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Technology and Engineering
- ISSN: 2375-9402
- Modern Agricultural Science and Technology
The Effect of Land-Use on the Species Composition and
Rangeland Condition in the Molopo District of the North
West Province, South Africa
Franci P. Jordaan, J. N. van Rooyen, and W. S. Strydom
Department of Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development, Potchefstroom, South Africa
Abstract: In this paper the effect of commercial and communal land-uses on the species composition and rangeland condition, expressed in grazing value, in the Molopo district of the North West Province, South Africa was investigated. Herbaceous species composition data was gathered in benchmarks sites as well as grazed sites outside the benchmarks in both land-use systems. Rangeland condition scores, based on the grazing value of the herbaceous species, were calculated. Results showed that land-use had a definite influence on the herbaceous species composition as well as the rangeland condition. However, it was also shown that broad management extrapolations between the land-use systems would be unscientific as new vegetation states, with unique compositions and dynamics, developed in the communal land-use system.
Key words: and-use, commercial, communal, species composition, rangeland condition, state-and-transition model, restoration
