Abstract
Agro-pastoralism involves the growing of crops and keeping of livestock as a livelihood strategy practiced by communities in rural areas in Africa and is highly dependent on environmental factors including rainfall, soil and vegetation. Agro-pastoral activities, e.g. livestock grazing and land clearing for crop cultivation, impact on environmental condition. This study evaluated the impacts of agro-pastoral activities on herbaceous plant species diversity and abundance in western Serengeti relative to conservation (protected) areas. A vegetation survey was conducted along the grazing gradients of ten 4 km transects from within village lands to protected areas. A total of 123 herbaceous species belonging to 20 families were identified. Higher herbaceous species diversity and richness were found in protected areas than in communal grazing lands. Similarly, the number of perennial herbaceous species was higher in the former than the latter, while occurrence of annuals was higher in the village areas. This observation indicates poor rangeland condition in village communal grazing lands as compared with protected areas. It is obvious that current agro-pastoral activities have contributed to a reduction in herbaceous species diversity in village lands in western Serengeti. However, the array of pasture species, especially desirable perennial species, still present in communal grazing areas, suggests that rejuvenation of these areas is possible. Resting of grazing land is recommended to reverse the trend towards diversity reduction and ensure future availability of feed resources for grazing animals in village lands.
Highlights
Agro-pastoralism is a combination of cropping and keeping of livestock as a livelihood strategy practiced by communities in rural areas
Agro-pastoralism involves the growing of crops and keeping of livestock as a livelihood strategy practiced by communities in rural areas in Africa and is highly dependent on environmental factors including rainfall, soil and vegetation
This study evaluated the impacts of agro-pastoral activities on herbaceous plant species diversity and abundance in western Serengeti relative to conservation areas
Summary
Agro-pastoralism is a combination of cropping and keeping of livestock as a livelihood strategy practiced by communities in rural areas. The success of agro-pastoralism in western Serengeti is heavily reliant on environmental factors including rainfall, soil and vegetation (Salami et al 2010). Crops grown by agro-pastoralists during 4‒8 years include food crops such as maize (Zea mays), cassava (Manihot esculenta), sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) and finger millet (Eleusine coracana); cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) as a cash crop; and other food crops such as sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and a variety of vegetables (Mfunda and Røskaft 2011). Land is left fallow for 4‒5 years. Livestock grazing is normally conducted in communal grazing lands and abandoned or fallow lands (Kavana et al 2017)
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