Spatiotemporal variation and coupling of grazing intensity and ecosystem based on four quadrant model on the Inner Mongolia

Scientific understanding of the coupling relationship between grazing activities and grassland ecosystem is an important foundation for protecting and improving the ecological quality of grassland. This study took the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Inner Mongolia) as the research area, systematically evaluated the grassland ecosystem and grazing intensity status in Inner Mongolia, and evaluated the ecological quality of Inner Mongolia county based on the four quadrant model. The results showed that: (1) The types of landscape patterns in Inner Mongolia were mainly grassland, forest, and desert. During the study period, the overall pattern of the landscape was stable, but problems such as urban expansion needed to be given more attention. (2) The areas with good grassland ecosystem carrying capacity were principally distributed in the eastern and southeastern Inner Mongolia, while the western Inner Mongolia and the northwest region of the Xilingol League were relatively low, and in the period 2000-2010 the ecological quality of the Inner Mongolia grassland in general belonged to the fair, middle level, but had been in a stable state and showed a good direction to improve the trend of ascension. (3) The grazing overload degree (GOD) in Inner Mongolia was significantly different in the region. GOD decreased from northeast to southwest in both periods. And most of the grassland stocking pressure was alleviated during 2000-2010. (4) The results of the four quadrant model analysis showed that there were obvious spatial differences in ecological quality in Inner Mongolia. And about 97% of the research area was located in the first, second, and fourth quadrants, with only 3% located in the third quadrant. From 2000 to 2010, the counties with nearly unchangeable and non-significantly worse accounted for 91.76% and 4.33%, respectively, indicating that the overall grassland ecosystem in Inner Mongolia remained stable and showed a slight improvement trend. This study can provide the necessary reference basis for the scientific formulation of grassland resources-related policies and plans and the promotion of grassland ecological protection in Inner Mongolia.

Automated summary

This study systematically evaluated the grassland ecosystem and grazing intensity status in Inner Mongolia and assessed the ecological quality of Inner Mongolia county using the four quadrant model. The results showed that the landscape of Inner Mongolia was mainly composed of grassland, forest, and desert, and was relatively stable, but urban expansion needed attention. The grassland ecosystem in Inner Mongolia had good carrying capacity in the east and southeast, but was relatively low in the west and northwest. Overall, the ecological quality of the Inner Mongolia grassland showed a stable state and a slight improvement trend.