Achievements Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station (IMGERS) is located in one of the most important regions in the typical temperate steppe zone of China. The research activities were launched at the beginning of 1950 s, and the region was comprehensively investigated from many fields by an investigation group of Inner Mongolia and Ningxia in the middle 1960 s. The investigated results were summarized in eight investigation volumes, including Vegetation of Inner Mongolia . According to an incomplete statistics, scientists of the research station have studied on the effects of major factors (including water, soil, climate, etc) on the structure and function of grassland ecosystems since the station was founded in 1979. For over twenty years, more than 1,200 papers have been published in academic journals or as book chapters, such as Acta Phytoecologica Sinica , Acta Botanica Sinica , Acta Agrestia Sinica , Acta Ecologica Sinica , which have been very influential in academic circles at home and abroad. Furthermore, IMGERS has published eight academic monographs and volumes, including Research on Grassland Ecosystems (volume 1^5), Research on Typical Steppe Ecosystem , Research on the Optimized Production Pattern of Grassland in Typical Steppe , Research on improvement of degraded grassland and establishment of artificial pasture , etc. We have also translated four books on introduced methods of research and the latest development of research from abroad including The Manual of Grassland Surveys , Methods of Research on Grassland Ecology , and Research on Grazing Design, Method and Analysis . IMGERS first successfully hosted the International Conference on Temperate Grasslands for the 21st Century in July, 1996. Over 80 delegates from more than 10 countries attended the conference, and 50 of them gave oral or poster presentations In addition, the station assisted Inner Mongolia University to hold International Symposium on Grassland Management in Mongolia Plateau in 1998. Following that, the station organized The Third World Academy of Sciences Symposium on Grassland Ecosystem Management in Mongolia Plateau , the second international conference that we hosted. The conference achieved great success. We have been awarded 11 times by CAS since the station was founded. Some of the awarded research accomplishments were listed in the appendix. The brief introduction of the recent ones are as follows: 1)Dynamic Characteristics of Chestnut Soil in Xilin River Basin of Inner Mongolia Through the integrated and systematic research, the results illustrated dynamic characteristics of water and nutrients in the chestnut soils, indicating the function of biological accumulation in soil formation, and put forward the viewpoint that the plant root had certain influences on the formation of calcium carbonate and calcium horizon of chestnut soils. 2) Physiological and ecological Characters of Plants and Communities in the Typical Steppe We studied the correlation between photosynthesis and productivity and all kinds of ecological factors from leaf, individual and population levels, systematically studied photosynthetic characters of plants and communities and revealed the photosynthetic processes of grassland plants. The results were of significance for developing new research fields in grassland ecology. 3 Demonstration and extension of restoring degraded grassland and establishment of artificial pastures This result is based on the long-time research about pasture screening, the characters of range ecology, and the artificial pasture establishment and management. At the same time, this research was integrated with the work of demonstration in large areas taken by the regional peasants and herdsmen. We have established 1,700,000 mu non-irrigated pasture with better quality and high-yields in Inner Mongolia and gained a direct economic benefit of 79,000,000 Rmb, which makes a good example for the north pastoral region, and demonstrates a remarkable economic, social ecological potential, provides an effective approach for the sustainable development of grassland animal husbandry. Consequently, this technological result has a bright application and extension perspectives. 4)Structure, function and population regulation mechanism of Inner Mongolia rodent community Based on the past fourteen year s research experience and data in the severely rodent-prevailing areas in the Inner Mongolian steppe, we have adopted quantitative analysis and conducted systematic research on the characters of the main types and community formation mechanisms of grassland rodent community, according to which we put forward scientific basis of classifying and nominating rodent community, not only promoting rodent community ecology research of our country, but also reaching to the levels of the international standards in respect to the depth and scope of the Research themes. The research reveals the relationship between the grassland soil moisture and the rodent community types as well as the important effect on the rodent structure; discovers the regulating mechanisms of the structure and the density on the rodent populations; puts forward the synergic successional principles generated under the disturbance and influence of grazing on the typical grassland soil moisture and the rodent community. At last we bring forward the pest-free sustainable ecological control strategy mainly taking into account of coordinating and regulating the structure of rodent community, which achieves the notable economic benefits. 5) Modern characteristic and the recent twenty years of dynamics of temperate grassland vegetation This research is concerned with the eighteen years of long time field research undertaken by the scientific staff from 1979, and is produced throughout systematic, comprehensive and synthetic research from different aspects of the Plant Ecology. The main innovative points are as follows: t obtained data of twenty-year s successive dynamic data about the organization, structure and production of grassland plant community in typical steppe areas for the first time; u made a systematic analysis of the data accumulated on typical steppe areas and setting forth the relationship between the ratio of aboveground productivity to belowground productivity of plant community and climatic factors the first time; v predicted the possible effect of climate change under the condition of atmospheric carbon dioxide enrichment on plant community productivity and the development of livestock breeding of the region in the future for the first time; w put forward a new theory, that is, different types of typical steppe under the influence of overgrazing tended to eventually become Artemisia frigida steppe for the first time. The application of the theory to the retrogressive succession establishes the foundation for deteriorated steppe monitoring in practice. The research result has important theoretic significance not only because it clarifies the characteristics and dynamics of the change of steppe vegetation under the common effect of the human activities and climate change, discovering the succession of grassland ecosystem, predicting the trend of climate change in future, utilizing and protecting grassland resources, and developing the sustainable intensification of livestock breeding, but also it provides a foundation for the institution of concrete technological measures of the grassland management and sustainable development. 6) Optimized grassland production and new livestock breeding techniques The result is accomplished mainly from the project of optimized production experiment. This is part of a project regarding the optimization of production systems and grassland animal management breeding (8511) of China's National Key Technologies R&D Program. The result takes on discussion related to the optimized grazing systems, the reasonable utilization of natural grassland resources, the improvement of degenerated grassland, the establishment of the artificial grassland, and the livestock breeding management etc. At the same time, we have made some progress on several crucial problems such as the development of animal husbandry in the area, which not only has the consultative value for overcoming different problems confronted by the grassland management and the relevant measures at present, but also has significance on the national macroscopic policy and the regional economic development. • Appendix the introduction of the part awarded project Project Time Personnel The first prize of natural science in CAS Research on grassland grasshopper ecology 1997 Kang Le Li Hongchang The second prize of natural science in CAS Research on Grassland Ecosystem (No. 1) 1987 Jiang Shu Dynamic Characteristics of Chestnut Soils in Xilin River Basin 1991 Li Shaoliang The third prize of natural science in CAS Physiological and ecological Characteristics of Plants and Communities in Inner Mongolia Typical Steppe 1993 Jiang Shu The structure and function of communities and population regulation mechanisms for the inner Mongolia rodents 1995 Zhou Qingqiang The Characteristics and Dynamics of Grassland Vegetation in the Recent Twenties Years 1998 Chen Zuozhong The Second Prize of Science & Technology Progress Award in CAS Vegetation of Inner Mongolia 1987 Wuang Yifeng Kong Dezhen Study on the new techniques and application of Microtus brandii control 1991 Zhong Wenqin The Third Prize of Science & Technology Progress Award in CAS Improvement of Degraded Grassland, Establishment of Artificial Pasture, and the Demonstration and Extension of Techniques on Enhancing Grassland Productivity 1995 Chen Zuozhong The Optimal Production Pattern and Application of Grassland Agricultural in Typical Steppe Region 1998 Chen Zuozhong