Herder household’s seasonal movement and plants used for grazing in Arkhangai Province, Mongolia

• Published in: Journal of Arid Land Studies Vol. 34; no. 2; pp. 53 - 64
• Main Authors: SUZUKI, Kohei, HOTTA, Ayumi, KONAGAYA, Yuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Association for Arid Land Studies 30.09.2024; 日本沙漠学会
• Subjects: Allium; Carex; indigenous knowledge; seasonal movement; vegetation; スゲ; ネギ; 伝統知; 季節移動; 植生
• ISSN: 0917-6985; 2189-1761
• DOI: 10.14976/jals.34.2_53

After the transition to a market economy in the early 1990s, there are concerns about pasture degradation due to a rapid increase of the number of livestock in Mongolia. Under such circumstances, it is needed to understand grazing patterns, such as where herders locate each seasonal camp and what plant species they value as forage plants in their daily grazing, and to use the information for maintaining the plant communities in good condition, which are essential for sustainable grazing. In this study, we aimed to obtain the information by interviewing a herder household in Arkhangai Province, where the number of livestock has been consistently high historically. Field surveys were conducted in August 2016 and February 2019 in Hotont soum (county). During the summer survey, we got the herder to accompany into summer, autumn, and winter camps, and interviewed on the sites. During the winter survey, we investigated the vegetation conditions around the winter camp and observed daily grazing. The distance between the summer camp and the winter camp were about 5 km, and the annual movement of the herder household was conducted within a small area. The summer camp was located on flat areas near a river dominated by Carex duriuscula and Elymus chinensis, and these plant species were valued as forage plants. On mountain slopes used as the autumn camp, Allium species were valued as forage plants. In the daily grazing areas around the winter camp, Carex species were abundant and considered as important forage plants. In existing ecological studies, C. duriuscula is often reported as an indicator of overgrazing. Sites originally dominated by Carex species, such as riversides and wet locations on mountain slopes, are valued as daily grazing sites, and such sites seem to be required a management focusing on reducing the dominance of Carex spp.