In recent years,researchers have focused on the theory of agro-grassland system coupling.System coupling,however,usually occurs simultaneously with system discordance which results in imperfections in system operations.The discordance is mainly reflected in disharmony between livestock production and pasture development,and it can be regarded as a major factor in grassland degradation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.The total area of degraded grassland in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau is estimated to be approximately 4.0× 107 to 6.0× 107 ha.Under the irrational management of grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,the inverse relationship among sub-ecosystems further curbs development of animal husbandry,sustainable development of grasslands and social harmony.Utilization of the theory of ecosystem coupling in the grassland system will help us develop sustainable and effective grassland-agricultural ecosystems.In this article we propose a simple coupling model which could be used to relieve disharmony between livestock production and pasture development on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.Results of our study and practice demonstrate that it is effective with ecological rationality,economical feasibility and social acceptability to carry out coupled ago-grassland animal husbandry production systems within the farming-pastoral zone on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.