The Grasslands of Inner Mongolia: A Special Feature

Abstract

Grasslands of northern China are of great ecological, economic, and cultural importance (Kang et al. 2007). These immense grasslands cover 400 million ha or 40% of the land area of China and stretch 4 500 km northeast-southwest (lat 28 degreesN to lat 51 degreesN). They extend from the northeastern plains adjacent to Mongolia to the southern Tibetan Plateau and consist of four major types: meadow steppes, typical steppes, desert steppes, and alpine steppes (Sun 2005; Kang et al. 2007). Inner Mongolia has 87 million ha of natural grassland, which is a significant constituent of the Eurasian Steppe—the largest contiguous biome in the world (Li 1962, 1979; Wu and Loucks 1992). From east to west, meadow steppe, typical steppe, and desert steppe zones occur in response to the decreasing moisture gradient.