Pastoral nomadism dominates land use in Mongolia, yet increasing livestock numbers raise concerns about grazing pressure and rangeland degradation. This study presents the first palynological analysis of livestock dung from Central Mongolia to reconstruct diet composition and seasonal grazing patterns. Dung samples from sheep, goats, horses, and cattle/yaks were collected in steppe and river-meadow habitats across spring, summer, and autumn 2021 in the Orkhon Valley and the Tarvagatai region. Pollen assemblages were analysed using standard palynological methods and compared with multivariate statistics (PERMANOVA, PCoA) and Shannon diversity indices. Results show that season is the dominant driver of dung pollen composition (R 2 = 0.52), with spring diets dominated by Cyperaceae, summer diets by Amaranthaceae and Poaceae, and autumn diets by Artemisia . Livestock species and habitat exert significant but secondary effects, with small ruminants displaying higher dietary diversity than large grazers. These findings highlight the strong control of seasonal vegetation dynamics on livestock diets and demonstrate the value of dung pollen as a proxy for modern grazing ecology and palaeoecological reconstruction in pastoral landscapes.
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