Title: Monitoring and assessmentof pastureland in Kyrgyzstan. A case study on pasture lands of the Jergetal and On-Archa local self government area, Naryn

The Naryn district is one of the largest pastoral regions in Kyrgyzstan with extensive pasture resources. Assessment of current pastureland condition was carried out in four community types with substantial grazing potential, namely Jergetal and On-Archa AO. The community types are meadow, meadow-steppe, steppe and semi-desert. About 40 sites were selected for data collection. The objective of the study was to assess the pasture potential of the four community types in the Jergetal and On-Archa AO. The sampling of the vegetation was conducted from May to September in 2009 and 2010. Biomass production was collected using standard 1 m² sampling plots and all vegetation clipped and separated into palatable and unpalatable parts. To gain a better understanding of pasture condition and compare the effect of grazing on biomass production two identical demonstration plots were fenced off and biomass compared to the adjacent grazed area. The mean biomass production was not different between community types and years (p>0.05). In 2009 there was high precipitation resulting in high biomass production within the four community types (1.3±0.44 t/ha). The biomass production between 2009 and 2010 was not significantly different (p>0.05). There was a significant difference observed in the palatable biomass (p<0.05). The meadow type vegetation cover was 95% in both years. In the steppe and semi-desert types, vegetation cover was different between years (48-57%). The vegetation cover within the fenced plots increased compared to the grazed controls and the vegetation composition changed. Furthermore, unpalatable species increased in the meadow vegetation type. The results underline the importance of a grazing plan and good pasture monitoring.