Vegetation characteristics of pastoralist households’ pastures at different economic levels were quantiifed to compare the grassland conditions in Sunite Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, China in 2011 and 2012. The results showed that the heights of Stipa klemenzis and Cleistogenes songorica were similar among economic treatments. And the height of Allium polyrhizm had no signiifcant differences between high-economic-level （HEL） and low-economic-level （LEL） treatments. There were no signiifcant difference among treatments in the canopy cover of C. songorica. The densities of dominant species （S. klemenzis, C. songorica and A. polyrhizm） were signiifcantly similar among treatments. Aboveground community biomass in reference area （CK） was higher than that in other three treatments in 2011, but their biomass showed no signiifcant difference among three economic treatments;for 2012, biomass in HEL was higher than low-economic-level treatment （LEL）, while the biomass in middle-economic-level treatment （MEL） and CK was similar to that in HEL and LEL, respectively. Aboveground biomass of S. klemenzis and C. songorica was similar among treatments in both 2011 and 2012. Biomass of A. polyrhizum had no signiifcant difference between HEL and MEL. Households of LEL had rented out excess lands and those of HEL had leased their available lands thus resulting uniform utilization and convergence of pastoralist households’ pastures across all economic levels.
[Objective] The aim was to review on vulnerability evaluation of grassland ecosystem under climate change.[Method] In the research,vulnerability evaluation methods of ecosystem under climate changes,at home and abroad,and the related cases and research progress in China were reviewed.In addition,the future of evaluation research was predicted.[Result] Ecosystem vulnerability to climate change is an important part of climate change research.It is necessary and urgent to improve evaluation methods and reduce uncertainty of future vulnerability evaluation to make evaluation more comprehensive and objective.Furthermore,evaluation on effects of human activity on natural ecosystem vulnerability should be highlighted.[Conclusion] The research provided reference for establishment of a new management model for ecosystem adaptability to climate and sustainable development of grasslands in northern China.
