Rangeland 

Ms. Angelina Kanduvarisa
akanduvarisa@nust.na

Ecology  21  September 2021
Namibia University of Science and Technology

(RGE521S)
 Water cycle

Re‐cap 
from  Natural effects on our rangelands
previous 
letter
Grazing pressures : Piospheres 

Variables of human control over 
herbivores: rest, stocking rate, 
trampling and fires
Answer

Frequency of Time of the Grasses get Fuel is plentiful Fire is fierce Bush has Bushes get Amount of soil Balance of
fire year of fire weak broken weak cover bush versus
dormancy grass

Early dry  X X X X 1 1
Every season
year

Late dry X X X  X 2 3
season

Early dry    X X 3 2
Once every season
six years

Late dry X     4 4
season
Fires
2.4   Causes of Desertification

Desertification is a worsening in the health and productivity of the land.  In order 
to understand its causes, we need first to know how the land used to be kept in 
a healthy and productive state.  This was covered in task 1.9.  The ways whereby 
nature used to self‐manage ecological processes have been greatly interfered 
with by people through different activities.  Human interference has disrupted 
both the natural population control and movement control of some game 
species. 
 • 1. Boreholes and Canals
• 2. Farm fencing
• 3. Hunting
Causes of 
• 4. Water flow
Desertification • 5. Deforestation
• 6. Introduction of exotic species
 • The phenomena of increasing woody 
plant density 

• Symptom of rangeland degradation

2.8 Process of  • Caused by various factors that reduce 

fertility of the soil & weaken 
bush and weed  perennial grasses.

encroachment • Also selling off animals without 
returning minerals that were lost

• Please read article on page 45 – 53 ( 
A problem tree to diagnose problem 
bush) as a self study!
Causes of bush encroachment

 Weakening of perennial grasses through overgrazing or over resting or fires early in the dry season,
thus reducing competition against bushes.
 Reduction in late dry season fires that used to harm bushes that already broke dormancy by then,
while grasses are forced to break dormancy after the main hardships of the dry season have already
passed.
 Increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from burning of fossil fuels, stimulating the growth of
C3 plants such as bushes
 Shift in diet by animals that prefer to graze but are forced to browse on pods of bushes as grasses
decline, so spreading bush seeds in their dung.
 Reduction in browsers that used to keep bushes under control, especially the bulk feeding
megaherbivores such as elephants and black rhinos.
 Lowered base levels due to erosion that channels water out of floodplains, thus favouring bush growth
in those positions of the landscape where bushes were previously kept out by periodic waterlogging.
 Overharvesting of larger trees allowing fast growth by bush seedlings and saplings due to release of
the suppression by tree roots extending a fair distance from the tree.
 How to 
visually 
assess a 
rangeland

1. Erosion is a natural process caused by different 
factors‐ huge amounts of valuable topsoil & 
nutrients are lost .
1.1 Signs of soil erosion are 
Gullies,Rills,Pedestals,Exposedroots & loose sand 
around dwarf shrubs and bushes
How to visually assess a rangeland
2. Soil capping    : thin hard surface of soil which forms  exposed to the full force 
of rain splash ( power of raindrops video)

3. Mulch cover (dead vegetation) the degree of mulch gives an indication 
whether overgrazing is occurring or not

4. Ratio of perennials: annuals or climax spp if it is low and poor soil conditions= 
over utilization

5.Ratio between decreases and increasers: a low ratio of decreaser: increaser 
indicates that selective grazing has occurred
How to visually assess a rangeland
6. Bush encroachment: Remember it a symptom of rangeland degradation

7. Biodiversity : a decrease in diversity shows over utilization+ ecological support 
services are not functioning that well

8. Presence of organisms at different trophic levels: top are missing then 
poisoning might have occurred.

9.  Vigor: if plants are not growing vigorously then rangeland is not healthy
How to visually assess a rangeland
• 10. Age distribution of different spp: only old plants with few or no young 
plants or seedlings(soon die out) this may be due to over utilization, lack of 
suitable conditions for germination
• 11. Microbial activity in the soil: look at organic material in the soil ; the 
darker the soil the more microganisims

• Remember each rangeland is different!!!
Theme 3 : Forage Quality & 
Utilization of Rangelands
3.2 Sweet and sour veld

• Namibia does not have true sour veld, as described by Tainton (1999) for South Africa.

• However not all of Namibia’s rangelands are equally sweet.

• It is the dry season quality of grasses that determine whether they are classified more as 
sweet or more sour.

• Generally the higher rainfall areas have poorer quality grass in the dry season than lower 
rainfall areas, so  they tend to be less sweet. 

This is because of two main reasons:

1.Firstly the longer growing season allows the grasses to grow bigger with more structural 
carbohydrates and less soluble carbohydrates. 

2. Secondly the higher rainfall causes more leaching of nutrients from the soil.
3.3 Changing quality of plants
3.4  Different types of selective grazing by animals 
on rangeland
• Selective grazing occurs as a result of the movement of the grazing 
animal in the veld, its preference for certain tastes and the 
palatability differences among plants. 
• 1. Within plant selection (intra‐plant selection)
• 2. Species selection
• 3. Area selection
• 4. Spot selection (patch selection)
• 5.Stratum selection
• 6. Seasonal selection
• 7. Interspace overgrazing
3.6 Influence of rangeland condition on 
selective grazing or browsing
 PowerPoints 
Test one  Page 9 to 66
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