Scientists from China and Germany Friday began their five-year, multi-disciplinary program on the changes in the biological environment of the Inner Mongolia Grassland in north China.

According to the program with a funding of nearly 3 million euros, experts from leading research organizations from the two countries will probe the causes of the degradation of the country's major grassland from soil, botanical, zoological, climatic, agronomic and other perspectives.

Han Xingguo, director of the Institute of Botany with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), said the experts plan to put forward proposals on rehabilitation of the grassland after five-year research ending in 2008.

The programs involve experts from CAS, China's biggest research institution, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chinese Agricultural University, Munich University of Technology, Kiel University and Dresden University of Technology.

Han said the global climate change is one of the major reasons behind the degradation of the grassland, but human factors, such as overgrazing, irrational management, changing grassland into farmland and the change of lifestyle of herdsmen, are the major factors.

They would submit proposals on rehabilitating the vegetation on the grassland to reverse the degradation, said the director.

(Xinhua News Agency May 22, 2004)