The study looked at how grassland degradation in Qinghai province affects livestock production in other regions of China. They used a model to show that grassland area in Qinghai has been decreasing, leading to a small impact on other provinces. Livestock production in 30 provinces increased when grassland degradation occurred, with Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Ningxia seeing the biggest effects. Building natural reserves in Qinghai could help balance out these impacts and benefit both ecosystems and livestock grazing across regions.