There is more in fodder trees than their nutritional values: local valuation of indigenous fodder trees and shrubs by pastoral and agrarian communities in northern Ethiopia

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This research was undertaken to understand variation in local knowledge between two ethnic/livelihood, gender, and age groups on indigenous fodder trees and shrubs (IFTS) and correlate local criteria-based valuation with laboratory-based valuation. The study involved 160 respondents, formal interviews, species identification tests, and scoring of trees. Fodder samples taken from the top 20 preferred species were scanned using NIRS (Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy) and their nutritive value was assessed. ANOVA, non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis median comparison test, and Spearman's rank correlation were used to analyze the data. Local people used diverse criteria falling under three categories: animal-based (5), plant-based (4), and multipurpose criteria (11). Knowledge of fodder trees varied significantly (P < 0.05) between the two ethnic/livelihood groups and gender, but not between age groups. Ziziphus spina-christi and Cordia gharaf were the most locally preferred species for both ethnic/livelihood groups. Local criteria and NIRS-based valuation of IFTS were weakly correlated, suggesting that species selected only on their nutritive merit may not be preferred and adopted by farmers and pastoralists.