Grassland monitoring based on the 3S technology combined ground surveysa case of Huangnan and Hainan regions in Qinghai Province

The technological ways and process of grassland monitoring with the 3S technology combined ground surveys was intensitively analyzed in this paper based on a example in the grassland of Huangnan and Hainan in Qinghai Province. The ground biomass inversion model between observational data and MODISVegetationIndex was established with GPS positioning and grass yield in 2007. After the establishment of the livestock carrying capacity of the byproducts from factory and forestry using the information of crop production of wheat, barley, the forest land area etc, the total livestock carrying capacity and the overloading in the both regions was analyzed. The results showed that the overall carrying capacities were 3 028 200 and 3 862 500 sheep units, which overloading rates were as high as 67.48% and 125.65%, respectively, and the average overloading rates of the both were 96.57%. These indicate that the number of livestock should be reduce, or feeding intensity should be increase in the two areas to reduce the pressure on the local ecological carrying capacity. Furthermore, an opening and interactive website, Grassland Monitoring Website (GMW), should be produced. It is helpful to concern the concept of Greatest Rate of Overloading, and Average Rate of Overloading, to balance the both, and to implement to Grassland Law. It is also necessary to the sustainable development of grass industry, China's grassland ecoconstruction and restoration of grassland.