The Impact of Rangeland’s Characteristics and land Use Practices on the Management of Natural Rangeland in Albaga area White Nile State SUDAN

Abstract

This study was conducted at“Albaja” area, which is located at the northwestern part of the White Nile State, Sudan and constitutes one of the key grazing area in the State, with the objective studying the impact of the prevailing land uses and rangelands characteristics on the sustainability of rangeland management and the nomadic livelihood in “Albaja” area in White Nile state. Primary data were collected through measurements including vegetation where Fifteen transects (100 m long) were used within the three range sites represented the repeated pattern of the rangelands in the area (sandy, clay/sandy and compacted clay sites). Measurements included Plant composition, frequency and biomass production. Remote sensing data in form of (MODIS/TEERA (MOD13Q1) NDVI 250m.16 days) for September 2011 was used for production of map reflecting the distribution of water points and farming area in relation to rangelands utilization levels. Data and information about herding practices including mobility was collected using questionnaire and checklist for FGD covered settled and nomadic households herding during the rainy season. Data was analyzed using computer program SPSS for the herding practices while standard rangelands measurements were used for the rangeland characteristics and growth performance. Study results showed differences between the species dominated at the different range sites as indicated by species frequency and composition. Among key range plant species, sandy site was dominated by Eragorstistremula while the other two sites were dominated by Asistidaadensensis and Aristidamutabilis. Aristidaspp when green is more preferred by livestock compared with Eragrostisgreen or dry, but Cenchrusspp(more dominant at sandy areas) is the more preferred comparedwith both of them. The variation of the species types among the three sites indicated variation on the site characteristics mainly soil type and moisture. Herbage mass is high at the sandy site compared with other sites due to the vegetative growth capacity of the dominant species. Variations within and among the sites expressed the nature of the non-equilibrium condition of rangelands in this semi-arid area. Results also showed that 81.8% of the nomads and 71.7% of the surveyed settlers were illiterate which negatively interfered with the level of community involvement including rangeland reseeding, fire lines establishment and tree planting as confirmed by Range and pasture reports. The rate of involvement usually increased with the increase of education levels Herding practices results showed that nomads prefer to stay longer in Albaga due to spread of farming in most of other areas since 95% of the them said considered rangeland areas are decreasing where farming lands increase. In addition to that existing water points distribution in ”Albaga” area can lead to deterioration of rangeland since most of the water points are found close to each other, while the western part of ”Albaga” where range resources are always rich (mainly sandy sites) have limited water sources. Intensive grazing around water points may also cause change in the vegetation composition due to intensive selection of animals for the preferred plant species. The study recommended adoption of eco-system based rangeland management that consider site characteristics and imply interdisciplinary approaches and the need of proper land use planning and community involvement.