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ENHANCING SUSTAINABILITY AND FODDER PRODUCTION OF LOWLAND PASTURES IN ARID AGROPASTORAL ECOSYSTEMS.
Author
Louhaichi, Mounir
Tabini, Raed Al
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2016
Body

Lowland depressions have the potential to play an important role in the intensification and diversification of pastoral production and provide a favorable environment for biodiversity conservation. This is primarily due to their specific ability to accumulate soil, seeds, and nutrient deposits throughout the soil profile. But despite this potential, the current sustainable use of lowlands in the arid and semi-arid rangeland areas of West Asia and North Africa (WANA) is still limited. In fact, these landscape depressions are suffering from the encroachment of recurrent cultivations. Cultivated soils gradually lose their inherent fertility and are subject to erosion due to over-exploitation and inappropriate management practices. As a result, the grazing area is shrinking, the available biomass is reduced, and species biodiversity is being eroded. The reduction in vegetative biomass seriously impacts livestock production, natural resource conservation, and the well-being of the agro-pastoral communities. The objective of this research study is to enhance the productivity of lowland pastures in arid agropastoral ecosystems to provide additional fodder, while conserving the environment and biodiversity. Plant community characteristics were assessed between well managed lowland depressions and sites where continuous barley cultivation and/or grazing represent the routine practice in WANA region. Preliminary findings shows significant increase in productivity for the managed sites compared to farmer's practice. These results suggest that plant community structure will be impacted positively from sustainable management of lowland pastures. We conclude that carefully planned grazing management along with adapted forage legumes, such as common vetch in rotation with cereals should result in improved soil fertility and higher productivity.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Corpus Christi, TX
Collection
SRM Annual Meeting Abstracts