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ICARDA’s Experience in rangeland rehabilitation and management in NENA region:

Case of sustainable development of landscape depressions in pastoral ecosystems

3rd NEFW 26‐28 January 2014Amman ‐ Jordan

Mounir Louhaichi

Outline

• Rangelands?• Facts abut rangelands• Main causes of rangeland degradation• Case study: Sustainable development of landscape depressions in pastoral ecosystems

• New tools for rangeland monitoring and assessment (time)

Syrian rangelands: Badia)البادية(المراعي الطبيعية في سورية

Facts about Rangelands

• Represent largest land use in the region• Rangelands are usually characterized by sharp climatic extremes, limited precipitation, highly variable soils, frequent soil salinity, diverse topography, and generally sparse vegetation.

• Dynamic ecosystems:– Temporal variability (year to year variation)– Spatial variability

Dixon et al (2001)

• The majority of rangelands are either state or communally‐owned

• Conflicts due: land tenure regime (communal), weak institution, and lack of adequate infrastructure

• Do not have an accurate assessment on their status (degree of degradation)


Rangelands decreasing area and productivity

• Decreasing contribution to animal feeding: 10 to 25% today, 65% in 1960.

• Increasing rangeland degradation:1000-1500 kg DM/ha to 200-500 kg DM/ha in 50 years (Steppes of North Africa)


• They contribute to the living of the poorest and most marginalized strata populations (pastoral communities)

• Pastoralism is one of the most efficient production system (zero input)

• It is also the most resilient system (Pastoralists are the most capable to adapt to climate change)

• Pastoralism also provides various services to other sectors


Improper grazing practices: Overgrazing and early grazing الرعيالجائر والمبكر • Overgrazing occurs: : أسباب الرعي الجائر

– Too many animal (high SR) العدد الكبير من الحيوانات – Fewer animals combined with bad timing (early grazing) or prolonged grazing period

أو استمرار ) كالرعي المبكر(عدد أقل من الحيوانات ترعى في وقت غير مناسب الرعي لفترة طويلة

CausesofRangelandDegradationالعوامل الرئيسية المتسببة في تدھور المراعي الطبيعية

Removal of Vegetation For:

Fuel: The destruction of woody plant species by burning them as fuel.القضاء على النباتات الخشبية وذلك لحرقھا من أجل استخدامھا كوقود: االحتطاب

العوامل الرئيسية المتسببة في تدھور المراعي الطبيعية

االحتطاب

Removal of Vegetation For:Medicinal Purposes: The destruction of woody plant species by uprooting them

القضاء على أنواع النباتات الخشبية وذلك بسبب الحصول على جذور ھذه النباتات: االستخدامات الطبية

االحتطاب


The shift from the traditional pastoral systems “nomadism” to the agro‐pastoral way of life have lead to:التحول من النظام الرعوي التقليدي إلى النظام الرعوي الزراعي أدى إلى

Disruption of the Traditional Grazing System: Use of vehicles for transportation of water to the herds and of the animals to new pastures fosters prolonged grazing on rangelands and uncontrolled movement of

the herds. :تغيير نظام الرعي التقليدياستخدام السيارات لنقل المياه لمالكي األغنام وللقطعان إلى مراعي جديدة عزز فترة الرعي

الطويلة وحركة الرعي غير المتحكم بھا


The shift from the traditional pastoral systems “nomadism” to the agro‐pastoral way of life have lead to: :التحول من النظام الرعوي التقليدي إلى النظام الرعوي الزراعي أدى إلى

Encroachment of Agricultural Practices into Traditional

Rangeland Areas

The conversion of the best rangeland (deeper soils with higher nutrient status) to cropland. إلى أراضي ) ذات التربة العميقة والغنية بالعناصر الغذائية(تحول أفضل أراضي المراعي الطبيعية

زراعية

استصالح ارض المراعي للزراعة

انتشار الزراعات و استعمال تقنيات زراعية غير مالئمة

Plow

ingsoilwith

disc plower

مة الئر مغي

ت عدا بماثةحر

:سكلديا


Monocropping of barley has resulted in the depletion of soil nutrients and the elimination of perennial range species (total eradication of natural vegetation)

SalamiaZone 4

CausesofDegradation

Zone 4

Cultivated land after harvesting is unprotected and prone to wind erosion

Khanasser

Signs of Desertification

Signs of Desertification

Sandstorms

MANIFESTATION OF DESERTIFICATION AND SAND ENCROACHMENT

Sand encroachment of road

Sand encroachment of a mosque Sand encroachment of village deserted by its inhabitants

Sand encroachment of a school

Lack of grazing policies and law enforcement (pastoral code) النقص في التشريعات الرعوية والقوانين التنفيذية

Pastoral communities have no guaranty to protect their improved land from intruders

ال يوجد ضمانة للمجتمعات الرعوية لحماية أراضيھم المحسنة من استخدام اآلخرين لھا

Privatization of collective lands stimulated the desire of land appropriation mainly through cropping and tree planting of best rangelands خصخصة األراضي التعاونية عزز الرغبة على استيالء األراضي من خالل زراعة المحاصيل واألشجار في أفضل أراضي المراعي الطبيعية

Governmental Policies: Confused Land Tenure / Grazing Rights

قصور التشريعات عن معالجة المخالفات وعن حماية المراعي


النظم البيئة للمراعي الطبيعية القاحلة المستدامة للفيضات في التنمية Sustainable development of landscape depressions

in pastoral ecosystems

REMU DSIPS/ICARDA 19Mounir Louhaichi OFID Workshop

Case Study

Study site

The primary objective of this project is to improve the livelihood of rural communities through sustainable use of technologies that enhance the productivity of landscape depressions in arid and semi‐arid rangelands to provide additional feed and food, while conserving the environment and biodiversity.

Objective

Techniques for rangeland (depressions) improvementتقنيات تحسين المراعي الطبيعية

• Short rest (exclusion of grazing) )منع الرعي(الراحة

• Water harvesting techniques تقنية حصاد المياه

• Land scarification الفالحة السطحية للتربة

• Direct seeding الزراعة المباشرة

• Pitting machine استخدام آلة النقر

• Shrub plantations زراعة الشجيرات الرعوية

• Integrated Conservation Agriculture + Alley Cropping (new)

فيضة مفتوحة للرعي الجائرLandscape depressions open to grazing

Landscape depressions cultivated in barleyفيضة مزروعة بالشعير

Soil surface scarificationالفالحة السطحية

Fall الخريف

Spring الربيع

Water Harvesting Techniquesتقنية حصاد المياه

Contoursاألخاديد، الخطوط الكونتورية

Direct seedingالبذر المباشر

Scarification + Direct Seedingالفالحة السطحية و البذر المباشر

Hand Bradcasting

Pitting Machineآلة النقر

Direct Seeding Using Pitting Machineالبذر المباشر باستخدام آلة النقر

Seedlings production and transplantation

Landscape depressions protected for <2 yearsفيضة محمية من الرعي

ينسنت

ن ل مأق

Differences in density (number of plants m2)بين فيضة محمية واخرى مفتوحة للرعي) 2م/عدد النباتات( الكثافة النباتيةمخطط بياني يظھر الفرق في

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Protected Grazed

Den

sity

(Pla

nts/m

2 )

28 fold

31

868

Differences in biomass production (KgDM/ha)

بين فيضة محمية واخرى مفتوحة للرعي) ھـ/كغ( األنتاجية من المادة الجافةمخطط بياني يظھر الفرق في

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Protected Grazed

Bio

mas

s (kg

/h)

2,299

467

5 fold

Percent cover in grazed and protected depressionsخرى مفتوحة للرعيأبين فيضة محمية و النسبة المئوية للتغطيةمخطط بياني يظھر الفرق في

0

20

40

60

80

100

Plant cover Bare ground Litter Stones

Cov

er (%

)

Protected Grazed

نباتات تربة معراة بقايا نباتية احجار

Shannon diversity index for the grazed and protected sitesخرى مفتوحة للرعيأبين فيضة محمية و مؤشر التنوع النباتي

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1 2 3 3 2 2 15 13 11 17 20 18

Number of species

H Inde

x

Protected depression

Grazed depression

عدد النباتات المرصودة

Palatability class for species encountered in depressionsخرى مفتوحة للرعيأللنباتات المرصودة في فيضة محمية و درجة األستساغة

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

I II III

Palatability class

Num

ber o

f spe

cies

Protected Grazed

I = high palatable; II = medium palatable; III = low‐unpalatable

استساغة عالية = ا استساغة متوسطة= اا استساغة منخفضة = ااا

100% germinationSummer

Fall

# # # # # # # # # # #

####

###

#

# # #

# ## #

# #

#

#

###

Rangeland VegetationMonitoring & AssessmentUsing DVCT

Inventory, Monitoring & Assessment• The first step before engaging in any rangeland

rehabilitation and management activities should be centered toward inventorying and assessing rangeland condition.

• To assure that these lands are capable of providing sustainable products for future generations their ecological condition should be monitored to specific standards.

• Given the dynamic nature of plant community response to climate fluctuation (drought and wet conditions) and man‐made disturbances mainly through overgrazing, there is a need for short and long‐term monitoring of rangelands.

• This activity should be part of a long‐term national strategy. With the advances in technology, particularly the use of geographical information systems and remote sensing, large areas can be mapped and monitored rapidly.

Main Criteria Rangeland Health

Vegetation Cover

Reduced Run‐off

Higher infiltration

More forage

• Subjective (human error)

• Time consuming• Costly• Destructive• Not repeated frequently enough to monitor important changes over time

Traditional sampling techniques for monitoring changes in vegetation cover

Digital Photography

Hardware

GPS TrackerSoftware

Image Processing

Image Rectification

Digital Vegetation Charting Technique

‐ Digital camera with built in GPS

‐ Smartphone

• Farm/community level (local scale)

• Capture details• Rapid• Repetitive in time

and space• Objective

Example Using DVCT

Field Office

Training sites for satellite RS

Monitoring & Assessment

Original Image

Original Image

processed Image

processed Image

Interpolation

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

#

####

###

##

# # # # #

# ##

## #

# ##

#

#

###

#

###

#

#

###

Perennial grasses layer

<5 cm8 – 13 > 20

(Unit cm)

GIS Layers – Spatial analysisGeo

‐database

• Vast areas can be mapped quickly and objectively.• Users do not have to be remote sensing specialists or GIS experts.• For each agro‐ecological site (same plant community) only few images are

used to calibrate the software (threshold or training sites). Then the software can analyze hundred of pictures in just few minutes, summarize data and save it as a CSV format.

• Document the effects of year‐to‐year variation in weather on vegetation dynamics

• Characterization of key indigenous species‐Extract environmental variables and model (predict) where identified species may grow

Thank You

Amman: 6 ‐ 24 May 2012

Mounir LouhaichiRangeland Scientist

[email protected]

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