Impact of Community Conservation Management on Herbaceous Layer and Soil Nutrients in a Kenyan Semi-Arid Savannah

Land Degradation and Development

Volumn 27, Issue 8, 2016, Pages 1820-1830

  Mureithi, Stephen M ^a,b   Verdoodt, Ann ^b   Njoka, Jesse T ^a   Gachene, Charles K K ^a   Warinwa, Fiesta ^c   Van Ranst, Eric ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI   (Kenya)

^b GHENT UNIVERSITY   (Belgium)

^c AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION   (Kenya)

Author keywords

conservation management; herbaceous vegetation; land zoning; livestock wildlife interface rangeland condition

Indexed keywords

AGRICULTURE; ANIMALS; CARBON; CONSERVATION; DIGITAL STORAGE; FORESTRY; NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT; NUTRIENTS; ORGANIC CARBON; SOILS; VEGETATION; ZONING;

CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTIC; COMMUNITY CONSERVATIONS; CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT; HERBACEOUS VEGETATION; LIVESTOCK-WILDLIFE INTERFACE RANGELAND CONDITION; NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT; PARTICIPATORY APPROACH; TOTAL ORGANIC CARBON;

SOIL CONSERVATION;

COMMUNITY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT; CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT; GRAZING PRESSURE; LAND DEGRADATION; RANGELAND; SAVANNA; SEMIARID REGION; SOIL NUTRIENT; VEGETATION COVER; ZONING POLICY;

KENYA; LAIKIPIA;

BOS; POACEAE;

EID: 84907833927     PISSN: 10853278     EISSN: 1099145X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2315     Document Type: Article

References (70)

1. Ahn PM, Geiger LC. 1987. Reconnaissance soil map of Laikipia District. Appendix 2 to report no. R13 ‘Soils of Laikipia District’. Ministry of Agriculture. National Agricultural Laboratories, Kenya. Arid and Semi-arid Lands Branch. URL: http://tinyurl.com/6hsczam
2. Allen RB, Wilson JB, Mason CR. 1995. Vegetation change following exclusion of grazing animals in depleted grassland, Central Otago, New Zealand. Journal of Vegetation Science 6: 615–626.
3. Angassa A. 2012. Effects of grazing intensity and bush encroachment on herbaceous species and rangeland condition in Southern Ethiopia. Land Degradation & Development. DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2160
4. Augustine DJ. 2003. Long-term, livestock-mediated redistribution on nitrogen and phosphorus in an East African savanna. Journal of Applied Ecology 40: 137–149.
5. Augustine DJ, McNaughton SJ, Frank DA. 2003. Feedbacks between soil nutrients and large herbivores in a managed savanna ecosystem. Ecological Applications 13: 1325–1337.
6. Bardgett RD, Wardle DA. 2003. Herbivore-mediated linkages between aboveground and belowground communities. Ecology 84: 2258–2268.
7. Beeskow AM, Elissalde NO, Rostagno CM. 1995. Ecosystem changes associated with grazing intensity on the Punta Ninfas rangelands of Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of Range Management 48: 517–522.
8. Bilotta GS, Brazier RE, Haygarth PM. 2007. The impacts of grazing animals on the quality of soils, vegetation, and surface waters in intensively managed grasslands. Advances in Agronomy 94: 237–250.
9. Boonman G. 1993. East Africa's grasses and fodders: their ecology and husbandry. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
10. Brady WW, Mitchell JE, Bonham CD, Cook JW. 1995. Assessing the power of the point-line transect to monitor changes in plant basal cover. Journal of Range Management 48: 187–190.
11. Burnsilver S, Mwangi E. 2007. Beyond group ranch subdivision: collective action for livestock mobility, ecological viability, and livelihoods. International Food Policy Research Institute: Washington DC.
12. Butt B. 2010. Pastoral resource access and utilization: quantifying the spatial and temporal relationships between livestock mobility, density and biomass availability in southern Kenya. Land Degradation & Development 21: 520–539. DOI: 10.1002/ldr.989
13. Cingolani AM, Cabido MR, Renison D, Solís Neffa, V. 2003. Combined effects of environment and grazing on vegetation structure in Argentine granite grasslands. Journal of Vegetation Science 14: 223–232.
14. Cook WC, Stubbendieck J. 1986. Range research: basic problems and techniques. Society for Range Management, Denver, Colorado.
15. Friedel MH, Sparrow AD, Kinloch JE, Tongway DJ. 2003. Degradation and recovery processes in arid grazing lands of central Australia. Part 2: vegetation. Journal of Arid Environments 55: 327–348.
16. Galaty JG. 1994. Ha(l)ving land in common: the subdivision of Maasai group ranches in Kenya. Nomadic Peoples 34/35: 109–122.
17. Galt D, Molinar F, Navarro J, Joseph J, Holechek J. 2000. Grazing capacity and stocking rate. Rangelands 22: 7–11.
18. Georgiadis NJ, Ihwagi F, Olwero NJG, Romañach SS. 2007. Savanna herbivore dynamics in a livestock-dominated landscape. II: ecological, conservation, and management implications of predator restoration. Biological Conservation 137: 473–483.
19. Graham O. 1989. A land divided: the impact of ranching on a pastoral society. Ecologist 19: 184–185.
20. Han G, Hao X, Zhao M, Wang M, Ellert BH, Willms W, Wang M. 2008. Effect of grazing intensity on carbon and nitrogen in soil and vegetation in a meadow steppe in Inner Mongolia. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 125: 21–32.
21. He NP, Zhang YH, Yu Q, Chen QS, Pan QM, Zhang GM, Han XG. 2011. Grazing intensity impacts soil carbon and nitrogen storage of continental steppe. Ecosphere 2: 1–10.
22. Heald S. 1999. Agricultural Intensification and the decline of pastoralism in Kenya. Africa, 69: 213–237.
23. Henson A, Williams D, Dupain J, Gichohi H, Muruthi P. 2009. The heartland conservation process: enhancing biodiversity conservation and livelihoods through landscape-scale conservation planning in Africa. Oryx 43: 508–519.
24. Homewood K, Rodgers A. 1991. Maasailand ecology: pastoralist development and wildlife conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 285 pp.
25. IUCN. 1994. Guidelines for protected area management categories. IUCN, Switzerland.
26. IUSS Working Group WRB. 2007. World reference base for soil resources 2006. World Soil Resources Reports 103. FAO, Rome. http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/agll/wrb/. Electronic update 2007.
27. Jaetzold R, Schmidt H. 1983. Farm management handbook of Kenya, vol. IIB, Central Kenya. Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya.
28. Jewell PL, Kauferle D, Gusewell S, Berry NR, Kreuzer M, Edwards PJ. 2007. Redistribution of phosphorus by mountain pasture in cattle on a traditional the Alps. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 122: 377–386.
29. King EG, Hobbs RJ. 2006. Identifying linkages among conceptual models of ecosystem degradation and restoration: towards an integrative framework. Restoration Ecology 14: 369–378.
30. Kinyua D, McGeoch LE, Georgiadis N, Young TP. 2009. Short-term and long-term effects of soil ripping, seeding, and fertilization on the restoration of a tropical rangeland. Restoration Ecology 18: 226–233.
31. Lavado RS, Sierra JO, Hashimota PW. 1996. Impact of grazing on soil nutrients in Pampean grasslands. Journal of Range Management 49: 452–457.
32. Little PD, Smith K, Cellarius BA, Coppock DL, Barrett C. 2001. Avoiding disaster: diversification and risk management among East African herders. Development and Change 32: 401–433.
33. Marrs RH, Rizand A, Harrison AF. 1989. The effects of removing sheep grazing on soil chemistry, above-ground nutrient distribution, and selected aspects of soil fertility in long-term experiments at Moor House National Nature Reserve. Journal of Applied Ecology 26: 647–661.
34. Martínez AJ, Villar GA, Lasanta T. 2013. The use of goats grazing to restore pastures invaded by shrubs and avoid desertification: a preliminary case study in the Spanish Cantabrian Mountains. Land Degradation & Development. DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2230
35. McIntosh PD, Allen RB. 1998. Effect of enclosure on soils, biomass, plant nutrients, and vegetation, on unfertilized steep lands, upper Waitaki District, South Island, New Zealand. Journal of Ecology 22: 209–217.
36. Milton ST, Dean WRJ, du Plessis MA, Siegfried WR. 1994. A conceptual model of arid rangeland degradation: the escalating cost of declining productivity. Bioscience 44: 70–76.
37. Moussa AS, van Rensburg L, Kellener K, Bationo A. 2009. Exploring differences of soil quality as related to management in semiarid rangelands in the western Bophirima District, Northwest Province, South Africa. African Journal of Range and Forage Science 26: 27–36.
38. Muchiru AN, Western DJ, Reid RS. 2008. The role of abandoned pastoral settlements in the dynamics of African large herbivore communities. Journal of Arid Environments 72: 940–952.
39. NRT, Northern Rangelands Trust. 2012. URL: http://www.nrt-kenya.org/Cited: 22/08/2012
40. O'Connor TG, Pickett GA. 1992. The effects of grazing history on the herbaceous composition: population structure and seed banks of some African savanna grasslands. Journal of Applied Ecology 29: 247–260.
41. Oguge NO. 2005. Monitoring and evaluation of community based natural resource management programmes: biological databases and range conditions in Koija, Tiamamut and Kijabe group ranches of Laikipia District. African Wildlife Foundation Report 53 pp.
42. Olsen SR, Cole CV, Watanabe FS, Dean LA. 1954. Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. U.S. Department of Agriculture: Washington, DC.
43. Oluwole FA, Sikhalazo D. 2008. Land degradation in a reserve in Eastern Cape of South Africa: soil properties and vegetation cover. Scientific Research and Essay 3: 111–119.
44. Ottichilo WK, de Leeuw J, Skidmore AK, et al. 2000. Population trends of large non-migratory wild herbivores and livestock in the Maasai Mara ecosystem, Kenya, between 1977 and 1997. African Journal of Ecology 38: 202–216.
45. Owen-Smith N. 1999. The animal factor in veld management: implications of selective patters of grazing. In Veld management in South Africa, Tainton ND (ed.). University of Natal Press: Pietermaritzburg; 129–130.
46. Rietkerk M, Ketner P, Stroosnijder L, Prins HHT. 1996. Sahelian rangeland development; a catastrophe? Journal of Range Management 49: 512–519.
47. Robertson E. 1996. Impacts of livestock grazing on soils and recommendations for management. California Native Plant Society: California.
48. Roques KG, O'Conner TG, Watkinson AR. 2001. Dynamics of shrub encroachment in an African savanna: relative influences of fire, herbivory, rainfall and density dependence. Journal of Applied Ecology 8: 268–281.
49. Rutherford MC, Powrie LW, Husted LB. 2012. Herbivore-driven land degradation: consequences for plant diversity and soil in arid subtropical thicket in south-eastern Africa. Land Degradation & Development. DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2181
50. Sankaran M, Hanan NP, Scholes RJ, et al. 2005. Determinants of woody vegetation in African savannas. Nature Letters 438: 846–849.
51. Sarmiento G. 1992. Adaptive strategies of perennial grasses in South African savannas. Journal of Vegetation Science 3: 325–336.
52. Scholes RJ, Archer SR. 1997. Tree-grass interactions in savannas. Annual Review of Ecological Systematics 28: 517–544.
53. Shannon CE, Weaver W. 1949. The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois Press: Urbana.
54. Simioni G, Gignoux J, Le Roux X. 2003. How does the spatial structure of the tree layer influence water balance and primary production in savannas? Results of a 3D modelling approach. Ecology 84: 1879–1894.
55. Skarpe C. 1991. Impact of grazing in savanna ecosystems. Forestry and the Environment 20: 351–356.
56. Skarpe C. 1992. Dynamics of savanna ecosystems. Journal of Vegetation Science 3: 293–300.
57. STE, Save The Elephants Trust. 2012. URL: http://www.savetheelephants.org/Accessed: 22/05/2012
58. Sumba D, Warinwa F, Lenaiyasa P, Muruthi P. 2007. The Koija Starbeds(R) Ecolodge: a case study of a conservation enterprise in Kenya. AWF Working Papers, October 2007. African Wildlife Foundation. 12 pp.
59. Tessema ZK, de Boer WF, Baars RMT, Prins HHT. 2011. Changes in soil nutrients, vegetation structure and herbaceous biomass in response to grazing in a semi-arid savanna of Ethiopia. Journal of Arid Environments 75: 662–670.
60. Trollope WSW. 1990. Development of a technique for assessing veld condition in the Kruger National Park using key grass species. Journal of Grassland Society of South Africa 7: 46–51.
61. Verdoodt A, Mureithi SM, Ye L, Van Ranst E. 2009. Chronosequence analysis of two enclosure management strategies in degraded rangeland of semi-arid Kenya. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 129: 332–339.
62. Wasonga VO, Nyariki DM, Ngugi RK. 2011. Assessing socio-ecological change dynamics using local knowledge in the semi-arid lowlands of Baringo, Kenya. Environmental Research Journal 5: 11–17.
63. Western D, Russell S, Cuthill I. 2009. The status of wildlife in protected areas compared to non-protected areas of Kenya. PLoS ONE 4: e6140.
64. Western D, Wright RM. 1994. The background to community based conservation. In Natural connections: perspectives in community-based conservation, Western D, Wright RM (eds). Island Press: Washington DC; 1–14.
65. Westoby M, Walker B, Noy-Meir I. 1989. Opportunistic management for rangelands not at equilibrium. Journal of Range Management 42: 266–274.
66. Whalen JK, Willms WD, Dormaar JF. 2003. Soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in modified rangeland communities. Journal of Range Management 56: 665–672.
67. Wikimapia.org. 2013a. URL: http://tinyurl.com/6fqqyn5 Imagery date: 2006. Cited: March 15, 2013.
68. Wikimapia.org. 2013b. URL: http://tinyurl.com/blq8lhy Imagery date: 2006. Cited: December 28, 2013.
69. Wikimapia.org. 2014. URL: http://tinyurl.com/3t6nrm5 Imagery date: 2006. Cited: May 6, 2014.
70. Young TP, Patridge N, Macrae A. 1995. Long-term glades in Acacia bushland and their edge effects in Laikipia, Kenya. Ecological Applications 5: 97–108.