Conservation And Management Of Grassland Biodiversity In East Asia

East Asia has various types of grasslands, such as inland arid and semi-arid natural grasslands in China and Mongolia, and artificially managed semi-natural grasslands in wet monsoon areas like Japan. Diversified utilization and livestock farming are carried out on these grasslands. A variety of grasslands have been maintaining diversified organisms characteristic to grassland ecosystems. However, in those grasslands, irrespective of the types and areas, deterioration of the diversity of grassland organisms is going on. The causes of the decline in biodiversity differ, depending on the particular grassland in question. In the Chinese and Mongolian grasslands, overgrazing associated with retrogression and desertification due to increases in the human population and settlements has resulted in the decline and even extinction of some species of wildlife. In the wet monsoon areas, decreases in grassland area and insufficient management of grasslands due to the decline of livestock farming and the rural lifestyle have led to a deterioration of grassland biodiversity. Accordingly, there is an acute need for conservation and management of grassland biodiversity in these areas. Different grasslands require different strategies for the conservation and management of their biodiversity. This paper summarizes the present conservation issues in the grasslands and presents future prospects for the conservation and management of the grasslands in East Asia.