Xilingol Station: A Grassland Sentinel

It is China's first long-term fixed-site research station for grassland ecosystems established in the temperate grassland region, situated in the Xilingol grassland in north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The cutting-edge Xilingol station is tasked with four major objectives, namely, observation, research, demonstration and service. Observation refers to the long term monitoring and data accumulation of water, soil, meteorological and biological elements of the grassland ecosystem, in order to reveal the long-term change pattern of typical grassland ecosystem in Xilingol.

Storing long-term observation data

The earliest soil sample in the Xilingol station's specimens bank dates back to 2000, while plant specimens such as single-flowered tulips collected in this area in 1979 are also stored for research.

Bai Yongfei, a researcher at the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IBCAS) and director of the Xilingol station, said a long-term historical record is indispensable for analyzing the change of the entire grassland ecosystem.

Taking grassland degradation as an example, it is globally acknowledged that the ecosystem structure and function of a grassland will only deteriorate when humankind overuses the grassland for 20 to 30 years, or even longer. Therefore, it will be difficult to know what changes have taken place in the past decades without long-term and regular monitoring data.

Long-term and scientific observation data is the basis for conducting ecological protection and restoration, Bai said, adding that their aim is for 100 years of data. In total, the Xilingol station has a soil and plant specimens bank covering 450 square meters, preserving 130,000 pieces of specimens from across the country.

Revitalizing grassland ecology

Another vital task of the station is research on ecological restoration technologies for degraded grasslands and demonstration areas for new technologies.

Wang Yang, an engineer of IBCAS and executive director of the station, said the station has established several experimental demonstration zones for comprehensive desertification control, restoration of degraded grasslands, rational utilization of natural pastures, and establishment of artificial grasslands.

It has conducted R&D on technologies such as wind erosion prevention and control in desertified grasslands, rotational mowing and fallowing of hayfields, rotational mowing and grazing of pastures, and comprehensive management of saline-alkali grasslands.

An experimental demonstration zone for restorating shrub-dominated grasslands was established 70 kilometers north of Xilinhot city. Over the past seven years, researchers at the Xilingol station have sought answers to three questions: what caused the shrub domination, whether the process can be reversed, and how to restore it.

Through continuous attempts, the researchers found effective ways to reverse the shrub domination. Shrubs are insensitive to water and fertilizer, whereas grasses absorb and utilize water and fertilizer quickly, Bai said, adding that the scientific increase of water irrigation and fertilizing can effectively promote the growth of grass and restrain the expansion of shrubs.

With ongoing intervention, the demonstration zone has grown abundant grass again. "We are currently compiling our findings on water and soil restoration techniques and conducting small-scale demonstrations. At the same time, we have proposed a 'high-intensity, short-cycle' grazing method to curb shrub growth," Bai said.

Offering a Chinese solution

Since its establishment in 1979, the Xilingol station has made several breakthroughs, which have been applied in many other grasslands.

For example, the technique of suspending grazing during the spring regrowth period is a conservation measure implemented during the critical growth phase of spring pastures. Its purpose is to allow the grassland to rest and recover, thereby promoting healthy regrowth of forage and the restoration of the grassland ecosystem.

This measure was first promoted by the Xilingol station, and has since been used in Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Qinghai province, and Xizang autonomous region.

In addition, achievements like the technical system for rational grassland utilization, combining enclosure and grazing moratorium with delayed grazing and zoned rotational grazing, have also effectively promoted the synergistic enhancement of grassland productivity and ecological functions. This has provided crucial scientific and technological support for the construction of China's northern ecological security barrier.

In recent years, several new modes of optimizing grazing ecosystem management, proposed by the Xilingol station, have been recognized internationally. In 2022, three degraded grassland restoration models from the Xilingol station — including the management of desertified grasslands, the establishment of perennial artificial grasslands and rotational mowing of hayfields — were selected as three of the 10 restoration good case studies from key vulnerable ecosystems in China, published by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Source: Science and Technology Daily