- Title
- Bush encroachment in the semi-arid communal grazing lands of Eastern Cape and farmer's perception of causes and livelihood impacts
- Creator
- Libala, Notiswa
- Subject
- Communal rangelands--South Africa--Eastern Cape Grazing--South Africa--Eastern Cape egetation management--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Date
- 2015
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- Pasture Science
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11817
- Identifier
- vital:39109
- Description
- The study was conducted in two communal rangelands of the Eastern Cape Province (Thorn and Mixed bush veld). The objective of the study was to investigate 1) the historical trends of bush encroachment, causes and impacts based on indigenous knowledge and perceptions of the communal people in two savannah vegetation types and 2) to determine the density and cover of woody species in the grazing areas. In each veld type, two villages were selected purposefully. A total of 120 households who own livestock were randomly selected from the four communal areas and a total of 48 elders were selected to provide information on bush encroachment and rangeland condition. For woody density and cover, grazing areas surrounding two homesteads (settlements) were selected from each communal rangeland, Two long transects radiating in the opposite direction from each homestead were established. The woody vegetation survey was conducted at 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900m distance from each homestead. In each distance, 3 (10 m x 10 m) quadrates were laid to record individual woody plant species, the height, basal stem and canopy diameters. Woody species were classified into seedlings (>0 - 1 m), saplings (>1 - 1.5 m), young shrubs (>1.5 - 2.0 m), mature shrubs (>2 - 3.0 m) and mature trees (>3.0 m). The average household size in of goat was higher than that of other livestock species. A total of 40 woody plant species were identified in all study areas. Acacia karoo, Coddia rudis and Scutia myrtina were the most dominant woody species in all study areas. Most of the woody plant species had the highest abundance in the height class >0 - 1 m. The average total woody plant density in Thorn bush and Mixed bush were 3461 and 2416 number ha-1, respectively. In conclusion both study areas were highly encroached and it was also perceived by elder from both areas that bush encroachment is a problem in the rangelands.
- Format
- 100 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Science and Agriculture
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
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UFH Department of Livestock & Pasture Science
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | M Sc Agric (Pasture) LIBALA.pdf | 970 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |