## 5 Conclusions  
We conducted a multi-year field experiment to investigate the effects of a fence enclosure on the improvement in quality and wellbeing of a heavily degraded temperate meadow steppe in Hulunbuir in northern China during 2006-2019. Our obtained results clearly show that the fence enclosure is an efficient restoration measure that not only promotes species diversity but also improves grassland productivity. Our obtained results also show that although a degraded grassland can recover steadily under the protection of a fenced enclosure, it takes at least five to seven consecutive years before the grassland vegetation reaches a somewhat stable condition in terms of plant health and productivity. These seemingly simple results have profound technical and policy implications for grassland management and livestock development in the region and beyond. First of all, our results send a clear warning message to the grassland communities and to the decision-makers that any optimism over the effects of degradation control programs executed recently across the region is likely premature and thus needs to be cautioned. Driven by strong market demand, the grasslands of Inner Mongolia have seen dramatic eco-environmental changes in recent decades. While the livelihood of the grassland communities has largely been improved, grassland degradation and desertification have become more and more prominent. Due to increasing numbers of livestock and changed land use from semi-nomadic systems to a sedentary system, size and productivity of typical steppes in the study region have substantially decreased [66]. In response, the government initiated and implemented a series of grassland restoration programs, such as the Natural Grassland Restoration Program and the Returning Grazing Land to Grassland Program [5]. Meanwhile, a range of policy reforms have been instituted since the beginning of the 21 st century, which included the Grassland Eco-compensation Program, the Farmer's Professional Cooperative Law, and so on. Preliminary satellite monitoring data suggested that these programs and institutions produced a significant and positive effect in mitigating degradation rate and accelerating grassland rehabilitation, especially in the pilot counties [18]. However, do these short-term gains necessarily lead to a long-term success? Our data contribute to the scientific understanding of this discussion by proving biophysical evidences on the grassland restoration process. Our experiments show that a degraded grassland has been very responsive to protection measures since the very beginning when grazing disturbances were removed. However, the protection measures need to be maintained and kept in place continuously for a duration of approximately 5-7 years before the grassland ecosystem begins to stabilize. Any improvements from shorter-period intervention measures will be short-lived, too. There is no doubt that the long-term goals of grassland conservation cannot be realized by short-term actions. Secondly, our experimental evidence also shows that the absence of grazing disturbances is by itself an effective grassland restoration measure. As such, any technical interventions that promote pastural following and mitigate overgrazing should be encouraged. These include, among others, desertification control [21; 67], grazing prohibition [5], grazing rotation [68], and artificial grassland plantation [7; 30]. Moreover, in order to meet increasing needs of livestock products, the pattern of rearing livestock in captivity, which relies on imported forage as a feed source and lessens the pressure on local grassland, should be further encouraged. In line with the feed demand, expansion of cultivated pasture establishments should be further facilitated [5; 18]. Thirdly, policy reforms and institutional changes are needed to provide guidance and support for technical interventions. On the one hand, institutional reforms to reinforce the long-term grassland use rights are needed.