Piospheres and Pastoralists: Vegetation and Degradation in Steppe Grasslands

The Mongolian plateau in East Asia is part of a new hotspot of land cover change. Recent human activity and natural forces have degraded grasslands in northern China with the southern Mongolia steppe similarly vulnerable. Investigating vegetation patterns at piospheres (the area around water points) can identify herder influence on pasture conditions. Through fieldwork and remote sensing this paper examines plant density and species richness at water sources to establish land cover patterns in two Mongolian provinces where overgrazing is thought to be the major cause of degradation. In contrast to standard piosphere patterns, vegetation was greater near water points and decreased with distance. This suggests that livestock are not concentrated at water points in Mongolia and that piosphere dynamics are more influenced by precipitation, edaphic factors and potential distinctive processes in cold drylands. It implies that pastoralism, with mobile livestock management, is a suitable adaptive strategy to the low forage capacity of steppe grasslands.