Impact of livestock management on water quality and streambank structure in a semi-arid,African ecosystem

Natural resource management may change local and regional ecosystems, especially in drought-prone environments. Livestock are commonly kept as a source of capital in agriculturally dominated communities in Southern Africa, but the mis-management of available forage and water resources has led to significant land and water degradation. In Northwest Zimbabwe, to reverse trends in environmental degradation a community-based conservation program was established that uses intensive Holistic Management Planned Grazing (HMPG) to restore lost habitat and re-establish natural vegetation. We examined riparian ecosystem structure and water quality to compare the environmental impact of this management to nearby communal lands during a drought. The results demonstrate that concentrating livestock on ephemeral stream standing pools results in reduced water quality and altered riparian ecosystem structure. These results were not significantly different from what was observed when wildlife utilized similar water resources without livestock influence. When water is scarce, as during extreme droughts, livestock usage of surface water resources must be weighted against community water needs. The long-term regional benefits of HMPG may prevail over short-term reductions in local water quality but more research is needed to assess all the consequences of such management.     

The Faxinal System: Forest fragmentation and soil degradation on the communal grazing land

The Brazilian faxinal is a traditional agrosilvopastoral system, which combines extensive grazing, subsistence cropping and low impact forest extraction, managed within a communal property system. Today it is at serious risk of disappearing due to increasing grazing pressure and logging activities that are leading to environmental problems such as forest fragmentation and soil degradation. The objectives of the study were to: a) evaluate soil physical degradation levels in different grazing areas within the faxinal system; and b) correlate soil degradation, fodder quantity and livestock dynamics in different pasture areas according to the household's location. Landscape mapping, vegetation surveys, and livestock grazing dynamics were assessed. In addition, soil physical parameters were evaluated for each land use (e.g., resistance, bulk density, porosity, moisture, and water infiltration rates). Results showed that livestock grazing and household locations are the main driving forces that lead to forest fragmentation. The household location creates three interrelated gradients in the communal grazing land: 1) soil physical degradation decreases from the pasture areas to araucaria forests; 2) fodder quantity decreases from pastures to araucaria forests; and 3) the livestock grazing intensity decreases from pastures to araucaria forests. In addition, some management practices to mitigate land degradation, including improvement of pastures, installation of removable troughs for drinking water in the upland areas and restriction of livestock from the riparian zone, have been proposed.     

Rangeland management impacts on the properties of clayey soils along grazing gradients in the semi-arid grassland biome of South Africa

The grassland biome of South Africa is a major resource for livestock farming; yet the soils of these rangelands are stressed differently by various management systems. The aim of this study was to investigate how basic soil properties respond to different management systems. For this purpose we sampled rangeland management systems under communal (continuous grazing), commercial (rotational grazing) and land reform (mixture of grazing systems) farming. Within each of these systems a grazing gradient was identified with decreasing grazing pressure with increasing distance to the water points. Results showed that communal farms with continuous grazing were generally depleted in the respective nutrient stocks. The depletion increased with rising grazing pressure. Along that line there was a breakdown of macroaggregates with losses of the C and N stored therein. However, the commercial farms also exhibited a decline of macroaggregates and their associated C content nearby the water points. Aggregate fractionation is a sensitive indicator for detecting the beginning of soil degradation in this biome; yet, degradation was less pronounced under the rotational grazing of the commercial farms than under communal property right conditions. Hence, soil analyses confirm that fences and appropriate grazing periods are needed to manage these rangelands sustainably.     

Soil degradation assessment in mixed farming systems of southern Africa: use of nutrient balance studies for participatory degradation monitoring

Soil degradation assessments for mixed farming systems of the Molopo Basin (North West Province, South Africa and Southern District, Botswana) are provided from farmer–based research, designed to quantify nutrient fluxes across the farming system and to analyze the social, economic, political and environmental factors affecting nutrient management practices. This paper discusses the practical difficulties of how to use participatory farmer–led studies to assess soil degradation extent and its causes, and of then disseminating this information to farming communities and policymakers. Nutrient balance studies show that land degradation is evident on arable fields as soil nutrient depletion (the main threat to poorer manure–reliant farmers) and soil acidification (the main threat to wealthier farmers who have become dependent on inorganic fertilizer additions). Integrated nutrient management strategies involving both compound fertilizer additions and regular manure inputs can mitigate most soil degradation even on the sandy infertile Kalahari soils, but remain infrequently practised. The need to retain nutrient flows through the livestock sector from rangeland to arable land is thus vital to environmental sustainability and offers an applicable entry point for agricultural development initiatives and support. Factors identified as threatening the flow of nutrients from rangelands to arable lands include policy settings in terms of the different support programmes offered to communal farmers, village–level extension advice, household poverty levels and labour constraints.     

Assessment of land degradation in Mediterranean forests and grazing lands using a landscape unit approach and the normalized difference vegetation index

Land managers need sound, evidence-based information about land degradation patterns and about the effectiveness of their management responses. Obtaining such information is particularly difficult in Mediterranean grazing lands and forests, where a long history of anthropogenic pressure, high topographical and climatic variability, and frequent disturbances combine to create a highly diverse and unstable environment.Our study aimed at designing a methodology to provide land managers in three data-scarce drylands in Spain, Greece, and Cyprus with spatially explicit, up-to-date information on the state of their land, the pressures driving land degradation, and the effectiveness of their management efforts using remotely sensed NDVI data. To translate NDVI values into a land degradation assessment, we analysed the variance of the annual average NDVI within different landscape units, which we identified based on land cover, aspect, and slope steepness parameters. After calibrating and validating the land degradation mapping methodology using field observations, we related the obtained land degradation patterns with spatial information about grazing and wildfire, as well as controlled grazing and afforestation practices.Our methodology proved useful to assess land degradation and management measures in dry, semi-natural ecosystems. It also provided insights into the role of landscape in modulating land degradation. Results indicate that grazing is a significant cause of land degradation even in partially abandoned areas; repeated fires have a negative impact; slope steepness increases the land's sensitivity to grazing; north- and east-facing slopes are less sensitive to fire in the long term than south- and west-facing slopes; and the effectiveness of responses to land degradation is substantially affected by land cover and topography.The methodology presented can be used to overcome the lack of spatially explicit information on the state of the land in drylands of the Mediterranean and beyond, or as a basis for more in-depth studies to plan restoration interventions.     

Spatial variability of selected soil properties in relation to land use and slope position in Gelana sub-watershed,Northern highlands of Ethiopia

Land degradation resulting from land-use changes and soil erosion has been a serious environmental problem in Ethiopia. This study addressed the effects of land use and slope position on soil physical and chemical properties in the Gelana sub-watershed, Northern highlands of Ethiopia. A total of 63 soil samples were collected and analyzed using a two-way ANOVA. Results showed that clay, soil pH, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, cation exchange capacity, and exchangeable base contents of the cultivated land were significantly (p < 0.001) lower than those of the forest land, while soil bulk density, available phosphorous, and percentage base saturation were higher for cultivated land than forest land. In general, soil fertility declines as land use changes from forest to grazing and cultivated lands. Sand, clay, bulk density, soil pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, carbon:nitrogen ratio, available phosphorous, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable cations, and percentage base saturation showed significant variation due to slope position differences. Therefore, the study reinforces the need for integrated watershed management for sustainable agricultural production in the study area.     

普兰县农牧结合潜力分析（英文）

农牧结合是高寒牧区放牧系统的一项重要的实践,具有实现农业和牲畜业可持续生产的重大潜力。然而,目前青藏高原的农牧业分离已经导致集约化农业、草地退化和饲料短缺的问题产生。因此,为探索高山放牧系统中农牧结合的潜力,本研究以中国普兰县为例,基于多数据源,分析了牧草生产潜力和牲畜产量,并从饲草供给角度评估了农牧结合的潜力。结果表明:普兰县可用于人工种草的潜在边际土地约560公顷,基本位于环境条件较好的普兰镇周边。而积温是牧草种植的主要环境限制因子,今后牧草种植应注重品种的抗寒性和生长周期,同时也要注意人工草地建立后的退化和沙化问题。另外,虽然2012–2016年普兰县牲畜数量明显下降,但高寒草地放牧牲畜数量依然高于农牧景观的牲畜放牧数量。该地区目前放牧牲畜数量一般维持在约11万只羊单位,而人工草地和作物秸秆能够提供约1.1万只羊单位的饲料,约占农牧景观中牲畜数量的一半。普兰县农牧结合可以适当补充放牧条件下牲畜饲料的缺额,尤其是在农牧区的普兰镇。本研究结果对未来牧草生产和发展农牧结合具有重要的指导意义。     

农牧交错带典型偏农区土地利用变化及其原因分析——以奈曼旗尧勒甸子村为例

中国北方农牧交错带东部农业以种植业为主。土地利用变化对农业的可持续发展具有深刻的影响。尧勒甸子村是农牧交错带典型的偏农区,50a来土地利用发生很大变化。其变化表现出明显的阶段性,20世纪80年代前后明显不同。本文主要分析了农业用地和沙漠化土地的变化,并从国家政策、土地产权制度、人口、牲畜、系统结构等方面的变化探讨了其土地利用变化的原因。     

Coastal dune conservation on an Irish commonage: community-based management or tragedy of the commons?

In Ireland 'commonage' refers to lands jointly owned by several individuals who have grazing rights. Commonage can provide the low-intensity grazing regime regarded as optimal for habitat conservation, and it is also unlikely to suffer the negative impacts of building development or coastal engineering. Today, however, the traditional control systems of coastal commonage are generally moribund, leading to habitat degradation. The only viable future management model is likely to be one based on local community control. Community management would have the legitimacy to counter the negative perceptions of external authority that generate environmental degradation.     

Environmental perceptions and practices of livestock keepers on the Namaqualand Commons challenge conventional rangeland management

In South Africa, interventions in communal rangelands proposed by most agriculture-sector institutions are still dominated by the belief that communal herders have little technical skills and by the tenets of “the tragedy of the Commons”, assuming that individual livestock keepers are selfish, norm free, and aiming at maximising short-term offtake and that there is no consistent management of the commons. In this study we show that practices of a diversity of livestock keepers on the Leliefontein Commons of Namaqualand are at odds with this viewpoint: access to rangeland and its use are structured by collective norms and concerns regarding both the sharing of resources and their long-term sustainability. We also show that part of the management of the commons relies on grazing practices which involve tacit and formalised technical knowledge that can be described and modelled. Livestock keepers assess the heterogeneity of the grazing quality of the commons. They are aware of the toxicity and unpalatability of some plants, of the way this differs according to the amount ingested and the availability of other forage, and of the variations of these two factors over seasons of grazing. They classify grazing areas and decide on daily grazing routes according to a complex set of criteria. Carrying capacity of each area is not considered as a fixed parameter but rather as a variable dependant on rainfall. Seasonal movements between areas are designed accordingly. These findings offer a new perspective for research agendas on technical models and extension measures for communal rangeland management particularly in arid and semi-arid areas.     

Land degradation is not a necessary outcome of communal pastoralism in arid Namibia

In Otjimbingwe, a region of arid south-central Namibia, human population densities are high and these communal pastoralists own large numbers of livestock. Such situations are commonly perceived to lead to the ‘tragedy of the commons'. This region lends itself to a comparison of the effects of communal and commercial farming (with private land ownership) because the communal area is completely surrounded by commercial farms. In spite of far higher stocking densities on the communal areas and the absence of an overall grazing strategy, we found no evidence of the ‘tragedy of the commons' on Otjimbingwe. Indeed, the communal areas did not differ in a number of soil and vegetation parameters from the commercial farms. These results point both to the resilience of arid environments to high stocking levels and the over-riding influence of abiotic variables on environmental quality.     

Alternative Economies of the Forest: Honey Production and Public Land Management in Northwest Florida

Within public lands across the United States, “natural” environments are given boundaries, subject to regulation, and managed for various uses. However, the effective and judicious management of these socionatural spaces for the greater good of both long-term sustainability and the mutual benefit of disparate stakeholders remains a challenge. One such stakeholder group includes forest-dependent communities, specifically, harvesters and producers of nontimber forest products (NTFPs). Relying on a case study of honey producers in rural northwest Florida, this article demonstrates how competing notions of forest management create tensions between local resource users and resource managers. NTFP research engages in timely discussions of diverse economic practices, resource politics, and issues of contested land use and access within a post-industrial context.     

陕北长城沿线地区1986-2000年沙漠化动态变化分析

 以毛乌素沙地的东南缘部分——陕北长城沿线地区为研究区,以1986—2000年沙漠化动态数据为依据,分析了陕北长城沿线20世纪80年代中期到2000年沙地变化情况。结果表明:该地区14 a来沙漠化土地减少735.1 km2,局部处于稳定的逆转过程,沙地逆转以半固定沙地和半流动沙地为主。但耕地、草地和林地沙漠化仍非常严重,而且新增沙漠化土地中极重度沙漠化土地所占比例较大。近14 a来,沙漠化逆转的原因主要是人类采取了一系列积极的治理沙地措施和国家政策导向。但是由于人口的增加,滥垦、滥牧和滥樵的继续存在,及大规模煤矿资源开发和治理保护的不相协调,致使土地仍在发生沙漠化。     

延津沙地农业生态系统建设与可持续发展

豫北延津沙地,原为半湿润区黄河故道的风沙化土地,属半湿润区旱地季节性荒漠生态系统,在强度的人类活动和干旱气候波动下,极易发生沙漠化。通过1988年以来进行的中低产田的综合开发治理,采用建设以井灌沟排的水利系统,提供了沙地有效水分;建立完善沙岗林地和林带防护系统,控制了区域风蚀沙化;实施沙地土壤的培肥系统,稳定增加沙土的有机质和矿物营养元素。还通过建设成片的果园经济林子系统,沙地农业种植子系统和草食畜牧业养殖子系统,以果、农、林地之比为3:4:3的结构,建立了110 hm²的沙地农业科技开发试验示范区,初步取得了治理开发黄河故道沙荒地的经验;通过12年的建设,已初步建立起沙地林果业生产系统,特色农业种植生产系统和草食畜牧业生产系统;从而构成了一个沙地农业生态系统。     

Biophysical and Spectral Characteristics of Cool- and Warm-Season Grasslands under Three Land Management Practices in Eastern Kansas

Grasslands are the largest of the Earth's four major vegetation types and are among the most agriculturally productive lands. Grassland management practices alter biophysical factors, such as plant species composition, soil structure and chemistry, and primary productivity. Large-scale changes in land management practices can have significant impacts on available natural resources, therefore impacting a regional socioeconomics. For these reasons, an improved understanding of the geographic distribution of changing land management practices and how these changes affect grassland biophysical characteristics of an area is critical to improve land use planning and practices. This study investigated the spectral characteristics, as measured using satellite remotelysensed data, of three land management practices [grazing, haying, and management under Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)] on areas dominated by cool- and warm-season grasslands. The satellite imagery was acquired in May, July, and September in 1997 over Douglas County, Kansas. Biomass, vegetation cover, and species richness data were collected around the satellite overflight periods. Our results indicate that the biophysical characteristics and spectral reflectances are significantly different among the three management practices over cool- and warm-season grasslands. Interestingly, sites grazed by livestock had the highest species richness and the highest forb cover, although the total cover is almost the same as the other practices, and they have the highest near-infrared reflectance throughout the growing season.     

Land reform and the new elite: Exclusion of the poor from communal land in Namaqualand, South Africa

The reserves and homelands across South Africa share a common history of policy interventions resulting in sedentarization, villagization and formalization of communal land use. In Namaqualand, such interventions culminated in the 1980s with attempts by the state and local vested interests to privatize the commons in the three largest Namaqualand reserves, including Leliefontein. This proposed privatization, although ostensibly aimed at averting land degradation and modernizing agricultural production, was as much about the apartheid state's broader strategy of co-option, and served to further long standing processes of class formation in the coloured communal areas of Namaqualand. In the post-apartheid period land reform has expanded the communal land-base in Namaqualand by over 25%. In spite of this, the management of the new commons in Leliefontein has many of the characteristics of land management policies imposed during apartheid. As a result, the new commons have effectively been arrogated by the same category of people who would have benefited under past privatization initiatives.This paper examines how the interests of a local elite have gained exclusive access to the new commonage farms. This has come about despite the government's commonage policy which privileges access by poorer, disadvantaged communal farmers. This case study uncovers the dynamic complexity of community driven land reform especially in relation to the roles of rural elites and their relationship to government institutions.     

Impact of land cover changes and topography on soil quality in the Kasso catchment,Bale Mountains of southeastern Ethiopia

This study assessed land cover change and topographic elevation on selected soil quality parameters in the Kasso catchment, southeastern Ethiopia. Twenty‐seven soil samples collected from 0–30cm depth under four land cover types across three elevation gradients were analysed for selected soil quality parameters. Results indicated that soil particle size distribution is different (p<0.001) in the catchment because of the effect of land cover change and elevation. Most cultivated lands occupy lower elevations where clay accumulates as a result of its movement from higher to lower elevations. Ploughing accentuates weathering, making cultivated lands richer in finer materials. Cation exchange capacity and exchangeable magnesium and potassium negatively correlated with elevation, total nitrogen and available phosphorous. Conversion of natural vegetation to cropland contributed to changes in pH (p<0.05), exchangeable calcium (p<0.01), potassium (p<0.001), available phosphorous (p<0.01) and nitrogen (p<0.01) contents. Parameter soil degradation index results showed that soil organic carbon, nitrogen, available phosphorous and exchangeable potassium contents declined and bulk density increased because of the land cover change. This negative effect on agricultural development and environmental health of the catchment makes an integrated land resource management approach indispensable for sustaining agricultural productivity and the environmental health of the Kasso catchment.     

Allocation of degraded hillsides to landless farmers and improved livelihoods in Tigray,Ethiopia

In the northern highlands of Ethiopia degraded hillsides have been allocated to landless farmers for tree planting since the mid-1990s. The authors assessed the effect of hillside plantations on the livelihoods of landless farmers in the eastern part of the Tigray Region by using transect walks, focus group discussions, and pretested questionnaires. A matched-pairs design was used to compare crop yields, livestock holdings per household, and household incomes to test the differences before and eight years after the intervention. In addition, regression analysis was used to capture variables influencing hillside management. The findings revealed that the plantations significantly increased crop yields, livestock holdings, and the household incomes of all beneficiaries. In addition, tree planting on degraded hillsides had a positive impact on the livelihoods of formerly landless farmers. However, moisture stress and free-ranging livestock were crucial problems. The findings are highly relevant in a conservation context because many existing or planned hillside allocations to landless farmers are located on degraded steep slopes that are unsuitable for crop production. Thus, replicating the practice to other areas with similar environment and problems would be worthwhile, although the management should focus on careful planning to avoid conflicts of interest between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries.     

Perceptions and realities of land degradation in arid Otjimbingwe, Namibia

We examined the perceptions and realities of land degradation in a communal ranching area, Otjimbingwe, in arid Namibia (in south-western Africa). It is commonly perceived that large-scale degradation of Otjimbingwe has occurred due to a mixture of improper pastoral practices and pressures induced by a high human population growth rate. We sought to determine whether the inhabitants perceived land degradation to have taken place and whether their perceptions were consistent with empirical data on environmental quality. Furthermore, we wished to determine whether these pastoralists had management strategies to help them withstand the harsh environmental conditions in which they live. All respondents in our surveys perceived that the environment had become degraded. The claimed source of this degradation, a decline in annual rainfall, is inconsistent with long-term rainfall records (there was neither change nor cyclicity in rainfall over time). There is also little evidence of a decline in plant cover and soil quality in spite of the very high stocking densities. No overall pastoral strategy exists in Otjimbingwe. Options for management are extremely limited due to a variety of external and internal pressures such as a high human population growth rate, high immigration into Otjimbingwe, restricted water availability due to dams constructed upstream, and limited movement opportunities for livestock in drought periods.     

Grazing effects on forb diversity and abundance in a honey mesquite parkland

Livestock grazing is the most common use of rangelands, and overgrazing by domestic livestock has stirred much debate concerning the continued use of public rangelands for livestock production. With the increase of wildlife-related enterprises on south Texas rangelands, there are little data available on the compatibility of livestock and wildlife management and in particular the effects of livestock grazing on plant communities in the semi-arid portions of the western South Texas Plains. The objective of this study was to compare forb diversity and density on rangelands subjected to various grazing under a high-intensity, low-frequency grazing system and nongrazed rangelands under controlled conditions. Four rangeland sites that were moderately grazed during the dormant season and 4 rangeland sites receiving long-term deferment from grazing were selected on the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area, Dimmit and La Salle Counties, Texas. Forb density was estimated with 20×50 cm² quadrats during early spring 2000 and 2001. Forb diversity was greatest on grazed sites. Important annuals such as hooker plantain (Plantago hookeriana) and Rough buttonweed (Diodia teres) were more prevalent on grazed sites. Lazy daisy (Aphanostephus spp.) was more frequently encountered on nongrazed sites. Golden dalea (Dalea aurea), a beneficial perennial, was more common on grazed sites. Long-term deferment from livestock grazing appears detrimental to forb communities. A high-intensity, low-frequency grazing system utilizing moderate stocking rates employed during the dormant season is recommended for enhancing forb diversity and abundance.