https://commons.ufh.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Index ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 Evaluation of range condition, soil properties, seed banks and farmer's perceptions in Peddie communal rangeland of the Eastern Cape, South Africa https://commons.ufh.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:11583 0.05) from all homogenous vegetation units of Peddie rangeland. However, the soil fertility increased with an increase in bush density except organic carbon (OC) which was 1.61% in grassland, 1.46% in scattered and 1.53% in dense bushland respectively. Soil N, K, P, Mg2+ Na+, Ca2+, Cu, Zn, Mn and pH were significantly higher (p<0.05) in dense bushland than grassland and scattered bushland. High soil fertility in dense bushland may be attributed to by abscission of woody plants and litter decomposition. In the soil seed bank, the abundances of forbs were significantly higher than sedges (χ2 = 12, df = 1, p = 0.001) and grasses (χ2 = 8.333, df = 1, p = 0.004) in all homogenous vegetation units while sedges were not significantly different (χ2 = 3, df = 1, p = 0.083) from grasses. The Sorensen‟s index indicated that soil seed bank and extant vegetation were significantly different (p<0.05). Annual and biennial forbs and sedges had high abundances while perennial grasses formed a bulk in above ground vegetation. This provided an insight that a reliance on soil seed bank for restoration of Peddie rangeland would not be advisable because it can result in retrogression. The communal rangeland assessment provided clear qualitative and quantitative data when the combination of indigenous knowledge and scientific assessments was done. The rationale is that conclusions and recommendations of range assessment are relient on the farmer‟s perceptions pertinent to their livestock production systems and their rangeland management objectives. This study has shown that inclusion of communal farmers in policy making can provide better insight because those are the people experiencing the consequences of range degradation.]]> Wed 12 May 2021 22:23:37 SAST ]]> Livestock water productivity: towards improving rural livelihoods from livestock in semi-arid rangelands https://commons.ufh.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:34084 Wed 12 May 2021 19:51:43 SAST ]]> Integrated crop-livestock farming system for sustainable economic empowerment of small-scale and emerging farmers in the former homeland of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa: a case study of Ciskei area in Nkonkobe municipality https://commons.ufh.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:11183 Wed 12 May 2021 17:51:06 SAST ]]> Assessment and monitoring of land degradation using remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS): a case study of Qoqodala within the Wit-Kei catchment in the Eastern Cape, South Africa https://commons.ufh.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:4818 Wed 12 May 2021 15:52:50 SAST ]]> A reconstruction of the history of land degradation in relation to land use change and land tenure in Peddie district, former Ciskei https://commons.ufh.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:4847 Thu 13 May 2021 07:25:44 SAST ]]> Land use/cover change modelling and land degradation assessment in the Keiskamma catchment using remote sensing and GIS https://commons.ufh.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:10647 Thu 13 May 2021 00:17:10 SAST ]]>