Abstract
In semi-arid West Africa, livestock are increasingly managed by sedentary producers in close proximity to expanding cropped lands. To evaluate the agricultural and environmental implications of this trend, a study was conducted to investigate the effect of grazing management on the spatial distribution of grazing pressure, the forage provided animals during the grazing period, and local herd-forage ratios across three agropastoral landscapes characterized by varying cultivation pressure. During the 19-month study period, data on herbaceous vegetation, livestock populations, and grazing itineraries were collected. These data were referenced to land units averaging 70 ha in area. Using this approach, each of 3,819 grazing itineraries was characterized as to: 1. the sum of the products of the palatable forage mass of a particular land unit and the time spent grazing by the herd within that unit (FAT, expressed in kg-hours ha−1); and 2. the average palatable herbaceous forage mass encountered by livestock across the itinerary weighted by the time spent in the land units crossed (FA, expressed in kg ha−1). The spatial dispersion of livestock grazing around human settlements was found to decline with a reduction in herding labor investment (herded>herd-release>free pasture). Multiple regression analyses of itinerary data demonstrate that both FAT and FA also decline with a reduction in herding labor investment. Herded and herd-release managed livestock were offered more palatable forage and grazed areas of higher forage availability than free-pastured animals. This supports arguments that as the investment of time and effort into herding declines, feed supply to livestock will decline and the potential for grazing-induced environmental change will increase.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amanor KS. 1995. Dynamics of herd structures and herding strategies in West Africa: A study of market integration and ecological adaptation. Africa 65(3):351–94
Beauvilain A. 1977. Les Peul du Dallol Bosso. Niamey, Niger: Institut de Recherche en Sciences Humaines. 274 p
Bonfiglioli AM. 1990. Pastoralisme, agro-pastoralisme et retour: itinéraires sahéliens. Cahiers des Sciences Humaines 26(1–2):255–66
Bosma RH, Bos M, Kanté S, Kébé D, Quak W. 1999. The promising impact of ley introduction and herd expansion on soil organic matter content in southern Mali. Agric Syst 62:1–15
Bourn D, Wint W. 1994. Livestock, land-use and agricultural intensification in sub-Saharan Africa. London: Overseas Development Institute. Report 37a
Colin de Verdière P. 1995. Etude compare de trois systèmes agropastoraux dans la région de Filingué – Niger [Thèse de doctorat]: Université de Hohenheim, Allemagne et Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon, France
Coppolillo PB. 2000. The landscape ecology of pastoral herding: Spatial analysis of land use and livestock production in East Africa. Hum Ecol 28(4):527–60
de Haan L, van Driel A, Kruihof A. 1990. From symbiosis to polarization? Peasants and pastoralists in northern Benin. Indian Geogr J 65(1):51–65
Faugère O, Dockes AC, Perrot C, Faugère B. 1990. L’Élevage traditonnel des petits ruminants au Senegal. I. Pratiques de conduite et d’exploitation des animaux chez les éleveurs de la région de Kolda. Revue Elevage Médicine Vétinaire Pays Tropicaux 43(2):249–59
Gado B. 1980. Le Zarmatarey: Contribution à l’histoire des populations d’entre Niger et Dallol Mawri. Niamey: Institut de Recherches en Sciences Humaines
Galaty JG, Johnson DL, Eds. 1990. The world of pastoralism. Herding systems in comparative perspective. New York: Guilford Press
Guerin H, Sall C, Friot D, Ahokpe B, Ndoye A. 1986. Ébauche d’une méthodologie de diagnostic de l’alimentation des ruminants domestiques dans un système agropastoral: L’example de Thyssé-Kaymor – Sonkorong au Sénégal. Cahiers de la Recherche et Développement 9–10:60–9
Harris F. 1998. Farm-level assessment of the nutrient balance in northern Nigeria. Agric, Ecosyst and Environ 71:201–14
Hellemans P, Compere R. 1990. Aspects techniques et socio-economiques de la transhumance des troupeaux de zebus en zone soudanienne de la Bougouriba (Burkina-Faso). Tropicultura (Belgium). 8(2):59–63
Hiernaux P, Fernandez-Rivera S, Schlecht E, Turner MD, Williams TO. 1997. Livestock-mediated nutrient transfers in Sahelian agro-ecosystems. In: Renard G, Neef A, Becker K, von Oppen M, Eds. Soil fertility management in West African land use systems. Weikersheim: Margraf Verlag. p 339–47
Killanga S, Traoré A, Hardouin J. 1989. Inter-flock differences in small ruminant productivity in the central Mali agropastoral system. In: Wilson RT, Melaku A, Eds. African small ruminant research and development. Proceedings of a Conference held at Bamenda, Cameroon, 18–25 January 1989. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: African Small Ruminant Research Network. p 86–95
Koyate O. 1987. Gestion et productivité des bovins dans les système agro-pastoral associé à la riziculture irriguée: contribution á l’étude des causes de difference de productivité entre troupeaux [Memoire de Fin d’Études]. Katibougou: L’Institut Polytechnique Rural de Katibougou, 45 pp
Lericollais A, Faye A. 1994. Des troupeaux sans pâturages en pays Sereer au Sénégal. In: Blanc-Pamard C, Boutrais J, Eds. A la croisée des parcours: Pasteurs, éleveurs, cultivateurs. Paris: ORSTOM. p 165–96
Lhoste P. 1987. L’Association agriculture-elévage. Evolution du système agropastoral au Sine-Saloum (Sénégal). Maisons-Alfort: Institut d’Elévage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux 314 p
Moulin C-H. 1993. Performances animales et pratiques d’élevage en Afrique sahélienne: La diversité du fonctionnement des troupeaux de petits ruminants dans la Communauté Rurale de Ndiagne (Sénégal) [Thèse de doctorat]. Paris: L’Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon
Niamir-Fuller M, Ed. 1999. Managing mobility in African rangelands. London: Intermediate Technology Publications
Pieri C. 1992. Fertility of soils. A future for the farming in the West African savanna. New York: Springer-Verlag
Powell JM, Fernandez-Rivera S, Hiernaux P, Turner MD. 1996. Nutrient cycling in integrated rangeland/cropland systems of the Sahel. Agric Syst 52(2/3):143–70
Prudencio CY. 1993. Ring management of soils and crops in the West African semi-arid tropics: The case of Mossi farming in Burkina Faso. Agric, Ecosyst Environ 47:237–64
Rath T. 1999. Nutrition and productivity of milking cattle on a semi-arid rangeland in West Africa [PhD thesis]. Stuttgart: University of Hohenheim
Schlecht E, Hiernaux P, Turner MD. 2001. Mobilité régionale du bétail: nécessité et alternatives? In: Tielkes E, Schlecht E, Hiernaux P, Eds. Elevage et gestion de parcours au Sahel, implications pour le développement. Beuren-Stuttgart: Verlag Grauer. p 65–77
Schlecht E, Sangaré M, Becker K. 1999. Supplementation of Zebu cattle grazing of Sahelian pastures. 1. Diet selection and feed intake. J Agric Sci (Cambridge) 133:69–81
Scoones I, Ed. 1994. Living with uncertainty. New directions in pastoral development in Africa. London: Intermediate Technology Publications Ltd. 210
Tielkes E, Schlecht E, Hiernaux P, Eds. 2001. Elevage et gestion de parcours au Sahel, implications pour le développement. Beuren-Stuttgart: Verlag Grauer
Turner MD. 1995. The sustainability of rangeland to cropland nutrient transfer in semi-arid West Africa: Ecological and social dimensions neglected in the debate. In: Powell JM, Fernandez-Rivera S, Williams TO, Renard C, Eds. Livestock and sustainable nutrient cycling in mixed farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa. Proceedings of an International Conference, 22–26 November 1993. Addis Ababa: International Livestock Centre for Africa. p 435–52
Turner MD. 1999. Labor process and the environment: The effects of labor availability and compensation on the quality of herding in the Sahel. Hum Ecol 27(2):267–96
Turner MD, Hiernaux P. 2002. The use of herders’ accounts to map livestock activities across agropastoral landscapes in Semi-Arid Africa. Landscape Ecol 17(5):367–85
van Driel A. 1997. Relations entre agriculteurs et éleveurs: cohabitation et problèmes majeurs. In: de Haan LJ, Eds. Agriculteurs et éleveurs au Nord-Bénin. Paris: Karthala. p 127–48
van Keulen H, Breman H. 1990. Agricultural development in the West African Sahelian region: a cure against land hunger? Agric Ecosyst Environ 32:177–197
Wilson RT. 1986. Livestock production in Central Mali: Long-term studies on cattle and small ruminants in the agropastoral system. Addis Ababa: International Livestock Centre for Africa. Report No. 14
Acknowledgements
This research was primarily funded by the International Livestock Research Institute. In addition, authors received support from the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin, from the Rockefeller Foundation as a Social Science Research Fellowship and from the German Research Foundation (DFG) as a Mercator grant. We are indebted to the farmers and herders of the study area, whose patience and participation greatly improved the quality of the research. We thank Amadou Sodja, Oumarou Moumouni, Soumana Amadou, and Amadou Kalilou for assistance in data collection.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Turner, M.D., Hiernaux, P. & Schlecht, E. The Distribution of Grazing Pressure in Relation to Vegetation Resources in Semi-arid West Africa: The Role of Herding. Ecosystems 8, 668–681 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-003-0099-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-003-0099-y