Modeling the spatial distribution of grazing intensity in Kazakhstan.

ABSTRACT: With increasing affluence in many developing countries, the demand for livestock products is rising and the increasing feed requirement contributes to pressure on land resources for food and energy production. However, there is currently a knowledge gap in our ability to assess the extent and intensity of the utilization of land by livestock, which is the single largest land use in the world. We developed a spatial model that combines fine-scale livestock numbers with their associated energy requirements to distribute livestock grazing demand onto a map of energy supply, with the aim of estimating where and to what degree pasture is being utilized. We applied our model to Kazakhstan, which contains large grassland areas that historically have been used for extensive livestock production bu

SUBMITTER: Hankerson BR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6329506 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature