ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Ecol. Evol.
Sec. Conservation and Restoration Ecology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fevo.2025.1526099
Research on the Spatial Characterization of Herder Grazing Intensity Supported by Mobile Phone Signaling
Provisionally accepted
- 1Qinghai University Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine /Qinghai Academy of Animal and Veterinary Science, Qinghai, China
- 2Qinghai Provincial Natural Resources Survey and Monitoring Institute, Qinghai, China
- 3Geomatics Technology and Application Key Laboratory of Qinghai Province, Qinghai, China
- 4College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Qinghai, China
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Mobile phone signaling data have become one of the main types of data used to carry out spatial mobility analysis, but no research has used mobile phone signaling data to estimate the grazing intensity of herders. Based on herders' mobile phone signaling data, this paper takes the grassland growth period as the research time series and relies on the inverse distance weight interpolation method to establish the centrality of herders' network and the intensity of herders' network connection to comprehensively evaluate and reflect the grazing intensity of herders, with empirical analyses conducted in Henan Mongolian Autonomous County. The findings indicate that 1) herders' mobile phone signaling data can quantitatively represent grazing intensity, and when combined with the density and elevation distribution of settlements in Henan County, the spatial distribution of grazing intensity aligns with the trajectory of herders' summer grazing activities. 2) The spatial characteristics of the centrality of the herders' mobility network exhibited a concentrated point-like ring structure, primarily centered on the townships of Duosong and Youganning, with a decreasing spread outward. 3) The spatial characteristics of the intensity of herders' mobility ties showed a circular distribution for the overall degree of network ties, which was characterized primarily by low ties. The intensity of mobility links among townships was low, with higher intensity observed only at the junctions of townships, indicating limited mobility among herders in Henan County regarding their herding behavior. 4) The grazing intensity of herders in Henan County was characterized primarily by light grazing. This research provides a description of grazing intensity in a large-scale spatial domain, provides a relatively convenient and rapid method for the study of grazing intensity, and can improve the management of smart animal husbandry.
Keywords: Mobile phone signaling data, Network centrality, network connection intensity, Grazing intensity, Spatial characterization
Received: 17 Nov 2024; Accepted: 06 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qiao, Zheng, Li, Dong, Zhang, Yu and Quan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Quanming Dong, Qinghai University Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine /Qinghai Academy of Animal and Veterinary Science, Qinghai, China
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