Impacts on Wildlife Biodiversity
This work package will investigate the relationship between livestock-related land use (open range versus various degrees of enclosure) and wildlife biodiversity values, emphasising mammals and birds, several of which are of conservation concern, but including assessment of selected reptile and amphibian species. It will address questions of varying tolerances to human and livestock presence by large herbivores of the Tibet plateau - Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata), wild ass (Equus kiang) and Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni). The work package will also assess the interactions between enclosure-based livestock management and a variety of wild herbivores and predators, with particular attention to the question of whether small mammals such as pikas (Ochotona spp., primarily O. curzoniae) are causing rangeland degradation or enhancing rangeland quality.
The impact of livestock density and dispersion patterns will be assessed regarding their effects on the distribution and abundance of wild herbivores. The impact of varying degrees of enclosed rangeland on the distribution and abundance of the key wildlife species will also be assessed.
This work package will concentrate on the selected study areas where livestock husbandry is more intensive. This work will complement already ongoing Tibetan Plateau research in open rangeland at the margins of human settlement, where wildlife is generally most abundant. Wildlife will be monitored at each of the project’s proposed field sites, but it will be necessary to isolate the effects of livestock husbandry-associated activities from that of hunting.
The selection of appropriate species for monitoring will also vary between field sites. For example, the abundance of large predators is likely to be primarily determined by hunting before enclosure processes can have a significant influence. In this case, even in open range field sites, if there has previously been heavy hunting pressure, large wild predators are likely to be absent. On the other hand, where enclosure processes affect the populations of prey species, including small herbivores (e.g., pika), the abundance of small predators (mammal or bird) will also be influenced.
