The dynamics of vegetation diversity and biomass under traditional grazing in Ethiopia's Somali rangeland.

ABSTRACT: Traditional grazing management practices are central to rangeland productivity and biodiversity. However, the degradation of rangelands and loss of ecosystem services have raised concerns about the future of pastoralism as a form of land use. It is imperative to understand how these practices influence vegetation attributes, e.g., herbaceous species diversity and composition, growth forms (grass, forbs), life form (annuals, perennials), tree metrics (density, canopy cover, and biomass). This study evaluates vegetation shifts under three grazing management practices-enclosures, open grazing, and browsing lands-in the Somali pastoral ecosystem of Ethiopia. Enclosures exhibited the highest diversity in herbaceous species, with open grazing lands favoring forbs and annuals. Distinct compositio

SUBMITTER: Gebremedhn HH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10711641 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature