1. Estimating carrying capacity and stocking rates of rangelands in Harshin District, Eastern Somali Region, Ethiopia
- Author
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Muhyadin Moahmmed, Dahir Yosuf, and Derege Tsegaye Meshesha
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,grazing land ,stocking rates ,Forage ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Grazing pressure ,Shrubland ,03 medical and health sciences ,Stocking ,lcsh:QH540-549.5 ,Grazing ,carrying capacity ,Overgrazing ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,tropical livestock unit ,030304 developmental biology ,Nature and Landscape Conservation ,Original Research ,0303 health sciences ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Ecology ,forage biomass ,Agronomy ,Land degradation ,Environmental science ,lcsh:Ecology ,Rangeland - Abstract
We conducted a quantitative assessment of forage biomass in Harshin district to determine its annual productive potential, carrying capacity, and stocking rates. The dominant Land Use and Land Cover include woodland (35.5%), shrubs (28.3%), grassland (10.6%), and bare land (25.5%). The region has browse‐rich shrubland that is edible to dromedary and goats, as well as massive grassland plains for sheep and cattle. The interannual rainfall variation is 16.5% which implies that the rangeland is a subsistence equilibrium system. The range of forage production is between 105 and 2,310 kg/ha, whereas the average productivity of the district is 742.6 kg/ha. The result indicates that the average carrying capacity of the district is 0.3 TLU ha−1 year−1 (4.9 ha TLU−1 year−1) while the existing stocking rate is 5.4 TLU ha−1 year−1 (0.18 ha TLU−1 year−1). This implies that the grazing intensity in the district is much higher than its carrying capacity (recommended rate), which has seen overstocking or grazing pressure excesses of 5.1 TLU/ha (7.2 cattle/ha). Thus, it clearly signals the risk of overgrazing in the district. If this trend continues, the grazing will not be sustainable and there will be shortage of forage as well as expansion of land degradation (due to overgrazing) in the near future., (a) Carrying capacity and stocking rate of Harshin. (b) Measuring forage biomass of Harshin.
- Published
- 2019