Socio-Economic Implications of the Forage Livestock Balance Policy

There are generally two kinds of rangeland dynamics models, range model and state-and-transition model, as the concept of livestock carrying capacity was not as useful as expected in non-equilibrium rangeland systems (Behnke and Abel 1996; Turner 1993), although the equilibrium and non-equilibrium ecosystems are not distinguished as different (Briske, Fuhlendorf et al. 2003). Based on range model theory, the Forage Livestock Balance Policy (FLBP) has been implemented for ten years in China. This policy has been trying to adjust the utilization of grasslands according to the assessed livestock carrying capacity (LCC). After ten years experience, this paper reports on the outcomes and effects of the policy