| Research Articles |
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| Impacts of livestock grazing on a savanna grassland in Kenya |
| John KIOKO1, John Warui KIRINGE1, Simon Ole SENO2 |
1 The School for Field Studies, Center for Wildlife Management Studies, Nairobi 27743 – 00506, Kenya;
2 School of Natural Resources Management, Narok University College, Narok 861–20500, Kenya |
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Abstract The dynamics of most rangelands in Kenya remain to be poorly understood. This paper provides baseline information on the response of a semiarid rangeland under different livestock grazing regimes on land inhabited by the Massai people in the east side of Amboseli National Park in Kenya. The data were collected from grasslands designated into four types: (1) grassland from previous Massai settlements that had been abandoned for over twenty years; (2) grassland excluded from livestock grazing for eight years; (3) a dry season grazing area; and (4) a continuous grazing area where grazing occurred throughout all seasons. Collected data included grass species composition, grass height, inter-tuft distance, standing grass biomass and soil characteristics. The results indicated that continuous grazing area in semiarid rangelands exhibited loss of vegetation with negative, long-term effects on grass functional qualities and forage production, whereas grassland that used traditional Maasai grazing methods showed efficiency and desirable effects on the rangelands. The results also showed that abandoned homestead sites, though degraded, were important nutrient reservoirs.
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Received: 23 June 2011
Published: 05 March 2012
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| Fund: The United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Cleveland MetroPark Zoo. |
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Corresponding Authors:
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