Animal husbandry is of top importance in Tibet. In 2002, about 5.5 million head of cattle (including yak) and 17.3 million head of sheep were raised. Cattle and sheep, especially the yak, are the major meat and dairy sources for Tibetans and support a series of processing enterprises based on meat and by-products. In recent years, animal husbandry has prospered in Tibet. This has imposed great pressure on grasslands and has led to over-stocking and grassland degradation. Due to its high elevation and cool weather, most of the grasslands naturally produce low grass yield. According statistics, about 63.5% of the grassslands can only grow less than 750 kg/ha of grass. On average, 2 ha of grasslands is able to support one grazing sheep. A rapid increase in animal herds has worsened the situation. Increased soil erosion and desertification are becoming evident.

In order to revive those degraded grasslands and maintain a sustainable animal husbandry in Tibet, balanced fertilizer technology was introduced to Tibetan grasslands. It is found that fertilization has a remarkable effect on grassland revival (Table 1 and Fig. 1).

Table 1 Effect of fertilizer on reviving degraded grasslands in Tibet



Balanced application of fertilizers increased grass yield by 2.65 times compared to the CK (no fertilizer application). Nitrogen and potassium appear especially critical. After a one-time fertilization, the degraded grasslands was obviously improved (Fig. 1). Due to its significant effect, the local goverment is considering grassland fertilization on much larger areas in Tibet.


Fig. 1 Effect of fertilization on degraded grasslands
(the far background is not fertilized)