HOHHOT－Lu Shuping, a herdsman on the Xiliin Gol League grasslands, has kept his flock of sheep in its pen through April while the grasslands undergo a 45-day grazing moratorium to allow the grass to grow.

"I have reduced my flock to cope with the grazing ban. Compared with the past, although their number has declined, the quality of the flock has improved and the ecosystem gets better," said Lu, who lives in Sonid Right Banner, a county in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Lu owns around 467 hectares of pastureland, on which he raises 120 sheep. He prepared ample feed for his flock from early March so it could be sustained during the grazing moratorium.

As the largest area of grasslands in Inner Mongolia, the Xiliin Gol grasslands make up nearly 90 percent of the league's area.

According to the league authority, the area of this year's grazing ban is a new record, covering 16.7 million hectares and accounting for 92.4 percent of the grasslands.

Herdsmen are entitled to 16.5 yuan ($2.60) per hectare in ecological subsidies during the moratorium.

The league is being used as a pilot in Inner Mongolia for implementing a spring break in grazing for ecological rehabilitation.

Over 86,000 herding households have taken part in the moratorium since 2018.

In addition to the Xiliin Gol grasslands, more than 3.3 million hectares of grasslands in the city of Ordos underwent a three-month grazing moratorium.

Inner Mongolia spans the vast northern territory of China and is a vital ecological barrier in the country.

The vegetation, however, has come under threat from desertification and degradation due to overgrazing, drought and insufficient protection in the late 1990s.

Xinhua