ecosystem. The Subsidy and Incentive System for Grassland Conservation (SISGC) in China aimed to restore grassland ecology by the reduction of overgrazing, promoting carrying capacity, and increasing alternative employment of herders in non-husbandry sectors. However, the ecological response to the SISGC still remains unclear on the national scale. Here, we used systematic sampling, and satellite image time series data revealed a widespread proliferation of major ecological indicators for grasslands, contrasting climate and actual net primary productivity (NPP) before (2004–2010) and after (2011–2017) the implementation of SISGC founded the contributions to policy, as simulated by the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford-Approach (CASA) model. On average, by two-phase comparison, the actual grassland NPP increased by 11.72%. The contribution of policy implementation and climate factors increased grassland NPP by up to 61.14% and 38.86%, respectively, but the response of the NPP growth of various grassland types exhibited divergence, mainly divided into policy-led (contribution rate of 52.28–97.02%) and climate-led (contribution rate of 57.56–96.00%). Hence, the SISGC policies should be renewed for different grassland types.

Keywords: Subsidy and Incentive System for Grassland Conservation (SISGC); NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index); vegetation coverage; NPP; Comprehensive and Sequential Classification System of grassland (CSCS) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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