Lincoln on the Tibetan Plateau

19 November 2015

Lincoln on the Tibetan Plateau

There may be a shortage of Yaks in the New Zealand high country but Lincoln University experts will be using data from there to better understand grasslands in the shadow of the Himalayas.

A multi-disciplinary team of Lincoln University scientists, along with a colleague from AgResearch, have recently been awarded funding to conduct a crucial ‘Sustainable Grasslands’ research program on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

The team, which includes animal and plant scientists, agribusiness experts and an agronomist, is led by Lincoln University Soil Scientist Dr Jim Moir, and is investigating how nutrients cycle on the farms of the high altitude plateau. Comparisons will be made between New Zealand and Tibetan high altitude grasslands.

In particular, the researchers will examine soil fertility and the abundance of pasture legumes.

“The aim is to gain a better understanding of how these complex ecosystems function and to improve the long-term sustainability of this enormous area of natural grazed grasslands,” Dr Moir says.

The project is jointly funded by the New Zealand (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) and Chinese (Ministry of Science and Technology) governments, until 2018.

Researchers have recently returned from fieldwork in Tibet and while on the plateau the team surveyed pastures and selected field sites for trial establishment in the coming months.

Several Tibetan farming families were also interviewed to gain a better understanding of the complex farming systems there and experiments will start in early 2016.

Team members include Plant Scientist Dr Al Black, Animal Scientist Dr Racheal Bryant, Sharon Lucock from Agribusiness Management and Professor Keith Woodford of Agri-food Systems, all from Lincoln University, and Dr Phil Rolston, an Agronomist from AgResearch in Lincoln.

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