Influence of rangeland protection and seasonal grazing on aboveground vegetation, forage quality and weight gain of small ruminants — a study in Thar Desert, Pakistan

The Thar Desert, Sindh, Pakistan is characterized by low productivity. Besides, economy is based on agriculture, livestock and mining, nevertheless, livestock graze freely on public and private land. The aim of this research was to determine biomass production and to evaluate the effects of continuo...

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Main Authors: Islam, Muhammad, Razzaq, Abdul, Hassan, Sawsan, Zubair, Muhammad, Kalroo, Muhammad Waseem, Khan, Attaullah, Gul, Shamim, Ahmad, Sarfraz, Rischkowsky, Barbara, Louhaichi, Mounir
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer Verlag 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129884
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author Islam, Muhammad
Razzaq, Abdul
Hassan, Sawsan
Zubair, Muhammad
Kalroo, Muhammad Waseem
Khan, Attaullah
Gul, Shamim
Ahmad, Sarfraz
Rischkowsky, Barbara
Louhaichi, Mounir
author_browse Ahmad, Sarfraz
Gul, Shamim
Hassan, Sawsan
Islam, Muhammad
Kalroo, Muhammad Waseem
Khan, Attaullah
Louhaichi, Mounir
Razzaq, Abdul
Rischkowsky, Barbara
Zubair, Muhammad
author_facet Islam, Muhammad
Razzaq, Abdul
Hassan, Sawsan
Zubair, Muhammad
Kalroo, Muhammad Waseem
Khan, Attaullah
Gul, Shamim
Ahmad, Sarfraz
Rischkowsky, Barbara
Louhaichi, Mounir
author_sort Islam, Muhammad
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The Thar Desert, Sindh, Pakistan is characterized by low productivity. Besides, economy is based on agriculture, livestock and mining, nevertheless, livestock graze freely on public and private land. The aim of this research was to determine biomass production and to evaluate the effects of continuous and seasonal grazing on protected and unprotected plots. A 45 ha protected rangeland area of Hurrabad in the Umerkot Thar desert was selected and divided into three blocks of 15 ha each. Blocks of the same size were also established in unprotected area. The data for vegetation biomass, canopy cover, forage nutrients and weight gain of animals in two seasons (spring and summer) was collected from both protected and unprotected sites. The results showed that biomass significantly increased in summer in both sites. However, the biomass values in protected sites were significantly higher. Similarly, the vegetation cover also seemed to increase in summer in both protected (90.7% ± 0.29%) and unprotected sites (39.2% ± 0.09%). The foliar concentrations of all nutrients varied significantly with season. The average final live-weight gain for does on the protected grazing sites during the 42-day period in spring and the 96 days after the monsoon was almost double that of does grazing on the unprotected site during 2016 and 2017 (P < 0.05). The study concludes that the protection of grazing lands during certain periods can lead to better production of vegetation and livestock and improve range conditions.
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institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2023
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spelling CGSpace1298842026-01-15T02:20:05Z Influence of rangeland protection and seasonal grazing on aboveground vegetation, forage quality and weight gain of small ruminants — a study in Thar Desert, Pakistan Islam, Muhammad Razzaq, Abdul Hassan, Sawsan Zubair, Muhammad Kalroo, Muhammad Waseem Khan, Attaullah Gul, Shamim Ahmad, Sarfraz Rischkowsky, Barbara Louhaichi, Mounir stocking rate goal 13 climate action seasonal grazing thar desert climate adaptation and mitigation rangeland productivity vegetation quality The Thar Desert, Sindh, Pakistan is characterized by low productivity. Besides, economy is based on agriculture, livestock and mining, nevertheless, livestock graze freely on public and private land. The aim of this research was to determine biomass production and to evaluate the effects of continuous and seasonal grazing on protected and unprotected plots. A 45 ha protected rangeland area of Hurrabad in the Umerkot Thar desert was selected and divided into three blocks of 15 ha each. Blocks of the same size were also established in unprotected area. The data for vegetation biomass, canopy cover, forage nutrients and weight gain of animals in two seasons (spring and summer) was collected from both protected and unprotected sites. The results showed that biomass significantly increased in summer in both sites. However, the biomass values in protected sites were significantly higher. Similarly, the vegetation cover also seemed to increase in summer in both protected (90.7% ± 0.29%) and unprotected sites (39.2% ± 0.09%). The foliar concentrations of all nutrients varied significantly with season. The average final live-weight gain for does on the protected grazing sites during the 42-day period in spring and the 96 days after the monsoon was almost double that of does grazing on the unprotected site during 2016 and 2017 (P < 0.05). The study concludes that the protection of grazing lands during certain periods can lead to better production of vegetation and livestock and improve range conditions. 2023-04-03T15:53:12Z 2023-04-03T15:53:12Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129884 en Limited Access application/pdf Springer Verlag Muhammad Islam, Abdul Razzaq, Sawsan Hassan, Muhammad Zubair, Muhammad Waseem Kalroo, Attaullah Khan, Shamim Gul, Sarfraz Ahmad, Barbara Rischkowsky, Mounir Louhaichi. (1/2/2023). Influence of rangeland protection and seasonal grazing on aboveground vegetation, forage quality and weight gain of small ruminants — a study in Thar Desert, Pakistan. Journal of Mountain Science, 20, pp. 403-414.
spellingShingle stocking rate
goal 13 climate action
seasonal grazing
thar desert
climate adaptation and mitigation
rangeland productivity
vegetation quality
Islam, Muhammad
Razzaq, Abdul
Hassan, Sawsan
Zubair, Muhammad
Kalroo, Muhammad Waseem
Khan, Attaullah
Gul, Shamim
Ahmad, Sarfraz
Rischkowsky, Barbara
Louhaichi, Mounir
Influence of rangeland protection and seasonal grazing on aboveground vegetation, forage quality and weight gain of small ruminants — a study in Thar Desert, Pakistan
title Influence of rangeland protection and seasonal grazing on aboveground vegetation, forage quality and weight gain of small ruminants — a study in Thar Desert, Pakistan
title_full Influence of rangeland protection and seasonal grazing on aboveground vegetation, forage quality and weight gain of small ruminants — a study in Thar Desert, Pakistan
title_fullStr Influence of rangeland protection and seasonal grazing on aboveground vegetation, forage quality and weight gain of small ruminants — a study in Thar Desert, Pakistan
title_full_unstemmed Influence of rangeland protection and seasonal grazing on aboveground vegetation, forage quality and weight gain of small ruminants — a study in Thar Desert, Pakistan
title_short Influence of rangeland protection and seasonal grazing on aboveground vegetation, forage quality and weight gain of small ruminants — a study in Thar Desert, Pakistan
title_sort influence of rangeland protection and seasonal grazing on aboveground vegetation forage quality and weight gain of small ruminants a study in thar desert pakistan
topic stocking rate
goal 13 climate action
seasonal grazing
thar desert
climate adaptation and mitigation
rangeland productivity
vegetation quality
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129884
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