Current status and future prospects of Zoige Marsh in Eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Zoige Marsh, located in the Northeastern Qianghai-Tibet Plateau, is the largest highland marsh in the world. The marsh is one of the hotspots for biodiversity, harboring many endemic and endangered species, including Grus nigricollis, the only plateau crane. Zoige Marsh has a large area of high-quality grasslands, serving as the fifth largest livestock base in China, and it is also the major water source to the headstream of the Yellow River. However, due to global warming and unwise use of the marsh resources, including ditching for grassland enlargement, peat exploitation, and livestock grazing, since the 1970s, Zoige Marsh has suffered severe ecosystem degradations such as vegetation recessive succession, biodiversity loss, soil deterioration, and rodent disasters. It is therefore imperative to restore the damaged marsh. We propose in this paper that ecological engineering and livestock population control must be taken as measures for ecological restoration and biodiversity protection.