Haystacks on the grasslands are the winter material stored by herders to feed their livestock and ensure that their cattle and sheep survive the winter.

As the grasslands are conducive to the growth of grass, they have a high livestock carrying capacity and herders make haystacks in autumn to store winter rations for their horses, cattle and sheep.

A haystack is a long open pile or stack of hay (such as cereals, straw or hay), often covered with a thatched roof to protect it from moisture.

Haystacks in western pastures were used by foreign farmers as a way of storing material so that they could be easily transported by mechanised means and taken to barns for easy preservation in winter - a great way of preserving hay!

So what are the characteristics of grasslands?

The grassland climate is transitional between a desert climate and a humid climate.

It is characterized by low rainfall, mainly summer rainfall, and a dry climate that prevents tall trees from growing.

The steppe region has cold and long winters and short summers with not very high temperatures.

However, the long hours of sunshine throughout the year provide good thermal conditions for the growth of forage grasses.

Grasslands originally originated in a time of dry and cold global climate, the Cenozoic of the Earth, similar to the mangroves, deserts, and scrublands into which they are often mixed.

In fact, the grass family itself did not evolve until the early Cenozoic.

The date of the earliest appearance of grasslands varies from place to place.

In several areas, a range of vegetation types can be found in Cenozoic fossils, when the climate gradually changed.

For example, over the past 50 million years, the tropical rainforests of central Australia were successively replaced by mangroves, grasslands, and eventually deserts. u

In some places, the expansion of grasslands to near-modern sizes occurred only two million years ago during a period of extreme dryness and cold, known in the temperate north as the 'ice age'.

There is often a dynamic balance between grassland and associated vegetation types.

There are times when drought, fire, or intensive grazing favors grassland formation, while woody plants are favored when precipitation is more abundant and there are no other significant disturbances.

If the factors influencing the formation of vegetation types occur too frequently or if there are serious abrupt changes, this can lead to a shift in vegetation types across the region.

What are the main functions of grasslands

1. Water and soil conservation

The presence of grasslands reduces the direct impact of precipitation on the soil.

The well-developed root system of grassland plants can hold the soil in place, reduce soil erosion and protect the ecological environment downstream of rivers.

2. Wind and sand control

The presence of grassland plants can reduce soil exposure on the ground in arid and semi-arid areas, and their well-developed root systems can fix quicksand.

At the same time, grassland plants can reduce wind speed and play a role in wind protection.

3. Protecting and nurturing grassland plants and animals

The wild animals and plants on the grasslands have edible and medicinal values, providing material resources for the daily life and health of human beings.

And they are also an important biological gene pool, providing possibilities for the rejuvenation of livestock and cultivated plants and the prevention and control of diseases.

4. Production of biological products

To meet the needs of human material life.

Using grassland as the basic means of production, pastoralism can provide humans with large quantities of meat, hides, milk, wool, and down, improving human living conditions and enriching people's material life.