TOPI

C4.
RANGEANDRANGELANDMANAGEMENT.

Gener
alobj
ect
ives.

Byt
heendoft
hist
opi
c,t
het
rai
neesshoul
dbeabl
eto:

i
. Compr
ehendt
hef
eat
uresofar
angel
andecosy
stem.

i
i
. Descr
ibet
hei
mpor
tanceofpr
opermanagementofr
anger
esour
ces.

i
i
i. Pr
act
icedr
oughtmanagementst
rat
egi
es.

i
v. Descr
ibet
hemet
hodsofr
angel
andi
mpr
ovement
.

I
ntr
oduct
ion.

Rangel
andsbydefi
nit
ionar
eext
ensi
vear
eaoflandt
hati
soccupi
edbynat
ivev
eget
ati
on
whichi
sgrazedbydomesti
candwil
dher
biv
ores.

RangeManagement-
thi
sistheuseofgrazi
nglandtoensureconsi
stentl
i
vest
ock
product
ionandt
hesametimeconserv
er angeresour
ces.

Rangesci
ence-i
tisanorgani
zedbodyofknowl
edgeuponwhi
chr
angel
and
managementisbased.

Nati
vevegetat
ion-Veget
ati
ont
hati
snoti
ntroducedtoanareabyhuman.I
tnat
ural
l
y
occur
sthereandcanbeonbybothwil
dli
feandlivest
ock.

Thekeyobj ecti
veofrangel
andknowledgeistoappreci
atethattheecosystem donot
onl
yf avorwildher
bivor
esbutalsocanbemani pul
atedforli
vestockproducti
on.
Ther
ef orer
angemanagementi sthemani pul
ati
onofnaturalr
esour cesi
nthemost
envi
ronment all
ysui
tablemannertoenhanceproducti
vi
tyofrangelandsandlivest
ock.

Rangel
andsoccupyabout50%oft
hewor
ld’
sar
ea.

I
nKenyarangel
andscover75%oftot
allandarea.63%oft
hecount
ry’
snat
ional
par
ks
andpr
otect
edareasar
elocatedi
nrangelands.

I
nKeny arangelandsoccupymostl
ythear
idandsemiar
idar
easbei
ngfoundinvar
ious
par
ts.Theseincludethenort
heast
ernpar
tsofkeny
aandsomedr i
erpar
tsofther
ift
val
l
ey.Suchar easare:

 Mander
a.

 Waj
i
r.
  Mar
sabi
t.

 Tur
kana.

 I
siol
o.

 Sambur
u.

 Bar
ingo.

 Tai
taTav
eta.

 Lamu.

 Lai
ki
pia.

Gener
alf
eat
uresofRangel
ands.

1.Rangel
andsoi
l
s.

 Theyareli
ght
,inf
ert
il
e,loworgani
cmat t
er,
lowmoistur
econt
enthenceare
i
nfer
ti
le.Thedi
stri
buti
onoftheseplant
sisdeter
minedbysoi
lpr
operti
esand
spoi
lcli
mate.

 Soi
l
sar
epoor
lydev
eloped,
most
lyexposedt
osoi
ler
osi
on.

 Duet
oinf
ert
il
it
yar
enotr
ecommendedf
orcr
oppr
oduct
ion.

2.RangeVeget
ati
on.

 Most
lynat
iveandgr
assesar
emor
edomi
nant
.Ot
her
sar
efor
bsandshr
ubs.

 Di
cot
yledonouspl
ant
sfoundar
esui
tabl
eforgr
azi
ngandbr
owsi
ng.

 Somear
easar
einhabi
tedbyt
reeswhi
chmakewoodl
ands.

3.Cl
i
mat
e.

 Rai
nfal
li
sal
way
slesst
han450mm pery
ear
.

 Temper
atur
esexper
iencedar
ehi
gh(
40ᵒ
c).

 Ev
apot
ranspi
rat
ioni
susual
l
yhi
ghexceedi
ng2000mm pery
ear
.

 Humidi
tycondi
ti
onsar
eusual
l
ygr
eat
lycont
ri
but
edbyt
hehi
ght
emper
atur
esi
n
t
herangel
ands.
  Li
tt
ler
ainf
all
,hi
ghtemper
atur
es,
poorsoi
l
sandhi
ghhumi
dit
yaf
fectv
eget
ati
ve
gr
owthandwateravai
l
abi
li
ty.

4.Popul
ati
onofl
i
vingor
gani
sms.

 I
tisdi
ver
se,
compr
isi
ngofman,
li
vest
ockandgame.

 Humanpopulat
ioni
sthepast
oral
whof
ormt
hecommuni
tysur
roundi
ngt
he
r
angel
ands.

 Theykeepani
mal
smai
nlyf
orbeefpr
oduct
ion.

 Rangelandsar
einhabi
tedbyarangeofwildani
mal
s,wit
helephants,cheet
ahs,
l
ionsformingt
hemai nbasi
sfortour
istat
tr
acti
oni
nthenat
ionalparks.

 Thewi
l
dli
fer
elat
eonapr
ey-
predat
orr
elat
ionshi
pforf
ood.

Par
amet
ersusedi
ndet
ermi
ningr
angev
eget
ati
onf
eat
ures.

i
. Bi
omass.

Thi
sisthewei
ghtofor
gani
cmatterfedonbyani
mal
speruni
tar
ea.Theor
gani
cmat
ter
compri
sesofher
bageabov
ethegroundsurf
ace.

Thepl
ant
sar
ecl
i
ppedanddr
iedt
oaconst
antwei
ghti
nal
abor
ator
ythenwei
ghed.

i
i
. Veget
ati
oncov
er.

Thi
sist
hepropor
ti
onoft hesoi
lsurf
acecoveredbyveget
ati
on.Thegroundcoverofa
par
ti
cul
arpi
eceoflandcanbeestimatedbycert
aint
echni
ques.Theseincl
ude:

 Sampl
i
ngi
npl
ots.

 Tr
ansect
s.

i
i
i. Abundance.

Thi
sref
erst
othenumberofpl
ant
speruni
tar
eaordensi
ty.

Tomeasuretheindiv
idual
plant
sforspecies,
plot
saremarkedoutinanareaand
par
ti
cul
arplantspeci
esarecounted.Thi
sshowst heest
imatesofsuchpl
ants.

i
v. Fr
equency
.

Thedi
str
ibut
ionofpl
antspeci
eswi
thi
nagi
venf
eedl
othel
pst
oident
if
ytheov
erl
yi
ng
l
andcondi
ti
ons.Emptypat
chesmi
ghti
ndi
cat
esi
teswi
thspeci
alpr
obl
emst
hatr
equi
re
i
mmediateat
tenti
on.

v
. Hei
ghtofv
eget
ati
on.

Thi
srefert
otheoveral
llengt
hatt
ainedbyt
hepl
antsi
nanecosy
stem.Pl
anthei
ght
i
nfl
uencesthepi
ckabil
i
tybygrazi
ngandbrowsi
ngani
mal
s.

Thati
s,pl
ant
sofacer
tai
nhei
ghtcanonl
ybebr
owsedbyapar
ti
cul
arani
mal
s.

v
i. Qual
i
tyofv
eget
ati
on.

Thisrel
atestot hepalat
abil
it
yoft
heplantmater
ial
.Thi
scanbeascert
ainedbyhow
mucht hemat erial
isconsumedandutil
i
zedbyananimalbodyandtheproduct
ivi
tyof
theanimals.Plantswithgoodher
bagequali
tyar
emostlypr
efer
red.

Rangemanagementandot
herr
elat
edsci
ences.

Forsuccessfulmanagementofrangelands,r
angesci
encedoesnotexi
stoni
tsownbut
hasint
errel
ationshi
pwit
hotherdisci
plines.
Thesei
ncl
ude:

i
. Bot
any
.

i
i
. Zool
ogy
.

i
i
i. Ant
hropol
ogy
.

i
v. Taxonomy
.

v
. Ent
omol
ogy
.

v
i. Phy
siol
ogy
.

v
ii
. Soi
lsci
ence.

v
ii
i. Hy
drol
ogy
.

i
x. Ani
mal
sci
ence.

x. Soci
alsci
ence.

xi
. Wi
l
dli
femanagement
.

xi
i
. Agr
ofor
est
ry.
I
mpor
tanceofRangel
ands.

1.Provi
degrazi
ngar
easforl
i
vest
ockbel
ongi
ngt ocommunit
iesli
vingaroundthem
formainl
anduseinr
angel
andsast
hecondit
ionsdonotsupportcropproducti
on.

2.Providehabitatsf
orwi l
dli
fe.Thisfor
msthebasisforKeny
antour
ism i
n
rangelands.Kenya’snati
onal par
ksandprot
ectedareasar
elocat
edwithi
n
rangelands.Therearevari
edt ypesofwi
ldgamei sfoundwhi
chattr
act
sboth
l
ocal andinternat
ionalt
ourists.

3.Provi
dewatershedsforusebycommuni t
iessurr
oundingcommuniti
esandtheir
l
ivest
ock.ForExample,theEwasoNyir
oRi v
erintherangel
andsofSambur
ui s
themostimportantwatersour
ceforhuman, l
i
vestockandwildl
i
fe.

4.Sourceoffoodforpast
oralcommuni t
iesmainl
yfrom l
iv
estockwhi
chprovi
de
beefandfishfr
om waterbodies.I
nsomecount i
eslandusehasbeenimproved
tocropproduct
ion.50%ofmeatr equi
rementinKenyacomesf r
om r
angel
ands.

5.Sit
esf ort
ouristatt
ract
ion.Theseincl
udebothlocalandinter
nati
onalt
ouri
sts.
Priv
ateindi
vidualsandthegov ernmenthav
eputuphot elsandareasof
accommodat ionfortourist
s.Themoneypaidbyt ouri
stsisusedtoimprov
et he
country’
seconomy .TaitaTavetahastheTsavoEastandTsav oWestareasf or
touri
sts.

6.Pr
ovi
desit
esforminer
alextr
act
ion.Someareasar
eoccupi
edbyr
ocksand
gr
oundswher
emi ner
alscanbeextract
ed.

7.Recr
eat
ionalSi
tes-
li
kemountaincl
imbing,
gamereservespr
ovi
dehorser
idi
ng,
camelr
idi
ngandgroundsforteam bui
l
dingwher
ev ar
iousgamescanbeplayed
l
ikef
ootbal
l.

8.Ener
gypr
oducti
on-sol
arener
gyi
sproducedfrom t
hest
rongsunl
i
ght
.Wi
nd
ener
gyi
salsoproducedi
nsomerangelands.

9.Someplantsi
nrangel
andsareusedi
nlandscapi
ngandar
esour
cesofi
ndust
ri
al
chemi
cals,
pharmaceut
ical
sandchar
coal.

Si
gni
fi
canceofr
angel
andmanagement
.

i
. Rangel
andmanagementhelpsinaddr
essi
ngpr
obl
emsoft
hear
idandsemi
ari
d
ar
easwhichi
ncl
udeovergrazingandsoi
ler
osi
on.

i
i
. I
thel
psi
nat
tai
ningandmai
ntai
ninghi
ghpr
oduct
ioni
ndai
ryandbeefani
mal
s.
i
i
i. I
thel
psi
nthepr
oduct
ionofhi
ghqual
i
tyf
oragemat
eri
alf
ormostper
iodsoft
he
y
ear.

i
v. Hel
psi
nthemanagementofani
mal
par
asi
tes.

v
. Assi
stsi
nthedet
ermi
nat
ionandchoi
ceofani
deal
stocki
ngr
ateofl
i
vest
ock.

Di
ff
erencesbet
weenr
angel
andsandpast
urel
ands.

Rangel
and Past
urel
and
Thev eget
ati
ont
ypegr
owi
ngi
smai
nly Thepl
ant
sthatgr
owar
epr
imar
il
y
nat
ive. est
abl
i
shedbyman.

Ar
eprimar
il
ywellmanagedv
iaext
ensi
ve Managedbyi nt
ensivepract
icessuchas
management
.i.
ethr
oughmanagementof i
rr
igat
ionandappl
icati
onoff er
ti
li
zer
s.
gr
azi
ng.

Nor
mal
l
yocuuri
nagr
oecol
ogi
cal
zones4- Si
tuat
edi
nhi
ghal
ti
tudehumi
dar
eas.
6

Ty
pesofr
angel
ands.

Ther
ear
e5t
ypes;

1.Nat
ural
grassl
ands-
grassesar
edomi
nant
.

2.Deser
tshr
ubl
ands-
ver
ydr
y,scat
ter
edv
eget
ati
on.

3.Sav
annahWoodl
ands.

4.For
est
s-woodyt
rees,
lowgr
owi
ngshr
ubs.

5.Tudr
a-t
reel
ess,
ver
yli
tt
lev
eget
ati
on,
mount
ains.

Rangecl
assi
fi
cat
ion.

Therangeecosy
stem i
sal
waysclassi
fi
edont hebasi
softheav
erageweather
condi
ti
ons,t
henatur
eandtypeofvegetat
ionaswellast
heedaphi
cfact
ors.

Thecommonzonat
ioni
ncl
ude:

ZoneI

Thiszonehasnodir
ecti
mportanceinagr
icul
tur
alpr
oduct
ionot
hert
hanbei
ngt
he
sourceofr
ainandsomeriv
ers/st
reams.
Iti
sconf
inedt
omount
ainsandi
mmedi
atesur
roundi
ngsuchasMt
.Keny
aandMt
El
gon.

ZoneI
I

Thi
szonei sgenerall
yrestr
ict
edtothehighl
andsofKeny
abet ween1980and2700m
andoccursasaf orestoropengrassl
ands.Thi
szoneisfoundinthesur
roundi
ngofMt
Kenya,
isol
atedpar t
soft heRif
tVall
eyaroundMauandAber dar
esandthesurr
oundi
ng
ofMtElgon.

Themi
nimum r
ainf
all
is1000mm.

Themai ngrassesar
ePenni
setum clandist
enum (Kikuyugrass)
,Themedat
ri
andr
a( Red
oats)
,AndropogonChry
sost
achyus,Exothecaabysinica,
Digit
eri
ascal
aram,
andSeteri
a
sphacel
ata,

Thelegumesincl
udeTr
ifol
i
um johnst
oni
,Medi
cagosat
iva(
Alf
alf
aorLucer
ne)
,Sesbani
a
sesbanandLeuceanal
eucusephal
a.

ZoneI
II

Thi
szoneoccur
smainl
yatel
evat
ionsbet
ween900-
1800m wi
thannual
rai
nfal
l
bet
ween950and1500mm.

Treesarenumer oushereandsomewhatofshorterst
aturet
haninZoneII
.Thi
szoneis
themostsi gni
fi
cantforagri
cul
tur
alcul
ti
vat
ionandseverall
egumefodder
sarefound
hereincrop-l
iv
estocksystems.

Iti
salsothemostreset
tl
edbyhuman.Themajorgr
assesar
eHyper
eniaand
Cymbopogon,Pani
cum maxi
mum, Set
eri
a,Br
achari
a,
Rhodesgr
assandStargr
ass)
.

ZoneI
V

Thi
szoneoccupi
esmoreorl
essthesameelevati
on(900-
1800m)asthepr
evi
ousor
maybeatti
meslower
.However
,ithasl
owerrainf
all
ofabout500-
1000mm.

I
tisthehomeofmostAcaci
atr
eesandshr
ubs.Euphobi
atr
eesoccuri
nsomedr
ier
par
tsofthi
szone.

Gr
assesf
oundincl
udeEragrost
isspp.,Hyper
eni
aspp.Set
eri
aspp.
,Di
git
eri
aspp,
Rar
e
gr
assesi
ncl
udeChlor
isspp.andCy nodonspp.

Besi
desacaci
a,ot
heri
mpor
tantl
egumesi
ncl
udeCr
otol
ari
a.

ZoneV
Thi
szoneismuchdri
ert
hanZoneIVandoccursatl
owerel
evat
ions.Annual
rai
nfal
li
s
300-
600.Lowt
reesandshr
ubsfoundher
eincl
udeAcaci
aspp.

Commongr
assesar
eEr
agr
ost
issppandCy
mbopogon

ZoneVI

Thi
szonei
sconsi
der
edassemi
deser
tandi
sthedr
iest
.

Annualr
ainfal
li
s200-400mm andisqui
teunr
eli
abl
e.Domi
nanti
nthi
szonear
eAcaci
a
andCommi phor
ashrubswit
hscat
teredt
all
ert
rees.

Thear
eai
scommonl
ydomi
nat
edbydwar
fshr
ubsl
i
keBar
ber
i.

Bei
ngt
hemostdel
i
cat
ezonebot
hannual
andper
enni
algr
assesar
eimpor
tanther
e.

Fact
orsaf
fect
ingr
angev
eget
ati
on.

1.Nat
ural
disast
ersandcat
ast
rophes.

Theseincl
udedrought
,fl
oodsandfir
eoutbr
eakswhi
chi
mposenegat
ivepr
essur
eon
thegr
owt handdevel
opmentofrangeveget
ati
on.

2.Sel
ect
ivef
eedi
nghabi
tsofani
mal
s.

Thispromot
esthegrowthofcert
ainpl
ant
sandexhausti
onofot
herv
ari
eti
es.Themai
n
reasonbehi
ndt
hisisthevar
iat
ioninl
evel
sofpal
atabi
l
ity
.

3.Ef
fect
sofot
herpl
ant
s.

Dif
ferentplant
shav eevol
veddif
ferentmechanismsforadapt
ati
onandsurvi
val
.Such
mechanismsi ncludeuseofcl
imbingstructur
es,pr
oduct
ionofal
elochemi
cal
sand
photosynthesi
zingunderl
owintensit
yoflight
.

Somepl
ant
sadapt
ati
onl
i
mitt
hegr
owt
hofot
herpl
ant
s.

4.Ef
fect
sofhumanact
ivi
ti
es.
Act
ivi
ti
esl
i
kefarming,
treef
ell
i
ng,quar
ryi
nganduseofchemi
cal
sgr
eat
lyaf
fectt
he
gr
owthanddevel
opmentofveget
ati
on.

5.Pest
sanddi
seases.

Thesel
i
mit
spl
antpr
oduct
ivi
tybynegat
ivel
yimpact
ingongr
owt
handdev
elopment
.

6.Topogr
aphy
.

Therel
iefofthel
anddict
atesthety
peofplant
sthatgr
owinagivenar
ea.This
possi
blyisduetothesoi
lfor
mationrat
es,
soiler
osi
onandthesoil
waterr
elat
ions.

7.Soi
lpr
oper
ti
es.

Pl
ant
srequir
esoi
lswi
thidealcondi
tionst
othri
vewell
.Theyar
enegat
ivel
yaf
fect
ed
i
ntheeventt
hatt
heedaphiccondit
ionsdet
eri
orat
e.

Theedaphi
cpr
obl
emscommonl
yexper
iencedi
ncl
ude:

 Fl
uct
uat
ioni
nsoi
lPh.

 Wat
erl
oggi
ng.

 Decl
i
nei
nsoi
lfer
ti
li
ty.

8.Cl
i
mat
icf
act
ors.

Adver
secli
maticcondit
ionsli
keescal
atedambientt
emperatures,er
ati
crai
nfal
l
,
str
ongwindsandchangesi nrel
ati
vehumidi
tyaff
ectt
heexistenceofrange
veget
ati
onandorganisms.

Dr
oughtmanagementandcopi
ngst
rat
egi
es.

1.Past
ureconser
vat
ion.

Sur
pluspast
urecanbeconser
vedtoensur
ei t
savail
abi
l
itydur
ingt
imesofadv
ersi
ty.
Themethodsusedint
heconserv
ati
onofforageare:

 Bal
edhay
s.

 St
andi
nghay
s.

2.Her
dspl
i
tti
ng.

Themi l
ki
ngher di
slef
tathomewhilet
herestoftheherdi
stakenoutt
odr
yseason
grazi
ngareas.Thi
sreducespr
essur
eontheforageresour
ces.

3.Cul
l
ingordest
ocki
ng.
 I
tent
ail
sareducti
onofthest
ockofanimal
sbyr
emov
ingt
hoset
hatar
eless
pr
oduct
iveorwit
hundesir
abl
efeat
ures.

4.Har
vest
ingandst
ori
ngofl
egumi
noust
reepods.

Agoodexampleist
heacaci
atr
ee.Thi
sav
ail
spr
otei
nst
oli
vest
ocki
ntheev
entt
hat
dr
oughtper
sist
s.

Theanimalscanbef
edwi
thabal
ancedr
ati
onf
ormai
ntenanceandpr
oduct
ion
funct
ions.

5.Wat
erhar
vest
ing.

I
nareaswi
thscorchi
ngsunl
i
ght
,thei
nci
dent
alr
ainwat
eri
shar
vest
edbyuseof
damsandwaterpans.

Thi
shel
pst
ocombatt
hei
ssuesofwat
ershor
tagei
nar
idandsemi
ari
dlands.

6.Ranger
esour
ceconser
vat
ion.

Thisentai
l
sputti
nginplacemeasur
estoprot
ectsoi
l,
wat erandveget
ati
on
resour
ceswhicharescarcei
nnatur
e.Thesepr
acti
cesincludes:

 Cont
rol
ofsoi
ler
osi
on.

 Def
err
edgr
azi
ng.

 Pr
operwat
erut
il
izat
ion.

7.Li
vest
ocki
mpr
ovement
.

Thisencompassesall
thepracti
cesofsel
ectionandbreedi
ngfori
mpr
oved
product
ivi
tyandadapt
ationtotoughandharshcondi
ti
ons.Theani
mal
sselect
edar
e
thenperpet
uatedt
oincreasethei
rpopul
ati
on.

8.Fol
i
ageconser
vat
ionandr
eser
vat
ion.

Duri
ngt
heti
meoflushandplent
yveget
ati
veresources,
thesecanbemanagedi
n
suchamannert
hatt
heywil
lbeavai
labl
eevenduringdri
erti
mesofthey
ear.

For
agecanbeconser
vedi
nthef
oll
owi
ngway
s.

 Bal
edhay
.

 St
andi
nghay
.

Phasesofdr
oughtmanagement
.
 a)Dr
oughtpr
epar
edness.

b)Enf
orcementofmi
ti
gat
ionmeasur
esf
ordr
ought
.

c)Seeki
ngf
orr
eli
eforassi
stance.

d) Recov
eryandr
econst
ruct
ionaf
tert
hedr
ought
.

Fact
orsi
nchoi
ceofani
mal
stouse/
keepi
nRangel
ands.

1.Ty
peofv
eget
ati
ongr
owi
ng.

 Exist
ingvegetati
onplayamajorrol
eindeter
miningt
hetypeofanimalt
obekept
i
nt herangeland.ForExampl
e,camelspr
efertr
eesandshrubs,
catt
lepref
ert
all
grasses,goatsandsheeppref
ershortgr
assesandshrubstobrowse.

2.Ani
mal
swat
err
equi
rement
.

 Theamountofwat errequir
ementisimport
anttodeterminethesurvi
val
ofthe
ani
malsintherangelands.Ther
efor
e,waterav
ail
abil
itywil
ldeter
mineifthesaid
ani
mal canbekept.Goatsandsheepr equi
rel
esswat ert
hancattl
e.Camelsar e
adapt
edt ol
owwat errequir
ementwhichmeanst heycanstaywithoutwaterfor
sever
aldays.

Ther
efor
e,i
ncasesofwat
erscar
cit
ythear
eacanbesui
tabl
eforcamel
s.

3.Topogr
aphy
.

 Thi
sdescr
ibest
her
eli
efoft
hear
ea;
sloppy
,mount
ainous,
plai
norf
lat
.

 Catt
lepr
eferplai
nst omoderat
eter
rai
n,sheepandgoat
scant
readeasi
l
yon
st
eepareas,desertareasar
ebestf
orcamels.

4.Pal
atabi
l
ityoff
oragespeci
es.

 Dif
fer
entveget
ati
onspeciesarepal
atabl
etodi
ffer
entki
ndsofani
mals.For
Example,
mostdicot
yledonousspeci
esarepr
eferr
edbycatt
leandgoat
s.

5.Pr
esenceofpr
edat
ors.

 Ar
easinhabit
edbypredat
orsar edangerousforani
mals,f
orexampl
e,savannah
ar
easwithtal
ltr
eesarepref
erredbylionsandcheetahsandhenceshoul
dbe
av
oidedbypreyswhichmostlyaredomest i
canimals.

6.Pr
esenceofpar
asi
tesanddi
seases.
 Dif
ferentparasi
tesarecommonincert
ainani
mal
s,f
orexampl
e,t
icksar
efor
cat
tleandt hei
rpresencemayaf
fectt
hekeepi
ngofcat
tl
e.

 Tset
sef
lyi
nhabi
tedar
easwi
l
lnotbegoodf
orcat
tl
e,sheepandgoat
s.

 Lumpyski
ndi
seasei
scommoni
nar
easwi
thwi
l
dani
mal
s.

7.Soci
alconsi
der
ati
ons.

 Thisi
sbasedont
hepref
erenceoft
hecommunit
iesaroundt
her
angel
ands.For
Example,
communi
ti
esaroundSambur
upref
ergoatsandcamel
s.

Pr
inci
plesgov
erni
ngpr
operr
angel
anduse.

1.I
ntegr
ati
onofnat
ural
resour
ces.

Ther
eisneedfori
ntegr
ati
onbet
weenhumanneeds,
ranchi
ngandwi
l
dli
fe
management.

Devel
opmentshoul
dbeconcur
rentwi
thal
lthesear
eassi
ncer
angel
andsdon’
texi
st
i
nisol
ati
onbutbesi
desot
hereconomi
es.

2.Soi
landwat
erconser
vat
ion.

Conserv
ati
onofwaterandsoil
resourcesareof
teni
nsepar
abl
ebutt
heyar
e
fundament
ali
ntheproperuseofrangeresour
ces.

Theaspectofpr
operr
angeusei
simpor
tanti
nthef
actt
hat
:

 Encour
agest
hecont
inui
tyoft
hesoi
lfor
mat
ionpr
ocess.

 I
mpr
ovesoi
lfer
ti
li
tyst
atus.

 Ensuresthatt
her
eisanef
fi
cientmedi
um f
orst
orageofwat
er.Thi
sist
hesoi
l
resource.

3.Pl
antgr
owt
handut
il
izat
ion.

Rangepl ant
shav especif
iccharact
eri
sti
csandmodi f
icati
onsusefuli
nprotect
ion
againstadversecli
matefactors.Agoodexamplei stheslendernatur
eofrange
grasses,deeprootsandpr esenceofwaxycuti
cles.Themet hodstobeusedi nbush
controlshoul
dbeconsi derateofpl
antmorphol
ogi calfeat
ures.

Uti
l
izat
ionoft
her
angel
andv
eget
ati
ondependsont
hef
eedi
ngmechani
smsoft
he
ani
mals.
Thef
eedingmethodsoft
heanimalscancausedamagesont
hemor
phol
ogyoft
he
pl
ant
stherebyaf
fect
ingt
hei
rexi
stence.

I
nar easwheretheanimalspecieshav equali
tat
ivel
ysimil
ardi
ets,
thi
scanleadto
reducti
onortot
allossofplanttypes.Stocki
ngratesshoul
dtheref
orebekeenl
y
observedbasedont heusefulmateri
alsavai
labl
e.

Pl
antmor
phol
ogyandphy
siol
ogyi
nrel
ati
ont
ogr
azi
ng.

1.Pl
antsur
viv
al

Rangepl ant
srenormallyfacedwiththechal
lengesofharshcli
mat
ebesi
desheav
y
grazingandbrowsing.Theseplantsbypasst
hesechallengesbyacombi
nat
ionof
mor phol
ogicalandphysi
ological
adjustment
s.Theseinclude:

 Pr
oduct
ionofsl
enderl
eav
es.

 Exhi
bitsl
owgr
owt
h.

 Exhi
bitwi
derspaci
ng.

Al
lthesear
eai
medati
ncr
easi
ngt
hei
rchancesofsur
viv
al.

2.Root
ingsy
stems.

Mostoft her
angepl
ant
shavewel
ldevel
opedrootar
chi
tect
uretoi
ncreaset
hei
r
anchorageagei
nstt
hepl
ucki
ngef
fectofgr
azersaswel
lasincr
easeonwater
absorpti
on.

Ther
ear
ethr
eer
ootpat
ter
nsofpl
ant
sindr
oughtpr
onear
eas.Thesear
e:

 Root
sthatgr
owst
rai
ghtdownwi
thl
ater
albr
anchi
ng.

 Rootst
hatspreadwi
del
yfr
om t
hepl
ant
sandar
econcent
rat
edcl
oset
othe
soi
lsur
face.

 Root
sthatgr
owandspr
eadov
erawi
derar
eawi
thl
argev
olumesofsoi
l
.

Al
lthesesetsofroot
splayvit
alr
olesinpr
otect
ingt
hepl
ant
sagai
nstdamageby
gr
azingacti
vit
iesandharshcl
imate.

3.Tuf
tedgr
owt
hhabi
t.

Someplant
sincr
easet
hei
ref
fi
ciencyofut
il
izi
ngl
i
ttl
ewat
err
esour
cesav
ail
abl
efr
om
rai
ns.

Bydoi
ngso,
theyactast
hecat
chmentst
ruct
uref
ort
hef
all
i
ngr
ainwat
erhence
maxi
mum trappi
ngofr ai
nwat
er.Thi
sincr
easest
hei
rchancesofsur
viv
aland
mi
nimizewaterst
resses.

4.Phot
osy
nthesi
sandt
ranspi
rat
ion.

Rangeplantshavewellpl
acel eaf
ystr
uctur
esformaximum harvesti
ngofsunl
ight
.
Mostplantshavegreenstemswhi chmaximizesonphot
osynthesiseveni
fthei
r
l
eavesareconsumedbygr azersandbrowser
s.

Theycanal
sor
est
ri
ctt
hel
ossofwat
ert
hroughempl
oymentoft
hef
oll
owi
ng
mechani
sms:

 St
omat
alocat
edunder
neat
hthel
eav
es.

 Sunkenst
omat
a.

 Rol
l
ingofl
eafbl
ades.

 Deposi
ti
onofwaxycut
icl
es.

 Pr
esenceofhai
rypr
oject
ionsf
rom t
hepl
antsur
faces.

5.Gr
azi
ngef
fect
sont
hepl
ant
s.

Grazi
ngaff
ect
stheaccumulat
ionofdrymatt
erandotherorgani
ccompounds.Thi
s
i
sduet ot
hereduct
ioni
nthephotosy
nthet
icsur
facesoftheplant
.

Closegr
azinghasanegat i
vei
mplicati
ononfoli
agedevel
opmentaswellast
he
devel
opmentofthereproduct
ivestr
uctur
esoftheplant
.Iti
sther
efor
eimpor
tantt
o
checkonthestocki
ngratesaswellastheint
ensit
yofgrazi
ng.

Li
mit
ati
onoft
ropi
cal
grassl
ands.

1.Li
mit
edr
esear
ch.

Ther
eisver
ylit
tl
eresear
chont
ropi
cal
grasses.Thi
shasl
edt
onopr
ogr
esson
i
mprovements.

2.Adv
ersecl
i
mat
e.

Thehar
shcondi
ti
onsl
ikeerrat
icr
ainf
all
andhighambientt
emper
atur
esnegat
ivel
y
aff
ectt
hegr
owthofpastur
ecausingsparsegr
owth.

3.Lackofpast
urei
mpr
ovementpr
ogr
ams.
Poorpast
uresar
efoundt
ogr
owi
nmanyar
easl
eadi
ngt
opoornut
ri
ti
ont
othe
l
ivest
ock.

Themainr easonf
orl
ackofi
mpr
ovementpr
ogr
amsi
sabsenceofgov
ernment
par
ti
cipat
ionandsuppor
t.

4.Scar
cit
yofar
abl
eland.

Mostar
ablel
andi
sputunderf
oodcr
oppr
oduct
ion.Thi
snegat
est
hepr
oduct
ionof
f
oddercr
ops.

5.Past
uresar
eal
way
sgr
owni
npur
est
ands.

Ther
eisli
tt
leat
tent
ionputi
nmixedcr
oppi
nghencet
heov
eral
lpast
urepr
oducedi
n
anareaf
oragiventi
meisli
mit
ed.

Met
hodsofr
angei
mpr
ovement
.

1.Wat
eri
mpr
ovement
.

Provi
sionofadequat
eandr
eli
abl
ewat
ersour
cesi
nar
angel
andecosy
stem i
sa
bott
leneck.

Areli
ablewat
ersourceshoul
dbeavail
edtoensur
ethatall
ani
mal
sgetenough
waterfort
hei
rmetaboli
candothermaint
enancef
uncti
ons.

Thear
easofconcer
ninav
ail
i
ngwat
err
esour
cesar
e:

 Wat
eri
ngl
i
vest
ock.

 Wi
l
dli
feut
il
izat
ion.

 Domest
icuse.

2.Gr
azi
ngmanagement
.

Thi
scanbeachiev
edt
hrought
hemanagementoft
hegr
azi
ngr
egi
me.Thi
scanbe
at
tai
nedt
hrough:

 Adopt
ionofi
deal
stocki
ngr
ates.

 Rot
ati
onal
grazi
ng.

 Reser
vedgr
azi
ng.
3.Rangeseedi
ngandr
eseedi
ng.

Thi
sinv
olv
espl
ant
ingofv
eget
ati
onwher
eitnev
erexi
sted.

I
tmayalsoinvol
veplanti
ngofhi
ghlynutr
it
iouspl
ant
swheresomeal
readyexi
st.Thi
s
i
sinst
rumentalwhenfil
l
ingpat
cheslef
tbarebydrypl
ant
s.

I
tensur
est
hatthereismaxi
mum ut
il
izat
ionofl
andandi
ncr
easest
hef
inal
ret
urns
f
rom t
hewhol
epr ocess.

4.Bushcont
rol
.

Thisinvol
vesopeni
ngupagrazi
nglandt
oall
owforthei
ncr
easedpast
ure
producti
on.I
tisal
soinst
rument
ali
ngett
ingr
idofl
esspal
atabl
eher
bageandpl
ant
mat er
ial
s.

Met
hodsusedi
nthebushcont
rol
are:

 Manual
/Mechani
cal
met
hod.

Manupr
oot
sandcut
sundesi
rabl
eveget
ati
vegr
owt
hbyuseofequi
pment
.

 Chemi
cal
cont
rol
.

Useofsel
ecti
veher
bici
destomanageselect
edindi
vi
dualpl
antst
ocont
rol
.Car
e
shoul
dbetakentomini
mizeunnecessar
yspi
ll
ageofchemical
s.

 Bi
ologi
cal
cont
rol
.

Anindi
vidual
resort
sint
ousi
ngali
vingor
gani
sm orani
mal
tocont
rol
the
undesi
rablev
egetati
oni
nagivenr
angel
and.

 Useoff
ir
e/bur
ning.

Theundesi
rabl
eveget
ati
ongr
owt
hiscl
ear
edbyuseoff
ir
e.

Car
eshoul
dbet
akent
opr
eventt
hespr
eadoff
ir
etot
heunt
arget
edv
eget
ati
on.

Mer
it
soff
ir
ebushmanagement
.

i
. Fi
redest
roy
sundesi
rabl
eani
mal
s.i
.esnakes,
pest
sandpar
asi
tes.

i
i
. Hel
psbr
eaksseeddor
mancyi
nsomepl
antspeci
es.

i
i
i. Addsnut
ri
enti
ntot
hesoi
lthr
oughash.i
.eP&K.
 i
v. I
tischeapandf
ast
.

Demer
it
soff
ir
ebushmanagement
.
i
. Fi
remayi
ncr
easesoi
lpHt
hroughi
ncr
easeofcer
tai
ncat
ionsi
nthesoi
l
.

i
i
. Fi
redest
roy
sev
ery
thi
ngt
hati
scombust
ibl
e.

i
i
i. I
tdest
roy
ssoi
lst
ruct
ure.

i
v. Fi
remayencour
agesoi
ler
osi
on.

5.Fer
ti
li
zerappl
i
cat
ion.

Thesoi
lsi
nar
angel
andar
epr
onet
oregul
ardegr
adat
ionduet
oer
osi
onand
l
eachi
ng.

Iti
sthereforei
mport
anttopr
acti
ceperi
odi
cappl
icat
ionoffer
ti
li
zerandsoil
amendment st
orepl
eni
shthedepl
etedr
esour
ces.Thiscanbedonethrough
broadcasttopdr
essi
ng.

Assi
gnment
.

1.Descr
ibet
heeffectsoft
hefol
l
owinggrazi
ngi
ntensi
ti
esont
hegr
owt
hand
devel
opmentofrangel
andv
egetat
ion.

i
. Mi
nimal
grazi
ng.

i
i
. Moder
ategr
azi
ng.

i
i
i. Heav
ygr
azi
ng.

2.I
dent
if
yanddescr
ibesi
xfact
orsconsi
der
edi
ntheest
imat
ionofst
ocki
ngr
ates.