TY - JOUR
T1 - Cooperative management can mitigate trade-offs between livestock production and ecological functions to promote grassland sustainability
AU - Li, Shanshan
AU - Jiao, Jianxin
AU - Degen, A. Allan
AU - Wang, Wenyin
AU - Qi, Tianyun
AU - Huang, Mei
AU - Xu, Shixiao
AU - Shang, Zhanhuan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2024/8/15
Y1 - 2024/8/15
N2 - An increase in the population in pastoral regions and an improvement in living standards have increased livestock production; however, this has led, at least in part, to global grassland degradation. Consequently, the optimal pathway to mitigate trade-offs between livestock production and ecological functions of grassland is the key to achieve sustainable development in pastoral regions. Transformative adaptation is the recommended and feasible approach. However, most studies are not designed to determine which grassland management system addresses transformative adaptation and, therefore, do not provide options that can resolve the trade-offs. To fill this gap, we compared three grassland management systems, namely single, joint and cooperative. The grassland health index (GHI), data envelopment analysis (DEA), life cycle assessment (LCA), TOPSIS model and the multi-objective optimization model were employed to assess the productive and ecological benefits of the three systems. Cooperative management had the greatest comprehensive benefits when considering ecological functions, livestock production, carbon efficiency utilization and grassland area utilization efficiency, and had the greatest potential to achieve a balance between livestock production and ecological functions in the future.
AB - An increase in the population in pastoral regions and an improvement in living standards have increased livestock production; however, this has led, at least in part, to global grassland degradation. Consequently, the optimal pathway to mitigate trade-offs between livestock production and ecological functions of grassland is the key to achieve sustainable development in pastoral regions. Transformative adaptation is the recommended and feasible approach. However, most studies are not designed to determine which grassland management system addresses transformative adaptation and, therefore, do not provide options that can resolve the trade-offs. To fill this gap, we compared three grassland management systems, namely single, joint and cooperative. The grassland health index (GHI), data envelopment analysis (DEA), life cycle assessment (LCA), TOPSIS model and the multi-objective optimization model were employed to assess the productive and ecological benefits of the three systems. Cooperative management had the greatest comprehensive benefits when considering ecological functions, livestock production, carbon efficiency utilization and grassland area utilization efficiency, and had the greatest potential to achieve a balance between livestock production and ecological functions in the future.
KW - Grassland health
KW - Grassland management
KW - Grassland utilization efficiency
KW - Greenhouse gas emissions
KW - Livestock production
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85192109161&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.agee.2024.109057
DO - 10.1016/j.agee.2024.109057
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85192109161
SN - 0167-8809
VL - 370
JO - Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
JF - Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
M1 - 109057
ER -