Collection and evaluation of forage germplasm indigenous to Mongolia

Abstract

Mongolian rangelands are biologically diverse and productive, and are ecologically similar to rangelands in the western U.S. Plant communities in Mongolia have evolved and adapted to sustained grazing pressure from wild and domesticated animals. Changing economic and social conditions in Mongolia and overgrazing are threatening plant diversity and range condition. Joint U.S./Mongolia plant collection trips were conducted in Mongolia during 1994, 1996, and 1998 to collect seeds of important forage species. The collecting teams traveled about 20,000 km and made more than 1,300 seed collections of grasses and forbs across the major ecological zones of Mongolia. These collections were equally shared, and the U.S. portion of the seed was incorporated into the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System. Subsequent projects funded through the Food For Progress (PL-480) Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service allowed evaluations of the seed collections for forage and conservation use at three sites in Mongolia. These evaluations identified the most promising indigenous forage species, which included: Agropyron cristatum, Allium species, Astragalus adsurgens, Bromus inermis, Elymus dahuricus, Elymus gmelini, Elymus sibiricus, Festuca lenensis, Hordeum bogdanii, Medicago falcata, Poa pratensis, Polygonum divaricatum, Psathyrostachys juncea, Puccinellia macranthera, Puccinellia tenuiflora, Stipa capillata, and Stipa krylovii. These species appear to have the greatest potential for use in Mongolia to revegetate abandoned wheat fields, restore deteriorated areas around villages, and rehabilitate areas disturbed by mining. A project through the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia is providing funding to increase seed of the most promising collections and make seed available for use by Mongolian herders and land managers. Besides the direct benefit of providing seeds for restoration and conservation efforts in Mongolia, knowledge gained from this work will be applicable to the possible use of these species for livestock and conservation purposes in the western U.S.

Parent Publication

• Rangelands of Central Asia: Proceedings of the Conference on Transformations, Issues, and Future Challenges

Citation

Johnson, Douglas A.; Jigjidsuren, Sodnomdarjaa; Sheehy, Dennis P.; Majerus, Mark E.; Winslow, Susan R.; Holzworth, Larry K. 2006. Collection and evaluation of forage germplasm indigenous to Mongolia. In: Bedunah, Donald J., McArthur, E. Durant, and Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria, comps. 2006. Rangelands of Central Asia: Proceedings of the Conference on Transformations, Issues, and Future Challenges. 2004 January 27; Salt Lake City, UT. Proceeding RMRS-P-39. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 50-61