Farmers’ Kraal with Erastus Ngaruka – Why our rangelands are under pressure

Rangeland is defined as an area of land with natural forage materials that are utilized by livestock and wild animals. Its productivity depends on rainfall and utilization.

Rangeland plants require favourable environmental conditions and adequate protection for their establishment, distribution, and resilience in agroecosystems or on livestock farming lands.

In grazing areas, the most important attributes to consider when assessing rangeland productivity are grass vigour, density, species composition and abundance or richness, among other factors.

These attributes indicate the resilience of grass growth after dormancy and grazing, the grass yield per unit area, the different grass species, and their dominance.

These are indicators of grazing value in different rangelands, and are influenced by climatic conditions and utilization, varying in spatial and temporal scales.