Rangeland Management Training

By Dan Robinett, USDA - USAID

7

Kabul, 2006

Do You Know Where This Place Is?

Or These Places?

They are Pictures From My Home in Arizona, America

Objectives of this Training• Introduce Rangeland Management• Combine Your Knowledge and Our Knowledge

Together to Make New Knowledge• Provide Definitions

– Rangeland– Grazing– Rangeland Management

• Learn Rangeland Plants• Understand How Plants Live and Grow• Understand How Plants React to Grazing• Understand Proper Grazing Practices

Rangeland

• Rangeland is land on which the native vegetation is predominantly grasses, grass-like plants, forbs or shrubs. It includes most deserts, grasslands, shrub-lands, alpine areas and savannahs

Grazing - Browsing

• Grazing and browsing are the process by which animals (sheep, goats, horses, deer, argali, ibex, etc.) eat plants to acquire nutrients and energy

Range Management

• Range management is the process by which people manage where, when and how often livestock graze. Range management is both a skill and a science.

Skill in Range Management• The skill in range

management involves knowing how much grazing that plants can tolerate, how much time they need to recover from grazing and how much time they need to reproduce.

Science in Rangeland Management

• Many sciences are involved in Rangeland Management. These include Botany, Biology, Soils, Hydrology, Geology, Plant physiology, Animal science, Climate studies, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Why Study Range Management?

• Over Half of Afghanistan is Rangeland • Serious Problems Occur on These Rangelands

Due to a Combination of Many Factors– Drought– Over grazing– Over harvesting of fuel– Soil erosion – Loss of productivity– Loss of biodiversity

How Can Range Management Help?

• This knowledge can help MAAHF / FRD staff work with communities in their area to– Teach them how plants live and grow– Teach them how to graze properly

• Good range management practices will allow rangelands to recover and will– Increase productivity– Reduce soil erosion– Improve biodiversity

Rangeland Vegetation

• The overall vegetation of any area is controlled by climate (precipitation and temperature)

• Desert • Shrub-land• Grassland• Woodland• Forest

Rangeland Vegetation

• The specific plant community found on any area is a function of climate, soils, topography, slope, aspect (N, S, E, W), and animals.

Plant community 1

Plant community 2

Plant community 3

And so on….

Plants are Primary Producers• Plants capture the

heat energy of the sun and convert it into chemical energy in their green leaves

• Plants produce food for animals

• Animals produce food for people

• Plants take water and nutrients from the soil through their roots.

• Plants take carbon dioxide from the air through their leaves.

• In their green leaves, the plant combines the Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen into a sugar using the heat energy from the sun.

• Solar energy is changed into chemical energy.

• The plant uses the chemical energy to live and grow.

• Plants make oxygen to the air through their leaves.

Plant Taxonomy

• There is a world-wide system of classification of plants

• Kingdom– Fungi– Plants

• Subkingdom– Order

– Family

– Genera

– Species

Growth Forms of Plants

Grass

Forb

Tree

Shrub

Grasses

• Have one seed leaf• Have parallel veins• Have soft tissue• Have very small

flowers• Grow from points

close to the ground• Wheat, barley, oats

and corn are grasses

Forbs• Have two seed leaves• Have a network of veins• Have soft tissue• Have bigger flowers• Grow from points close

to the ground• Beans, potatoes,

tomatoes, alfalfa are forbs

Shrubs• Have two seed leaves• Have a network of veins• Have woody tissue• Flower size varies• Grow from points above

the ground• Usually less than 4 m tall• Pomegranate, roses and

grapes are shrubs

Trees - Conifers

• Leaves like needles or scales

• Have parallel veins• Woody tissue• Always evergreen• Flowers are cones• Usually more than 4m tall• Grows from well above

the ground• Pines, juniper and cedar

are conifers

Trees, Broadleaf• Leaves are broad• Have a network of veins• Woody tissue• Can be evergreen or

deciduous• Flowers are not cones• Usually more than 4 m tall• Grows from well above the

ground• Apples, poplar, pistachio,

and elm are broadleaf trees

Growth Habit

• Annual – Plants live less than 1 year

• Perennial – Plants live more than 1 year

• Deciduous – Plants loose their leaves for part of the year

• Evergreen – Plants have green leaves all year long

Annual grasses and forbs• Live less than 1 year• New plants come from

seed each year• Have shallow and sparse

root systems• Can tolerate extreme

over grazing• Can tolerate extreme

drought• Protect the seeds with

barbs and spines• When seeds are made

the entire plant dies

Perennial Grasses and Forbs

• Live longer than 1 year• Can reproduce with seeds,

rhizomes or stolons• Have deep and dense root

systems• Can tolerate some grazing• Cannot tolerate extreme over

grazing• Can tolerate drought • The base of the plant and roots

remain alive from year to year

Life Spans of Plants

• Grasses – less than 1 year to 20 years

• Forbs – Less than 1 year to 20 years

• Shrubs – from 10 to 500 years

• Trees– Conifers – From 200 to 3500 years– Broadleaf – From 50 to 500 years

Reproduction• Plants have to reproduce • Reproduction can be from:

– Seed– Rhizomes– Stolons

• Plants that have long lives (trees) reproduce infrequently • Plants that have short lives (grasses) need to reproduce

often• Young (seedling) plants need protection from harvest or

grazing to survive and become established

Adaptation

• Plants adapt to their environment– Drought– Cold– Heat– Salinity– Grazing

• Growing points (buds, meristem)• Protection (spines, barbs, taste)• Toxins (make the animal sick)

Where Does Growth Occur in Grasses ?

• Primarily from a zone near the ground

• Secondarily from the nodes on the stems

• If grazed, from buds below the ground

• This is how grasses have adapted to grazing

Where Do Grass Roots Grow From?

• From the base of the plant below ground

• From nodes on rhizomes

• From nodes on stolons

Where Does Growth Occur in Shrubs?

• From a zone at the tips of branches

• From buds at nodes along the stem

• Some shrubs; can grow from buds at the base of the plant

• Some shrubs cannot grow from the base of the plant

Where Do Shrub Roots Grow From?

• From an area at the tips of the roots

• From the base of the plant below ground

• On some shrubs; from the nodes on root suckers

• This is how shrubs have adapted to browsing

How do Perennial Grasses Survive Winter Dormancy and Drought?

• In their green leaves, grasses convert sun energy into chemical energy and they store extra energy (food) in their roots– The grass uses this “stored food” to keep the

roots and base alive during winter– The grass uses this “stored food” to green up

in the spring– The grass uses this “ stored food” to keep its

roots and base alive during drought

How do Shrubs Survive Winter Dormancy and Drought?

• In their green leaves shrubs convert sun energy into chemical energy and store extra energy (food) in their stems above ground as well as in their roots– The shrub uses this “stored food” to keep the

stems and roots alive during winter– The shrub uses this “stored food” to keep the

stems and roots alive during drought– The shrub uses this stored food to green up in

the spring

Plants Store Food in Their Roots Like Animals Store Fat in Their Bodies

Over Grazing – Eating all of the Plant

• The plant does not have enough green leaves to feed itself

• The plant cannot produce enough leaves• The plant cannot produce enough roots• The plant cannot store food in its roots for

winter and to survive drought• Does not leave enough cover on the land

to hold snow and rain and prevent soil erosion

Proper Grazing – Eating Half the Plant

• The plant has enough green leaves to feed itself

• The plant can produce plenty of leaves• The plant can produce plenty of roots• The plant can store enough food in its

roots for winter and to survive drought• Will leave enough cover on the land to

hold snow and rain and prevent soil erosion

Measuring Half the Plant

• The grazing height will be different for different grass species

• Grass plants can tolerate 50% grazing by weight, every year, and remain healthy

50% grazed Un-grazed

Achieving Proper Grazing

• Train livestock owners• Train herders• Clip un-grazed grass• Balance on finger• Determine grazing

height • Move animals when

they have grazed the grasses to that level

Allow Rangelands to Rest

• Allow plants that have been over grazed a chance to grow and recover and set seed

• Allow new plants to start from seed

• Accumulate litter on the soil

• Capture more snow and rainfall

Summary

• Introduced Rangeland Management

• Definitions of Rangeland and Grazing

• Understanding of Rangeland plants– What they are– How they live and grow– How they react to grazing

• Understanding of Proper Grazing

The Most Important Lessons

• Understanding How Plants Live and Grow

• Understanding the Concept of Eat Half and Leave Half

• Tashakor