The Impact of Livestock Grazing on Soil Characteristics in Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Cosmas Mligo

doi:10.4236/gep.2015.39004

Abstract

Livestock grazing is an anthropogenic disturbance on the soil properties in montane forests of the northern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. It was determined the effect of livestock grazing on SOC, N, CEC, SAS, SFD and P in the montane forest. Forty plots were randomly established for collection of soil samples. Data showed livestock grazing decreased the accumulation of SOC and consequently negatively affected the natural pattern of N, P, SFD, CEC and SAS. An opposing pattern of available soil phosphorus was interpreted that the nutrient pool retained in plant tissues particularly in the long-lived trees, which were absent in heavily grazed area. The observed positive correlation between SOC with TN and CEC implies the livestock grazing impacts on the former negatively affected the later soil parameters. Low fungal density in degraded parts of the montane forest indicates that they are sensitive to the current land use change. Based on the observation from this study, it can be regarded that excessive livestock grazing has a long-term negative ramification for soil conservation in montane forest. An important decision has to be sought off with regard to the conservation management of soil characteristics of the montane forest in Kilimanjaro Mountain.

Highlights

Mount Kilimanjaro is among biodiversity conservation sanctuaries in Tanzania and has recently being promoted to a national park
The objective of this study is to assess the impacts of livestock grazing pressure on soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available soil phosphorus, cation exchange capacity, soil aggregate stability and soil fungal density in montane forest of the northern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro that has been exposed to a combination of livestock grazing species for effective biodiversity conservation of Kilimanjaro National Park
A significantly higher percentage soil organic carbon was observed in soil samples from ungrazed areas than those from the least grazed areas (Lsd = 5.41, q = 5.22, p < 0.01), but no significant difference was observed between soils from ungrazed area to those from moderate and heavily grazed areas (p > 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

Mount Kilimanjaro is among biodiversity conservation sanctuaries in Tanzania and has recently being promoted to a national park. The mountain has a complex biodiversity composition and distribution due to multiple bioclimatic belts at different altitudes [2] These belts can be distinguished along the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and the montane forest belt covers the major part of the mountain. Despite of the biological complexity of Mount Kilimanjaro, it has been encroached by livestock grazing on the northern slopes of the montane forest. The use of natural habitat for livestock production has caused serious degradation of ecosystems worldwide [3] This is because of the human population pressure associated with increased in the land-use changes that affect soil properties [4]. The negative impacts of livestock grazing on soil properties in montane forest of Mount Kilimanjaro forms part among recent ecological studies ([5] [6]). Disturbance on surface soils through livestock grazing can influence terrestrial ecosystem fertility by changing the vegetation cover, soil microbial communities, soil organic carbon, nitrogen (N) fixation and phosphorus storage and this may have happened in the montane forest

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