Researchers studied degraded grassland in Inner Mongolia to see how different plant populations responded to grazing over 6 years. They found that plants with different ways of reproducing reacted differently to grazing levels. Some grasses were better suited for heavy grazing, while others thrived with light or medium grazing. As stocking rates increased, the community composition changed, with short-grasses decreasing. Ultimately, the degraded grassland shifted from being dominated by Artemisia frigida and short-grasses to Potentilla acaulis. Light grazing helped maintain the grassland or even improve it by increasing the proportion of grasses.