The main natural disasters affecting grassland productivity in China

Grassland is the main composition of the terrestrial ecosystem. China is the second largest country with grassland resources in the world. However, grassland disasters occurred frequently within the last fifty years, which not only affected forage quality and yield, but also had a serious impact on livestock. Livestock, as an important part of the animal production level, is related to the vigor and production efficiency of the whole ecosystem. Currently, grassland agricultural ecosystem has been suffering from the deepest pressure throughout the biosphere. The paper analyzes the causes, distribution area, frequency of occurrence and development trend of four typical disasters in grassland including snow storms, cyclones, biological disasters(including rats, insects)and drought. Then, policy suggestions are recommended after drawing lessons from international grassland disaster strategies in combination with China’s national conditions.