Exploration of the relationship between human activity and sustainable development on the alpine meadows of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: History, dilemma, and strategy

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which covers a vast area with harsh climate conditions and a fragile ecological environment, provides three ecosystem service functions: ecology, production, and life activities. Since the 1980s, the grassland production and ecosystem service capacities of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have gradually been weakened as a result of climate change and unreasonable human activities, and the dilemma of balancing between improving the local economy and protecting habitats has become the outstanding issue in the area. Therefore, what would be a win-win strategy? Do grassland protection and local economic development have equal opportunity for sustainable development on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau? Moreover, how can a balance between those two aspects be achieved in local sustainable development? Based on studies of previous physical and social science achievements, the following results were found: 1) The main controlling factors for vegetation succession on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are climate change and drastic geological events at a large spatiotemporal scale. 2) The history of a nomadic lifestyle on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau dates back to thousands of years, and the symbiotic relationship formed among herders, livestock, and alpine grasslands over time has been mutually beneficial. The reason for the coexistence of multiple alpine grassland types under the same geographical and climatic environment was altered grazing intensities, where those that exceeded the capacity of forage production would lead to pasture degradation. The reason for overgrazing was the incompatibility between productivity and human development. 3) The sustainable development of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau requires both reforms in management systems and scientific and technological innovation in animal husbandry production, as well as absorbing the essence of traditional grazing knowledge, increasing the level of production, and further diversifying the economy.