The grassland farming system and sustainable agricultural development in China

Abstract Grassland is the largest terrestrial ecosystem in China, at about 39 280 × 10 4 ha and covers 41% of the total land area. Grasslands not only provide forage to feed livestock, but also play a critical role in alleviating many of the most challenging environmental and ecological problems that humankind is facing. About 90% of the total usable grassland in China has been degraded to various extents and this is the number one problem facing agricultural production, rural development and environmental improvement. Research on grassland degradation has been carried out since the early 1950s. Enormous achievements have been made and theory and a technical system for pastoral agriculture have been developed. This pastoral agriculture system is a well‐organized modern farming system including four production levels, that is, preplant, plant, animal and postbiotic levels, and is linked by three interfaces, including vegetation‐site, grassland‐animal and production‐management. The system capacity and productivity could be improved by system coupling. Since it emerged, this pastoral agriculture system has been established in various ecological regions in China and significant improvements in agricultural sustainability, farmer's income and environmental stability have been obtained. In the future, it will play a more critical role in developing sustainable agriculture in China.