## 1 Introduction  
The development of the grassland ecosystem, one of the most vulnerable ecosystems, has aroused a critical worldwide concern in recent decades [1; 2; 3], especially under the gradually consistent perception of global climate change. Grassland in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR) of China belongs to the Eurasian grassland habitat [4] and shows the second highest diversity of indigenous plants in the world [5]. Towards the beginning of the 21 st century, IMAR suffered great grassland degradation [6; 7]. Protecting the grassland's ecological environment and improving people's livelihoods are major governmental tasks. Recently, it also became an essential requirement for the Beautiful China Construction (BCC) initiative, which was initiatively planned by the 18 th Chinese National Congress in 2015. BCC is the blueprint for ecological civilization (a construction goal for Chinese government to emphasize harmony between humans and nature [8; 9]), of fundamental importance for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation and a Chinese practice of the 2030 UN sustainable development agenda. International grassland conservation and protection trials continuously contribute towards valuable experiences and knowledge of grassland ecosystems on a global scale. An example is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), developed by the US federal government. Through rental payment and voluntary participation, the CRP proved to be beneficial for the conservation of grassland, control of soil erosion and even wildlife habitat conservation [10]. The Chinese Government has also implemented a series of grassland conservation projects since 2000 [11; 12]. These projects are moving from macro-level planning towards local condition adaptation. The Beijing-Tianjin sandstorm source control project launched in 2000, targeted areas mainly located in the sandy and severely degraded dry grassland areas. Key measures included fencing, reseeding and the establishment of grazing bans. In 2003, the Returning Grazing Land to Grassland project was implemented which also focused on severely degraded grassland areas. Seasonal, semi-annual or year-round grazing suspension is implemented regionally. Since 2011, the Subsidy and Incentive System for Grassland Conservation (SISGC) was launched. This is the first all herder inclusive program for grassland conservation in China. Previous projects mainly focused on the degraded regions and provided a subsidy for those who sacrificed their benefits for local grassland conservation. The SISGC would also reward herders who maintain the balance of grassland carrying capacity and livestock, even in a good and undegraded grassland region. Herders switch from passively accepting the implementation of grassland ecological measures to actively carrying out grass-livestock balance and grazing prohibitions followed by corresponding rewards. This positive feedback chain would further enhance the cognition and consciousness of herdsmen and reduce the threat caused by overuse of grasslands under good precipitation conditions. The first round of SISGC was from 2011 to 2015 and consisted of four regulations. (1) For grasslands that are seriously degraded and not suitable for grazing, a grazing ban is implemented. Central government grants a subsidy to herders of 14.44 USD/ha (1 USD = 6.2284 CNY, in 2015). (2) A grass-livestock balancing reward: for other available grasslands which show a reasonable carrying capacity, and checked by local institutions, the central government will reward the herders who have not overloaded grazing with the standard 3.61 USD/ha. (3) Herders' productivity subsidy: the subsidies for the improvement of livestock variety and herders' production. This subsidy includes 80.28 USD per household for about 2 million herdsmen in eight provinces and autonomous regions. (4) A performance appraisal regulation to improve verification mechanisms. The second round of SISGC started in 2016.