This study was conducted in the Borana rangelands, southern Oromia, Ethiopia with the aim of
investigating land-use/cover changes, rangeland condition and indentifying major change drivers
in the rangelands. Satellite image scenes, ground survey and people’s perceptions were assessed
to identify changes on herbaceous and woody species composition. Ordination techniques were
used for correlation of grass and woody species into environmental variables. Piospheric effects
on vegetation composition around patch resources were also examined. These assessments were
designed to bring out both spatial and seasonal variation in vegetation parameters. Rangeland
condition was determined using the ecological index (EIM) and the weighted palatability composition (WPC) methods. Grazing capacity assessment was largely based on rain-use
efficiency, range condition, density of woody plants. Woody cover in the Borana increased from 11.3% in the 1970s to 49.26% in 2000s, while,
grassland cover declined from 58% to 32% during the same period. The cultivated/built up area
also increased gradually over the years though the extent of increment was less compared to the
woody cover changes. The calculated NDVI values for the 2000s were low relative to the 1970s.
Ground survey results demonstrated that herbaceous biomass production and woody plant
density varied significantly (P < 0.01) for the different sites in Borana. Nevertheless, herbaceous
plant diversity and evenness did not differ significantly (P>0.05) across the different sites and
around patch resource areas. This confirms the resilience of the Borana rangeland to the effects
of grazing pressure and climatic variability. Overall, the density of woody plants varied from
moderate to sever encroachment, which corresponds to the rangeland condition classes from very
poor to fair. The results of the present study showed that the nutrient contents of herbaceous plants (CP,
NDF, ADF, ADL and ash) were greatly influenced by species, stage of maturity, site and season.
Herbaceous species with high crude protein content based on laboratory results were also ranked
as the top important species by the pastoralists. Similarly, herbaceous forage species with a high
structural fiber were considered inferior. Pastoralists’ knowledge and laboratory results on the
nutritive value of key herbaceous species complemented each other.
The stocking density of livestock units was higher than the grazing capacity for the Borana
rangelands. Stocking density for the Borana rangeland using rain-use efficiency was 1.43
ha/TLU. There was no significant difference in the grazing capacity across the different sites in
the study area under the existing management.
The majority of pastoralists believed that the rangelands in Borana have been degraded, as
consequence of recurrent drought (83%), population pressure (65%), poor management and
inappropriate government policy (38%). The majority of the respondents (94%) also asserted that
the traditional coping mechanisms of Borana pastoralists have declined. There is therefore a need for designing appropriate pastoral land-use policies that fit the ecological potential of the region
to ensure sustainable ecosystem functioning. We suggest a comprehensive and adaptive range
management for the implementation of appropriate land-use systems for the different livestock
species. There is need to adjust stocking rates based on seasonal availability of forage. This
would foster economic feasibility and ecological sustainability of the Borana pastoral production
system. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Plant Production and Soil Science / Unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/32981 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Keba, Habtamu Teka |
| Contributors | Madakadze, I.C. (Ignacio Casper), Hassen, Abubeker, Angassa, A. |
| Publisher | University of Pretoria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | © 2013 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria |
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