grassland management : production and conservation
TRANSCRIPT
IS IT FACT ???
The livestock population in India is nearly 15 % of the total
livestock population of the world, through we have only 2 % of
the world’s geographical area.
The projection for green and dry fodder requirement in India
has been estimated at 1061 and 590 million tonnes by 2010 A.D.
while the present feed and fodder resources in the country
can meet only 4 % of the requirement.
The grazing intensity is very high i.e. 26 adult cattle unit / ha
as against 0.8 ACU/ha in the developing countries.
About 25 % i.e. 80 m ha of country’s land are offers varied
degree of grazing to the animals.
These areas are mainly natural grasslands including barren
and uncultivated land, permanent pastures, grazing lands and
culturable wastes.
What is a grassland ?
A “grassland” or more appropriately, a “range”.
‘The areas which are predominantly covered with grasses or grass
like plants and are primarily utilized as forage for grazing animals or
used as hay’.
The annual rainfall is insufficient to support
a luxuriant growth of trees.
Grasslands are however not restricted
to low rainfall areas.
Located on hill slopes with patches of forests
along nala courses and depressions as in the shola region of South
India.
Grassland ecosystems form Himalayan pastures, the terai grassland
of the foothills, semi-arid grasslands of Western and Central India, in
scrublands of the Deccan Plateau and in the Shola forests of the
Western Ghats, Nilgiri and Anaimalai ranges.
Thus depending on the quantity of rain, there are tall, medium and short grasses.
Why manage grasslands? Environmental benefits Prevents grassland from turning into brush land.
Maintains or enhances the soil erosion, water quality, soil quality and carbon
sequestration benefits of existing grassland.
Protects restored habitat for many plants and animals important including pheasant,
ducks, songbirds and endangered species.
Grazing lands provide the forage that is the heart of the area's beef, sheep, goat,
dairy and horse operations.
Practical benefits
Improves the quality and yield of forage, biomass or native seed
production.
Keeps unwanted species from getting established and becoming a
nuisance.
Provides opportunities for hunting, birding and wildlife watching.
Keep grass-based conservation practices working properly.
May support nearby crop health by providing long-term habitat for animals
that eat insect pests and habitat for pollinator species that many crops rely
upon, such as bees.
Helps prevent gully formation that requires expensive corrective measures.
Provides a low-cost alternative to growing crops on marginal land.
Himalayan pastures
Terai grasslands
Semi-arid grasslands
Shola grasslands
Climate: The climate for grasslands is basically
dry.
Precipitation usually does not exceed
100 cm per year, with a minimum near
20 cm per year.
Temperatures range from below 0
degrees C to about 20° C.
As moisture levels increase, grasslands
usually give way to temperate forests.
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Joe Pye Weed - Eupatorium
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Common Teasel:
Dipsacus fullonum
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Bison (Bison bison) Horse (Equus ferus)
Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus)
White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum)
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Areas of the world covered by grasslands.
There are two common terms in grassland ecology “Range lands”
and “pastures”.
The rangelands refers to large, naturally vegetated, mostly
unfenced grasslands of low rainfall areas that are grazed by
domesticated animals and wild life.
Pasture are the improved grazing lands that receive abundant
rainfall and are even irrigated, fenced, generally fertilized and seeded
for forage plants.
Grasslands, especially those with climatic climax vegetation , are a
distinct ecosystem. The prairies, steppes, range pampas, most of the
savannahs etc., in different parts of the world have climax vegetation.
Grasslands in India
The area under permanent pastures and grass lands – 13 m.ha
Area degraded through special problems:
Water logged – 11.60 m.ha
Alkali soil - 04.50 m.ha
Saline soil - 05.50 m.ha
Acid soil - 25.00 m.ha
Ravines & Gullies – 03.97 m.ha
Shifting cultivation – 04.91 m.ha
Riverine & torrents – 02.73 m.ha
Flood porne area - 40.00 m.ha
The grassland survey carried out by the ICAR (Indian Grassland
and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi)
Total land resource – 328.720 m ha
The available land resources for grazing
Land resource Percent
Forest cover 21.05
Permanent pasture 3.94
Miscellaneous tree crops and grooves 1.14
Cultivable wasteland 5.08
Fallow lands 7.52
Total 38.73
Dabadghao and Shankarnarayan, 1973
Four main grass covers recognized in the tropical and sub tropical parts of our country
Species Distribution
Dicanthium – cenchrus - lasirus Northern Gujarat, Rajasthan, Western
U.P., Haryana, Punjab and J&K.
The floristic list includes 24 perennial
grasses and 129 herbaceous species
including 56 legumes.
Sehima – Dicanthium Central plateau, Chhota Nagpur,
Aravalli ranges, A.P, Gujarat, Kerala, M.P,
Maharashtra, Orissa, T.N, S-W Bengal,
Southern Bihar, Eastern hilly portion of UP.
And Rajasthan.
19 grasses and 56 herbs reported from
these covers.
Phragmites – saccharum - imperata Humid, sub humid regions of the
Gangetic plains and Brahmaputra valley.
11 grasses and 45 other herbs reported
from these covers.
Themeda arundinella Manipur, Assam, W. B, U.P., Punjab, H.P. J&K,
and upto altitude of 2100m.
Bhimaya & Ahuja,
1969
Range
lands
in Western
Rajast-
han
Survey and protection
Bush clearance
Adoption of soil and water
Conservation measures
Reseeding with better species
Use of adequate fertilizers to
boost yields
The scope of increasing the area under cultivated forage is rather
limited because of preferential need for human food.
Therefore lies in maximizing forage production in space and time,
identifying new forage resources, increasing forage production within
the existing farming systems and utilizing marginal drylands or
wastelands and problems soils for developing fodder resources.
Botanical composition and the overall percentage of grasses
present.
Depends upon physical statistics.
Fencing the area- pre requisite.
Wire fencing, live hedge or thorny
Fencing.
Social fencing – JFM – protection by the community .
To meet the fodder requirements of animals monsoon seasons.
Remaining period - shortage of fodder and grasses
Depends upon type / variety.
Humid dry temperate tropical – managed differently.
Grass cover- protective barrier of the soil.
Enriching biomass – conserving the soil and moisture .
Environs for advanced tree species to regenerate / planted.
Objective – to develop a combination of fodder and forage
species with in the productive potential of the site considering
the edaphic and climatic condition.
Regulation of grazing:
Continuous grazing
Rotational grazing
Controlled grazing
Early versus deferred grazing
Deferred rotational grazing
It is a one pasture system where livestock are left to graze in a
large area for the entire season.
Advantages Disadvantage
•Requires least labor and time.
•Capital costs are minimal.
•Animals can eat the best plants if not
overstocked.
•Lower stocking rate and less pounds
produced per acre.
•Lower forage quality and yields.
•Uneven pasture use.
•Weeds and brush may be a problem.
•Both over-grazing and under-grazing
can occur in the same pasture.
• Animal manure is distributed
unevenly.
It is a system that uses more than one pasture.
Livestock are moved from pasture to pasture according to forage
growth and feed requirements.
This is year long rotation in blocks and compartments in rotation.
The goal is give rest to the land.
Advantages Disadvantage
Can increase forage production and
condition of pasture over a continuous
system.
Allows pastures to rest and allows for
regrowth.
Can provide for longer grazing
season, reducing winter feed.
More even distribution of manure
throughout the paddocks.
Fencing costs and water supply
establishment can be higher than in
continuous systems.
Although forage production is
increased over continuous grazing, it is
not as high as intensive grazing
systems.
Regulation on the basis of carrying capacity
Pasture lands open for grazing
And others closed for grazing
Livestock are not allowed to roam in the entire field
Deferred grazing – postponing or delaying the
grazing
For entire growing season
Or beginning of the growing
season
Or the late part of the growing
season
To enable the vegetation
to grow well
Grazing allowed only after seeding
Management intensive grazing (MIG)
It is a system that breaks larger fields into smaller units called
paddocks. Animals are moved frequently at high stocking rates.
Each paddock is grazed, then rested before animals are allowed to
graze again.
*Nose pump waterer, piped from a large pond.
Advantages Disadvantage
Highest forage production and use
per acre.
Weeds and brush are usually
controlled naturally.
More even distribution of manure
throughout the paddocks.
Usually increases stocking rates and
livestock seem more content.
Gives more forage options. Pastures
can be rested and grazed more
efficiently.
Requires careful monitoring of
forage.
Initial costs may be higher due to
fencing materials and water.
Water distribution systems may be
more complicated due to the increased
number of paddocks
Three blocks are used each year changing sequence of
grazing in a way that each block is grazed for one-third year
and protected for two third year
Better to have this system of grazing on the basis of the
development of the range vegetation rather than a fixed
period of time.
Removal of herbage
Dissemination of seeds
Trampling of soil
o Grazing reduces the photosynthetic area and drains its
food reserves.
o Heavy grazing affects the vegetation as a whole –
handicapping preferred species and favouring less
palatable species.
o Create a drier micro environment at the ground surface -
increase the soil erosion.
o The aim of grassland management will be to reduce these
undesirable species and to promote preferable and
palatable varieties.
Grazing animals - constructive factor in the invasion and
spread of some perennial herbs and grasses
It not only damages to plants but it may damage
the soil as well.
The effects are more marked in the
compaction of fine textured soil when wet
Rain water is then likely to flow off the surface
carrying with topsoil, instead of soaking into
the ground and replenishing the soil moisture
supply.
Directly cause erosion
Infiltration capacity may directly proportional
to the amount of herbaceous material left.
Rainfall(mm/yr) Major soil type Suitable grasses
<200 Sandy soil Panicum antidotale
Lasiurus sindicus
Cymbopogon spp.
200 - 400 Alluvial soil Cenchrus ciliaris
Cenchrus setigenus
400- 600 Red sandy loam
Black clay loam
Cenchrus ciliaris
Chrysopogon fulvus
Heteropogon
Contortus
Dicanthium annulatum
>600 Loam to clay loam soil
Rocky degraded
Pasicum maximum
Napier hybrid
Setaria sphacelata
Sehima nervosum
Undesired bushes and shrubs compete with grasses for
space, light , nutrition.
In inaccessible areas and steep slopes - bush clearance lead
to serious soil erosion and difficult to establish the grass
Undulation topography – pitting ,contour bunding, and contour
furrowing
Harvesting of rain water by plugging gullies, streams or nallas
Put the check bunds at several points on a stream – utilization during
the period of mixture stress – rejuvenating grasses,
Reseeding with better yielding, adaptable, persistent and
aggressive species becomes essential.
The land is cleared of undesirable bushes. Apply 25-30 cart
loads of FYM
Grass seeds are very small – chances to blown away and washed
by the current water
The seed processed into small pellets – 3:1:1:1 sand , clay, cow
dung and fertiliser
Chemical fertilizer and FYM should be used.
Not only improving the fertility of the soil also its structure,
increasing its water holding capacity.
Apply at least once in 2 – 3 years.
Singh, 1986
The role of vegetation in general and grasses in
particular in soil and water conservation.
The grass plant itself protects the soil from the force
of water erosion including the impact of rain drops and
surface flow.
Grass acts as a spring cushion intercepting and
breaking up the felling rain drops on their way down,
conducting the water down the blades and stems of the
plants and finally allowing it to reach the ground as fine
sprays without disturbing the surface.
Clumps of grass plants, in a mechanical way, obstruct
–flowing water and reduce its rate of flow.
There are four different approaches to deal with
the control soil erosion: 1. To condition the soil to make it resistant to detachment
and transportation and create more absorptive surface
layer;
2. To cover the soil so that it is protected from the impact
of wind and rain drops;
3. To decrease the velocity of wind or runoff water and
4. To provide safe disposal outlet for surplus runoff.
Grass and legumes increase the aggregation of soil
particles, improvement soil structure and water holding
capacity of the soil.
Grasses give quicker protection to eroded lands.
To established gully sides, water-ways, gully heads and
check dams, grass is perhaps the most effective and
economical tool.
It can be put to various uses in soil conservation, viz;
Strip cropping, rotational cropping or lay farming.
Stabilization of bunds and terraces.
Stabilization of gullies, diversion or drainage channels.
Stabilization of sand dunes.
Meadows and pastures on steep slops. Fertility builder
for eroded soil.
References:
Rajora rajesh,(1998): Integrated watershed management,Rajwat
publication, Jaipur.pg.no 381 – 406
Dhurva Narayan V.V.(1998) Soil and water conservation Research
in Indis, CSWCRTI, Dehradun.
Chinnamani,S. and Bonde ,W.C.(1993) Selection of grasses for
soil conservation in Hyderabad.CSWCRTI, Dehradun.
Chittaranjan,S. (2001) ,Indicator plants and animals for
grasslands Indian Forester, 91(9).
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