Lessons on the relationship between livestock husbandry and biodiversity from the Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE)

Corinna Riginos,Felicia Keesing,Kari E Veblen,Lauren M Porensky,Wilfred O Odadi,Truman P Young,Marit L Wilkerson,Duncan Kimuyu,Ryan L Sensenig

doi:10.1186/2041-7136-2-10

Abstract

Abstract Although livestock and wildlife share most of their ranges worldwide, little controlled experimental research has been done on their interactions. Since 1995 we have been manipulating the presence of cattle and large wild ungulates in a Kenyan savanna rangeland in order to better understand the nature of competition and coexistence between these two guilds of herbivores and how they affect biodiversity. In a replicated experiment in which different combinations of cattle and wild herbivores are allowed access to large-scale plots, we have been monitoring the impacts of these herbivores on vegetation, on the wild herbivores, and cattle themselves, and on a variety of other taxa. We have also been conducting experimental research to examine other ways in which livestock management in eastern Africa might affect biodiversity. These include studies on the impacts of fire, livestock corrals, and changes in tree density. This research has revealed the following patterns. (1) Cattle suppress many species of wild herbivores, presumably through competition for their shared resources. The nature of this competition, however, is contingent on rainfall and the presence of other herbivores. (2) Wild herbivores both compete with and facilitate cattle, depending on rainfall. (3) The pastoral practice of housing livestock nightly in protective corral enclosures (“bomas”) over time produces long-lived nutrient hotspots preferred by both livestock and wild herbivores. (4) Fire, frequently used by pastoralists in the past, is valuable for improving grass quality, with benefits for many species of wild herbivores. (5) Pastoral practices that reduce woody cover, including burning and boma construction, create local habitat patches that are preferred by wild herbivores, apparently for their greater anti-predator visibility. (6) Despite competition between livestock and wild herbivores, coexistence between these two guilds can be managed, and there are several positive (facilitative) pathways between livestock husbandry and wild herbivores and other biodiversity.

Highlights

The relationship between pastoralism and biodiversity has been the subject of much discussion, but relatively little experimental research
Recent research has suggested that moderate livestock densities may even be beneficial to biodiversity (Gregory and Sensenig 2010; Soderstrom and Reid 2010; Augustine et al 2011; Woodroffe 2011; Reid 2012). We briefly review these alternate views and summarize the scientific evidence emerging from projects associated with the Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE) that shed light on the relationship between livestock and biodiversity in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa
We illustrate some of the possible impacts that may be brought about by particular activities in which many pastoralists in eastern Africa engage. These activities include livestock grazing, constructing corrals where livestock spend the night, using fire to improve or manage forage for livestock, and cutting wood for domestic use or commercial charcoal production

Summary

Introduction

The relationship between pastoralism and biodiversity has been the subject of much discussion, but relatively little experimental research. We illustrate some of the possible impacts that may be brought about by particular activities in which many pastoralists in eastern Africa (and to some extent southern Africa) engage These activities include livestock grazing (here, we focus on cattle grazing), constructing corrals where livestock spend the night, using fire to improve or manage forage for livestock, and cutting wood for domestic use or commercial charcoal production. Laikipia and KLEE We have been studying the interactions among livestock, wild ungulate herbivores, and the land they share at the Mpala Research Centre and Ranch in Laikipia, Kenya, since 1992 (Figure 1) The landscape in this region is a semi-arid savanna dominated by perennial grasses and Acacia trees.

Key findings

Findings

Discussion