Grassland livestock systems

[Extract] The Eurasian grasslands collectively comprise one of the world's largest ecosystems, extending 8000 km from eastern China to eastern Europe. Grasslands are defined commonly as grazing lands used by domestic and wild herbivores and include shrubs and open forests. The Eurasian grasslands, often referred to by the Russian word 'steppes', are characterised by cold, dry climates especially in the east. Of the 957 million ha of land in China over 40 per cent, or about 400 million ha, are grasslands most of which are of low to moderate productivity in the north and west of China.1 In Mongolia there are 125 million ha of grasslands that dominate the landscape within a total area of 155 million ha. The Mongolian Plateau of 320 million ha contains much of the grassland considered in this chapter and extends across Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China, and into southern Russia, with many aspects in common between the countries. Much of the Mongolian Plateau is at an altitude of 1000 m. Grasslands in montane areas extend to 4500 m in altitude but are mainly at lower latitudes.