Impacts of management and enclosure age on recovery of the herbaceous rangeland vegetation in semi-arid Kenya

Journal of Arid Environments

Volumn 74, Issue 9, 2010, Pages 1066-1073

  Verdoodt, A ^a   Mureithi, S M ^a,b   Van Ranst, E ^a  

^a GHENT UNIVERSITY   (Belgium)

^b UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI   (Kenya)

Author keywords

Cover; Degradation; Private land ownership; Seed mixtures; Standing crop; Stock control

Indexed keywords

AGE; BIOMASS; COMMUNITY COMPOSITION; ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION; FUNCTIONAL GROUP; HABITAT RESTORATION; HERB; MANAGEMENT PRACTICE; PRIVATE LAND; RANGELAND; REGENERATION; RELATIVE ABUNDANCE; RESTORATION ECOLOGY; SEMIARID REGION; VEGETATION STRUCTURE;

KENYA; NJEMPS FLATS; RIFT VALLEY;

CAREX; POACEAE;

EID: 84856013347     PISSN: 01401963     EISSN: 1095922X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2010.03.007     Document Type: Article

References (47)

1. Abebe M.H., Oba G., Angassa A., Weladji R.B. The role of area enclosures and fallow age in the restoration of plant diversity in northern Ethiopia. African Journal of Ecology 2006, 44:507-514.
2. Angassa A., Oba G. Herder perceptions on impacts of range enclosures, crop farming, fire ban and bush encroachment on the rangelands of Borana, Southern Ethiopia. Human Ecology 2008, 36:201-215.
3. Asefa D.T., Oba G., Weladji R.B., Colman J.E. An assessment of restoration of biodiversity in degraded high mountain grazing lands in northern Ethiopia. Land Degradation and Development 2002, 14:25-38.
4. Augustine D.J. Long-term, livestock-mediated redistribution of nitrogen and phosphorous in an East African savanna. Journal of Applied Ecology 2003, 40:137-149.
5. Beukes P.C., Cowling R.M. Evaluation of restoration techniques for the Succulent Karoo, South Africa. Restoration Ecology 2003, 11:308-316.
6. Baer S.G., Kitchen D.J., Blair J.M., Rice C.W. Changes in ecosystem structure and function along a chronosequence of restored grasslands. Ecological Applications 2002, 12(6):1688-1701.
7. Beyene F. Exploring incentives for rangeland enclosures among pastoral and agropastoral households in eastern Ethiopia. Global Environmental Change 2009, 19:494-502.
8. Beyene F. Locating the adverse effects of rangeland enclosure among herders in eastern Ethiopia. Land Use Policy 2010, 27:480-488.
9. Brady W.W., Mitchell J.E., Bonham C.D., Cook J.W. Assessing the power of the point-line transect to monitor changes in plant basal cover. Journal of Range Management 1995, 48:187-190.
10. de Groot P., Field-Juma A., Hall D.O. Reclaiming the Land: Revegetation in Semi-arid Kenya 1992, ACTS Press, Nairobi, 105 pp.
11. de Leeuw P.N., Nyambaka R. The prediction of rangeland production from rainfall data in arid and semi-arid Eastern Africa. African Forage Plant Genetic Resources, Evaluation of Forage Germplasm and Extensive Livestock Production Systems. Proceedings of the Third Workshop by the Pasture Network for Eastern and Southern Africa (PANESA) Held at the International Conference Centre, Arusha, Tanzania, 27-30 April 1987 1988, ILCA, Addis Ababa. B.H. Dzowela (Ed.).
12. Descheemaecker K., Muys B., Nyssen J., Poesen J., Raes D., Haile M., Deckers J. Litter production and organic matter accumulation in exclosures of the Tigray highlands, Ethiopia. Forest Ecology and Management 2006, 233:21-35.
13. Ekaya W.N., Kinyamario J.I., Karue C.N. Abiotic and herbaceous vegetation characteristics of an arid rangeland in Kenya. African Journal of Range and Forage Science 2001, 18:1-8.
14. FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World, 1; 5,000,000. Legend 1974, vol. I. UNESCO, Paris.
15. Herlocker D., Shaabani S.B., Buigutt K.S.A. Range Management Handbook of Kenya. Introduction of Range Development in Kenya 1994, vol. 1. Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Development and Marketing, Nairobi.
16. Hickley P., Muchiri M., Boar R., Britton R., Adams C., Gichuru N., Harper D. Habitat degradation and subsequent fishery collapse in Lakes Naivasha and Baringo, Kenya. International Journal of Ecohydrology and Hydrobiology 2004, 4:503-517.
17. Homewood K., Lewis J. Impact of drought on pastoral livestock in Baringo, Kenya, 1983-85. Journal of Applied Ecology 1987, 24:615-631.
18. Hongo A., Matsumoto S., Takahashi H., Zou H., Cheng J., Jia H., Zhao Z. Effect of exclosure and topography on rehabilitation of overgrazed shrub-steppe in the loess plateau of northwest China. Restoration Ecology 1995, 3:18-25.
19. Kipkorir E.C. Analysis of rainfall climate on Njemps Flats, Baringo District, Kenya. Journal of Arid Environments 2002, 50:445-458.
20. McIntosh P.D., Allen R.B., Scott N. Effects of exclosure and management on biomass and soil nutrient pools in seasonally dry high country, New Zealand. Journal of Environmental Management 1997, 51:169-186.
21. Mekuria W., Veldkamp E., Haile M., Nyssen J., Muys B., Gebrehiwot K. Effectiveness of exclosures to restore degraded soils as a result of overgrazing in Tigray, Ethiopia. Journal of Arid Environments 2007, 69:270-284.
22. Meyerhoff E. Taking Stock: Changing Livelihoods in a Agropastoral Community 1991, ACTS Press, Nairobi, 58 pp.
23. Mureithi, S.M., 2006. The effect of enclosures on rehabilitation of degraded semi-arid land in Lake Baringo Basin, Kenya. Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis, Ghent University, Belgium.
24. Mwangi E., Swallow B. Prosopis juliflora invasion and Rural livelihoods in the Lake Baringo area of Kenya. Conservation and Society 2008, 6(2):130-140.
25. Mwilawa A.J., Komwihangilo D.M., Kusekwa M.L. Conservation of forage resources for increasing livestock production in traditional forage reserves in Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology 2008, 46(Suppl. 1):85-89.
26. Oba G., Vetaas O.R., Stenseth N.C. Relationships between biomass and plant species richness in arid-zone grazing lands. Journal of Applied Ecology 2001, 38:836-845.
27. Peel M.J.S., Kruger J.M., Zacharias P.J.K. Environmental and management determinants of vegetation state on protected areas in the eastern Lowveld of South Africa. African Journal of Ecology 2005, 43:352-361.
28. Peterson G., Allen C.R., Holling C.S. Ecological resilience, biodiversity, and scale. Ecosystems 1998, 1:6-18.
29. Pratt D.J. Reseeding denuded land in Baringo District, Kenya. East African Agricultural and Forestry Journal 1963, 29:78-91.
30. Retzer V. Impacts of grazing and rainfall variability on the dynamics of a Sahelian rangeland revisited (Hein, 2006) - new insights from old data. Journal of Arid Environments 2006, 67:157-164.
31. Rosenschein A., Tietema T., Hall D.O. Biomass measurement and monitoring of trees and shrubs in a semi-arid region of central Kenya. Journal of Arid Environments 1999, 42:97-116.
32. Ruiz-Jaen M.C., Aide T.M. Restoration success: how is it being measured?. Restoration Ecology 2005, 13:569-577.
33. Sinclair R. Long-term changes in vegetation, gradual and episodic, on the TGB Osborn Vegetation Reserve, Koonamore, South Australia (1926-2002). Australian Journal of Botany 2005, 53:283-296.
34. Snelder D.J., Bryan R.B. The use of rainfall simulation tests to assess the influence of vegetation density on soil loss on degraded rangelands in the Baringo District, Kenya. Catena 1995, 25:105-116.
35. Stelfox B.J. Effects of livestock enclosures (bomas) on the vegetation of the Athi plains, Kenya. African Journal of Ecology 1986, 24:41-45.
36. Su Y.Z., Li Y.L., Cui J.Y., Zhao W.Z. Influences of continuous grazing and livestock exclusion on soil properties in a degraded sandy grassland, Inner Mongolia, northern China. Catena 2005, 59:267-278.
37. Sutherland R.A., Bryan R.B., Wyendes D.O. Analysis of monthly and annual rainfall climate in a semi-arid environment, Kenya. Journal of Arid Environments 1991, 20:257-275.
38. Tefera S., Snyman H.A., Smit G.N. Rangeland dynamics in southern Ethiopia: (1) botanical composition of grasses and soil characteristics in relation to land-use and distance from water in semi-arid Borana rangelands. Journal of Environmental Management 2007, 85(2):429-442.
39. Thom D.J., Martin N.L. Ecology and production in Baringo-Kerio valley, Kenya. The Geographical Review 1983, 73(1):15-29.
40. USDA-SCS/GoK Reconnaissance Soil Survey. Lake Baringo-Kerio Valley Area 1978, Government of Kenya, Ministry of Agriculture Project Evaluation and Management Division, Nairobi.
41. Valone T.J., Meyer M., Brown J.H., Chew R.M. Timescale of perennial grass recovery in desertified arid grasslands following livestock removal. Conservation Biology 2002, 16:995-1002.
42. van den Berg L., Kellner K. Restoring degraded patches in a semi-arid rangeland of South Africa. Journal of Arid Environments 2005, 61:497-511.
43. Verdoodt A., Mureithi S.M., Ye L., Van Ranst E. Chronosequence analysis of two enclosure management strategies in degraded rangeland of semi-arid Kenya. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 2009, 129:332-339.
44. Visser N., Botha J.C., Hardy M.B. Re-establishing vegetation on bare patches in the Nama Karoo, South Africa. Journal of Arid Environments 2004, 57:155-177.
45. Whisenant S.G., Thurow T.L., Maranz S.J. Initiating autogenic restoration on shallow semi-arid sites. Restoration Ecology 1995, 3:61-67.
46. Yayneshet T., Eik L.O., Moe S.R. The effects of exclosures in restoring degraded semi-arid vegetation in communal grazing lands in northern Ethiopia. Journal of Arid Environments 2009, 73:542-549.
47. Young T.P., Partridge N., Macrae A. Long-term glades in Acacia bushland and their edge effects in Laikipia, Kenya. Ecological Applications 1995, 5:97-108.