Assessment of vegetation response to grazing management in arid rangelands of southern Tunisia

Gamoun, Mouldi; Patton, Bob D.; Hanchi, Belgacem

doi:10.1080/21513732.2014.998284

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(47 reference statements)

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“…Le Houérou () suggested that the RUE was below 1 kg DM ha −1 mm −1 in degraded rangelands. This finding has been recently reviewed by many studies showing that protection and moderate grazing may increase rangeland productivity (Gamoun et al, ; Gamoun, , ; Gamoun et al, ). While under average rainfall condition, defoliation increased RUE in long‐term lightly, but not heavily, grazed treatment (Varnamkhasti et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Rain Use Efficiency, Primary Production and Rainfall Relationships in Desert Rangelands of Tunisia

Gamoun

2015

Land Degrad Dev

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Desert rangelands are characterised by low and highly variable rainfall regime, low forage production and high heterogeneity in the distribution of natural resources. This study was carried out in the desert rangelands of Tunisia to evaluate the response of different rangelands to annual rainfall in terms of aboveground net primary production (ANPP) and rain use efficiency over a 10‐year period (2003–2012). In general, ANPP values were relatively low (123 kg DM ha−1 y−1) but would tend to increase with increasing annual rainfall for all rangeland types. The highest value of ANPP was observed from Stipagrostis pungens and Hammada shmittiana communities (sandy‐soil) during the wet year 2011. In contrast, rain use efficiency tends to decline with the highest annual rainfall and varies among rangeland types and with an average of 1·9 kg DM ha−1 mm−1 y−1. Rain use efficiency tended to be higher during dry years and lower during wet years and tended to be higher on S. pungens and H. shmittiana (sandy‐soils) and lower on Helianthemum kahiricum (loamy soils). Therefore, understanding how rainfall affects productivity in rangelands is critical for predicting the impact of land degradation on the functioning of these ecosystems. It can be used to explain production decline associated with desertification as well as to assess rangeland conditions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Rain Use Efficiency, Primary Production and Rainfall Relationships in Desert Rangelands of Tunisia

Gamoun

2015

Land Degrad Dev

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“…Numerous species of ephemeral and annual appear after rains, complete their life cycle in a short duration and vanish. These species, as well important in nutritional contribution also decrease grazing pressure on palatable perennial browse species (Gamoun et al, 2015).…”

Section: Palatability Classification Of Browsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of Forage Productivity, Carrying Capacity and Palatability of Browse Vegetation in Arid Rangelands of Cholistan Desert (Pakistan)

Abdullah¹

2017

Appl. Ecol. Env. Res.

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The browse vegetation in Cholistan rangelands of Pakistan have been on decline due to climatic extremes, overgrazing and anthropogenic pressure. Study area is hot arid desert where vegetation grow after rainfall but over grazing, extreme weather, and local comunity pressure for fire wood, timber, and harvesting of plants for varius purposes causing the decline of browse species. Therefore, a study was carried to investigate forage productivity, carrying capacity and palatability of browses. Multiple surveys were conducted from 2011-2012 at twenty range stands and 25 browse species belonging to 12 families were identified. Results revealed that browse productivity was high (8029.1 kg/ha) in wet season as compared to dry season (5422.9 kg/ha), correspondingly carrying capacity was high during wet season (16 ha/AU/Y) than dry season (24 ha/AU/Y). Moreover, during dry season, mostly stands were observed to be overgrazed while in wet season maximum stands were moderately grazed. High carrying capacity and good grazing status of stands in wet season was due to better forage production. Based on palatability classification, 22 species were found to have palatability to varying degree and 3 species were nonpalatable. In palatable species, leaves of 14 species; shoot/stem of 13 species, flower of 4 species, and fruit of 3 species were grazed by livestock, whereas cattle were observed to graze on 7 species; goat and sheep like 10 species each while camel prefer 20 species. The findings of this study indicate that overall the browse productivity of Cholistan rangelands was low and vary according to seasonal rainfall. Therefore, protection, suitable stocking rate and planned grazing is vital to conserve browses ultimately for sustainability of Cholistan rangelands.

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“…In fact, most rangeland improvement projects in southern Tunisia are using the resting technique (locally known as Gdel or Hima) to restore degraded arid rangelands [14]. This technique is considered by many authors among the most cost-effective restoration practices [7,14,15]. Under the Hima system, the grazing land is protected by the local pastoral communities from livestock grazing and wood harvesting for a certain period of time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rangeland Biodiversity and Climate Variability: Supporting the Need for Flexible Grazing Management

et al. 2021

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Resting or grazing exclusion is an effective practice widely adopted to restore degraded, arid rangelands. To understand its effect on plant diversity, we studied Hill’s diversity indices during two growing seasons (2017–2019). The experiment consisted of a three-level factorial design with four plant communities subjected to different resting durations (one, two, and three years) compared to continuously grazed areas (control). The results showed that rainfall plays an important role in arid rangeland restoration. Under favorable conditions, one-year grazing exclusion considerably enhanced species richness and evenness diversity compared to longer resting durations under dry to average rainfall conditions. The decision to how long livestock grazing exclusion would last should not be decided upfront as it depends on the climatic and the site-specific conditions. The findings of this study will have vital management implications for development agencies. Knowing that short grazing exclusion with adequate rainfall amount and distribution could be enough and offers a cost-effective technical option to ensure the sustainable restoration of arid rangeland. This flexible grazing management would also be more acceptable by the pastoral communities. Longer resting periods could have detrimental effects on arid rangeland vegetation, in addition to adding more pressure on the remaining rangeland areas open to grazing.

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Assessment of vegetation response to grazing management in arid rangelands of southern Tunisia

Cited by 17 publications

References 44 publications

Rain Use Efficiency, Primary Production and Rainfall Relationships in Desert Rangelands of Tunisia

Rain Use Efficiency, Primary Production and Rainfall Relationships in Desert Rangelands of Tunisia

Determination of Forage Productivity, Carrying Capacity and Palatability of Browse Vegetation in Arid Rangelands of Cholistan Desert (Pakistan)

Rangeland Biodiversity and Climate Variability: Supporting the Need for Flexible Grazing Management

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