[Features of grassland resources and their classified management in Alatai region of Xinjiang].

Grassland degradation, an important problem in grassland management, has affected the sustainable development of animal husbandry in Alatai region of Xinjiang. Based on the analysis of the community features, ecological service value and multiple functions, and main function of grassland types in the regional development, the classified management for grassland was designed. The results showed that Alatai grassland could be divided into three sectors, i.e., ecological function region, economic function region and mixed function region. The ecological function region made up 164.66 x 10(4) hm2 or 16.73% of total Alatai grassland, and the grassland types included alpine meadow, alpine rangeland, swamp, mountain desert steppe, mountain steppe desert and part of plain desert. For the ecological function region, the main management strategy was to prohibit grazing and cropping. The economic function region of 116.33 x 10(4) hm2 accounted for 11.82% of the total Alatai grassland, the grassland types included mountain meadow, flat meadow and meadow steppe, and the main management strategy to enhance the productivity was agricultural measures, such as fertilization and irrigation. The mixed function region which included mountain steppe, plain desert steppe and most part of plain desert was 703.21 x 10(4) hm2 or 71.45% of total Alatai grassland, and the main management strategy was rotational grazing.