Geomatics based study of yak rearing tracks of north-eastern Himalayan grasslands

Abstract

Hill people of north-east (NE) India (pastoral nomads) living in the remote mountains solely rely on high altitude pastures for their nutritional and livelihood security. They rear yaks under transhumance and utilize various pastures while migrating from low land winter pastures to high altitude alpine pastures during summer. Therefore, the temperate and alpine pastures are the major feed resources for the yaks. The indiscriminate use of pastures and impending climate change results in their degradation that may affect the productivity of the animals reared on them. In this study, an attempt was made to evaluate the status of pastures used for yak rearing in NE India and an initiative has been taken to test the adaptability of palatable high yielding temperate grasses for pasture development and rejuvenation.