Journal of Agricultural Science and Food Research
Open Access

Abstract

Effect of Post Bush Clearing Management Practice on Herbaceous Species Productivity and Soil Status of Rangelands in Hammer District of South Omo Zone

Worku B and T/Yohannes B

Bush encroachment is one of the factors that cause rangeland degradation in most pastoral areas of east Africa.A study on effects of post bush clearing management practice on rangeland productivity and soil status wasconducted in Hammer district of South Omo zone, Southern Ethiopia with the objective of assessing effect post bushclearing management practice on the vegetation composition and soil status. A hectare of rangeland encroached bydifferent acacia species was fenced and replicated/divided into three plots, and each plot was subdivided into foursub-plots to receive four treatments: un cleared woody vegetation (control) T1, cutting at above ground and leave asit is in the field (T2), cutting above ground and remove from field (T3), cutting above ground and burn right in thefield (T4). Data on species composition indicated that almost all species present in all treatment groups withexception of two grass species Cenchrus ciliaris and Chloris pycnotrix dominated in plots which has received T2.Data on total herbaceous biomass, total grass biomass, total non-grass biomass, soil erosion and soil compactionwere collected after treatment applications. The applied treatments significantly influenced at (p<0.05) totalherbaceous biomass, total grass biomass, total non-grass biomass production, soil erosion and soil compaction. Theresults of this study showed that better biomass yield was harvested from treatment T2 which is highly significant at(p<0.05) followed by T3. There was no significant difference at (p<0.05) between T1 and T4 in all parameters. Ontop that pastoralists perceived T2 in terms of lesser labor cost relative to T3 to remove cut materials from the field,even though it was in accessible to harvest and utilize at final stage. Therefore, controlling encroaching tree/shrubspecies through mechanical control and leaving the cleared material as it had increased the total herbaceousbiomass for the livestock. The management of bush encroachment in such a way if sustained will contribute instabilizing rangelands productivity and help to minimize the shortage of feed.