Economic valuation of rangelands in the north of Mexico: A study for its conservation

Aim of study: To estimate grazing fee and the economic value of the communal rangelands of two groups of ranchers. Area of study: Ejido Tanque de Arenas (ETA) and ejido Tanque de Dolores (ETD) in Catorce, San Luis Potosí, Mexico Material and methods: The contingent valuation method with referendum format was used to propose a grazing fee that would allow conservation and continuity in the use of the common resource. The field information was collected by interviews and was processed in the PASW Statistics 22 software NLOGIT Version 5.0. Main results: Perception of rangeland deterioration, age, size of the herd, and level of income are characteristics of ranchers that influence the willingness to pay. From the coefficient of rangeland of the region (24.2 ha/AU) a monthly grazing fee of USD 7.18 per animal was calculated. Research highlights: Estimation and payment of grazing fees are an alternative to avoid the deterioration of communal rangelands, without incurring land parcelization.

Short-term grazing exclusion impacts using brush packs on soil and grass layers in degraded communal rangelands of semi-arid South Africa and implications for restoration and pasture utilization

Brush packs from very thorny tree branches were used to simulate grazing exclosures to measure differences in herbaceous vegetation and soil characteristics over 2 years on small ungrazed plots and large continuously grazed communal rangelands on 3 semi-arid soil types [shallow, red stony ground (SRSG); shallow, dark sandy loam (SDSL); and deep, dark clay-loam (DCL)]. Pasture presentation yields within exclosures exceeded those on continuously grazed areas for all soil types by: 98% (SRSG), 128% (SDSL) and 152% (DCL). Herbage samples harvested from the exclosures contained higher acid detergent fiber (P≤0.001) and acid detergent lignin (P<0.05) concentrations than those from the grazed areas. In SRSG and SDSL soils, herbage samples harvested from the exclosures were deficient in phosphorus (P) for all livestock species. Depending on soil type(s), soil magnesium, organic carbon, nitrogen, P and manganese concentrations were significantly higher within exclosures than in continuously grazed areas (P≤0.05). Any response from nutrients supplied by leaf drop from the brush packs could not be separated from response due to absence of grazing, and this deserves further investigation. Our results indicate that grazing exclusion for short periods (2 years) on these semi-arid rangelands allowed pastures to produce significant growth, demonstrating that pastures were still productive. Our experiences highlighted the difficulties in erecting and retaining conventional fences to exclude livestock from given areas because of theft. Grazing immediately after vegetation recovery may necessitate judicious nutritional intervention with protein, energy and mineral supplementation to get effective utilization of the available forage.

Impact of grazing system on rangeland condition and grazing capacity in Zimbabwe

The influence of different land tenure and rangeland management systems on rangeland condition and livestock grazing capacity in African rangelands is not well documented. A rangeland condition assessment was carried out at 15 sites located in the communal grazing system, small-scale commercial grazing system and the large-scale commercial grazing system in Zimbabwe. Rangeland indicators assessed were: floristic composition, herbaceous biomass yield, shrub stem density and grazing capacity. Grass species composition and forage value were analysed using PROC FREQ procedure of SAS 9.3. Fisher’s exact test was performed to test for independence of the grass variables between grazing systems. A one-way ANOVA was used to test for significant differences (P < 0.05) in floristic composition, shrub stem density, herbaceous biomass yield and grazing capacity among the three grazing systems. It was observed that communal rangelands had significantly high levels of woody species, unpalatable wiry grass species, low biomass yield and were dominated by the invading shrub Helichyrsum kraussii compared with the other rangeland management systems. These results suggest that if control measures are not put in place, livestock production may not be feasible in communal rangelands in the near future because of high levels of rangeland deterioration when compared with the commercially managed rangelands. Furthermore, the observed high stem density of unpalatable woody species and the low grazing capacity of communal rangelands affect livestock production, a primary source of livelihood. This warrants a change in rangeland management system in favour of the rest-rotation grazing system, which is beneficial to both livestock and the range.