The researchers analyzed the grassland resources on the North Slope of Qilian Mountains. They found that in 2008, the total grassland area was 4.33 million hectares, with 3.91 million hectares being usable. The deteriorated grassland area was 3.32 million hectares, and the fresh grass yield was 5.651 billion kilograms. Different types of deteriorated grassland included desertification, pest damage, rodent damage, poisonous weeds, and salinization. The proportions of deteriorated grassland to total grassland area were 6.29%, 13.55%, 11.44%, 9.86%, and 1.32% respectively.