Analysis of Rangeland Resources in China's Mountain Areas for Mitigating Global Warming

摘要

China's rangelands account for about 41.67% of the total land area in the country. As one of the major terrestrial ecosystems, grasslands play an important role in the carbon cycle in China. Most of China's rangeland ecosystems are distributed in the mountain areas of China. Changes in rangelands management could have a significant impact on the country's carbon balance. Implementation of practices with positive carbon storage outcomes may have a major bearing on the economics of livestock production, and may be limited by social and cultural factors. Carbon gains could be obtained from increases, or reduction in losses, of plant biomass, and from accumulation, or reduction in losses, of soil carbon.