Nomads’ perceptions of grassland in Töv Province, central Mongolia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to verify nomadic perceptions of grasslands, which are based on a view of nature held by the people who use these lands. According to our survey, the nomads believed that if the grasslands that are in poor condition were to be abandoned, the number of species and the amount of grass would increase. However, artificial environmental changes that have greatly exceeded nature’s resilience have been carried out, and the grasslands cannot recover naturally, as predicted by the nomads’ understanding. The vegetation ecosystem of abandoned cultivated land has irreversibly shifted to another state so, even if recovery by vegetation succession were to occur, the original grassland would not return. All the nomads had basically hoped to restore a degraded grassland, although some were concerned about the financial burden this would entail. Hence, the development of inexpensive and effective restoration methods for abandoned agricultural land is an urgent issue for the nomads. To consider sustainable grassland usage from multiple perspectives, it will be necessary to continue discussions that include the values of all stakeholders who are using agricultural land.