Carrying capacity or Grazing capacity The stocking rate or number of livestock that produces the greatest livestock productivity without damage to vegetation and within management objectives relating to sustainability and/or development. Carrying capacities are dynamic.
Climax (Ecology) The final stage in plant succession under the particular environmental circumstances.
Crop residue Portion of plants remaining after harvest of seed or other primary plant parts.
Increaser A plant species native to a site or adventive that will decrease in relative amount under continuous heavy grazing.
Forage That part of vegetation which is available and acceptable for livestock consumption, whether for grazing or harvesting. Includes herbaceous species in whole plant form and browse.
Fodder crop Specific forage plants harvested before being fed to livestock, e.g. as hay and silage.
Forb Any herbaceous plant other than grasses and grass-like plants (sedges and rushes).
Grazing pressure The relationship between the need for forage and its supply. Livestock forage requirement per unit weight of forage at an instant in time. The forage requirement may be expressed as standardized livestock units or simply as numbers of a given livestock type.
Growing season That portion of the year when temperatures and moisture allow plant growth.
Herbaceous Vegetative growth with little or no woody component. Non-woody vegetation such as graminoids and forbs.
Increaser A plant species native to a site or adventive that will increase in relative amount under continuous heavy grazing.
Metabolizable energy (ME) That part of the energy content of diet actually available for animal metabolism. It is equivalent to the difference between the gross energy input in the diet, and the gross energy output in faeces, urine and gaseous products. Usually expressed as megajoules per kilogram of dry matter (MJ ME/kg DM)
Proper Use Factor Maximum degree of use by grazing deemed to be physiologically correct from the viewpoint of plant vigour, reproduction, persistence and re-growth potential. It may be applied to a single species or the whole grassland plant community, and is related to "available" herbage.
Rangeland An area where wild and domestic animals graze or browse on uncultivated vegetation.
Range management The branch of agriculture that applies scientific knowledge to rangeland resources.
Range trend The direction of change in range condition, either deterioration or improvement.
Succession Replacement of plant and animal species by others, such as the return of forest after cultivation.
Utilization level The proportion of the current season's growth available for grazing that is consumed or destroyed by grazing animals. Usually expressed as a percentage of biomass, but may be estimated as overuse, proper-use, or under-use. It may be applied to a single species or the whole plant community.
Yield/Forage Production The weight of forage that is produced within a designated period of time on a given area. Expressed as either green, air-dry or oven-dry weight, and may be qualified as annual, current year's or seasonal production. The term "yield" refers to annual available forage production expressed in kilograms of DM per ha (kg DM/ha). "Available" forage is that which livestock can harvest.
Sources: Adapted from Heady and Heady, 1982; Pratt and Gwynne, 1977; Vallentine, 1990.
LAND UNIT |
AREA |
YIELD |
QUALITY |
UTIL |
ENERGY SUPPLY (Gross) | ||
ha |
% |
kg/ha |
ME/kg DM |
% |
MJME |
% | |
Wad Kabo Protected Area GRASS-FORB |
24 291 |
17.2 |
1 998 |
9.5 |
90.0 |
461 067 424 |
14.94 |
Wad Kabo Protected Area SHRUB |
(24 291) |
(17.2) |
299 |
9.0 |
85.0 |
65 410 796 |
2.12 |
Rawashda Protected Area GRASS-FORB |
26 315 |
18.6 |
1,998 |
9.5 |
90.0 |
499 484 992 |
16.19 |
Rawashda Protected Area SHRUB |
(26 315) |
(18.6) |
299 |
9.0 |
85.0 |
70 861 032 |
2.30 |
Reclaimed Plantation GRASS-FORB |
1.0 |
0.0 |
999 |
9.5 |
50.0 |
9 491 |
0.00 |
Reclaimed Plantation SHRUB |
(1.0) |
(0.0) |
199 |
9.0 |
35.0 |
1 794 |
0.00 |
Northern Grazing Area GRASS-FORB |
49 918 |
35.3 |
699 |
9.5 |
85.0 |
331 625 376 |
10.75 |
Northern Grazing Area SHRUB |
(12 469) |
(8.8) |
299 |
9.0 |
65.0 |
33 575 848 |
1.09 |
Southern Grazing Area GRASS-FORB |
30 678 |
21.7 |
2,997 |
9.5 |
90.0 |
873 377 216 |
28.30 |
Southern Grazing Area SHRUB |
(20 440) |
(14.5) |
1 998 |
9.0 |
85.0 |
367 496 960 |
11.91 |
Crop RESIDUES (Sorghum) |
10 220 |
7.2 |
4,995 |
7.5 |
85.0 |
382 866 720 |
12.41 |
AREA |
Total |
141 423 ha |
||
Grazed |
total |
141 423 ha |
(100.0%) | |
Conserved |
total |
0 ha |
(0.0%) |
GROUP |
AREA |
YIELD |
PROPORTIONAL DM |
QUALITY | ||||||
ha |
% |
kg DM/ha |
% of Total |
MJ ME/kg DM | ||||||
FORAGE SOURCE |
Grasses Forbs |
131 203 |
92.8 |
1 739 |
67.4 |
9.5 | ||||
GRAZING LAND |
Northern(Wet) |
49 918 |
35.3 |
775 |
11.4 |
9.4 | ||||
Note: Group data are excluded from the table if the area of all constituent land units are negated using the -# or -a# flag (e.g. for hay or shrub component in the RAPS software). |
GROUP |
ME (% of Total) |
ME/ha (MJ ME) |
||||||||
Production |
Intake |
Production |
Intake |
I/P (%) | ||||||
FORAGE SOURCE |
Grasses Forbs |
70 |
59 |
16 505 |
5 900 |
35.7 | ||||
GRAZING LAND |
Northern(Wet) |
12 |
21 |
7 316 |
5 528 |
75.6 |
Forage Supply | ||||||
Pasture/Crop |
kg/ha |
Av. Qual |
ha |
Util. (%) |
T (MJME) |
%GT |
Land Unit 10 |
3745 |
8.8 |
500 |
80.0 |
13 134 100 |
99.30 |
*LU 10 sown |
3500 |
8.2 |
2 |
60.0 |
34 230 |
0.26 |
*External n |
1000 |
7.0 |
14 |
60.0 |
58 800 |
0.44 |
Total Area |
516 |
Monthly Carryover of Energy (MJME): | |||
Month |
Pasture |
Conserv. |
Livestock deficit/month |
Jan |
0 |
0 |
745 225 |
Feb |
0 |
0 |
779 041 |
Mar |
0 |
0 |
861 399 |
Apr |
0 |
0 |
40 776 |
May |
536 474 |
0 |
0 |
Jun |
2 941 203 |
0 |
0 |
Jul |
6 420 423 |
0 |
0 |
Aug |
8 592 960 |
0 |
0 |
Sep |
8 652 516 |
0 |
0 |
Oct |
7 516 611 |
0 |
0 |
Nov |
5 219 583 |
0 |
0 |
Dec |
3 435 664 |
0 |
0 |
Total livestock carried = 621 |
Forage Supply | ||||||
Pasture/Crop |
kg/ha |
Av.Qual |
ha |
Util (%) |
T (MJME) |
%GT |
Land Unit 10 |
3 745 |
8.8 |
490 |
80.0 |
12 871 418 |
96.82 |
*LU 10 sown |
3 500 |
8.2 |
2 |
60.0 |
34 230 |
0.26 |
* External n |
1 000 |
7.0 |
14 |
60.0 |
58 800 |
0.44 |
*LU 10 devel |
5 500 |
8.6 |
10 |
70.0 |
330 138 |
2.48 |
Total Area |
516 |
Monthly Carryover of Energy (MJME): | |||
Month |
Pasture |
Conserv. |
Livestock deficit/month |
Jan |
0 |
0 |
443 004 |
Feb |
0 |
0 |
804 986 |
Mar |
0 |
0 |
890 087 |
Apr |
0 |
0 |
79 148 |
May |
504 257 |
0 |
0 |
Jun |
2 864 114 |
0 |
0 |
Jul |
6 276 489 |
0 |
0 |
Aug |
8 407 904 |
0 |
0 |
Sep |
8 468 248 |
0 |
0 |
Oct |
7 332 841 |
0 |
0 |
Nov |
5 024 430 |
0 |
0 |
Dec |
3 236 447 |
0 |
0 |
Total livestock carried = 642 |
Forage Supply | ||||||
Pasture/Crop |
kg/ha |
Av.Qual |
ha |
Util% |
T(MJME) |
%GT |
Land Unit 7 |
969 |
9.3 |
98 |
65.0 |
574 893 |
15.16 |
Land Unit 8 |
1 288 |
9.3 |
360 |
75.0 |
3 217 050 |
84.84 |
Total Area |
458 |
Monthly Carryover of Energy (MJME) | |||
Month |
Pasture |
Conserv. |
Livestock deficit/month |
Jan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Feb |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Mar |
0 |
0 |
40 580 |
Apr |
0 |
0 |
223 193 |
May |
0 |
0 |
116 666 |
Jun |
141 487 |
0 |
0 |
Jul |
1 057 078 |
0 |
0 |
Aug |
2 046 316 |
0 |
0 |
Sep |
1 685 911 |
0 |
0 |
Oct |
1 047 176 |
0 |
0 |
Nov |
890 100 |
0 |
0 |
Dec |
756 585 |
0 |
0 |
Total livestock carried = 279 |
Forage Supply | ||||||
Pasture/Crop |
kg/ha |
Av.Qual |
ha |
Util% |
T(MJME) |
%GT |
Land Unit 7 |
969 |
9.3 |
98 |
65.0 |
574 893 |
13.99 |
Land Unit 8 |
1 288 |
9.3 |
335 |
75.0 |
2 993 644 |
72.84 |
LU 8 dev |
2 745 |
10.6 |
25 |
75.0 |
541 509 |
13.18 |
Total Area |
458 |
Monthly Carryover of Energy (MJME): | |||
Month |
Pasture |
Conserv. |
Livestock(def/mth) |
Jan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Feb |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Mar |
0 |
0 |
44 029 |
Apr |
0 |
0 |
242 163 |
May |
0 |
0 |
125 517 |
Jun |
149 335 |
0 |
0 |
Jul |
1 144 240 |
0 |
0 |
Aug |
2 218 430 |
0 |
0 |
Sep |
1 824 728 |
0 |
0 |
Oct |
1 132 898 |
0 |
0 |
Nov |
962 964 |
0 |
0 |
Dec |
818 519 |
0 |
0 |
Total livestock carried =306 |
Forage Supply | ||||||
Pasture/Crop |
kg/ha |
Av.Qual |
ha |
Util% |
T(MJME) |
%GT |
Land Unit 19 |
1 135 |
9.3 |
396 |
75.0 |
3 118 352 |
66.32 |
Land Unit 29 |
1 136 |
9.3 |
139 |
75.0 |
1 095 563 |
23.30 |
Land Unit 30 |
217 |
9.4 |
369 |
65.0 |
488 095 |
10.38 |
Total Area |
904 |
Monthly Carryover of Energy (MJME | |||
Month |
Pasture |
Conserv. |
Livestock deficit/month |
Jan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Feb |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Mar |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Apr |
0 |
0 |
0 |
May |
0 |
0 |
94 943 |
Jun |
262 305 |
0 |
0 |
Jul |
702 865 |
0 |
0 |
Aug |
1 270 429 |
0 |
0 |
Sep |
965 830 |
0 |
0 |
Oct |
296 181 |
0 |
0 |
Nov |
251 754 |
0 |
0 |
Dec |
213 991 |
0 |
0 |
Total livestock carried = 307 |
Forage Supply | ||||||
Pasture/Crop |
kg/ha |
Av.Qual |
ha |
Util (%) |
T(MJME) |
%GT |
Land Unit 19 |
1 135 |
9.3 |
381 |
75.0 |
3 000 232 |
61.12 |
Land Unit 29 |
1 136 |
9.3 |
139 |
75.0 |
1 095 563 |
22.32 |
Land Unit 30 |
217 |
9.4 |
369 |
65.0 |
488 095 |
9.94 |
LU 19 dev |
2 745 |
10.6 |
15 |
75.0 |
324 906 |
6.62 |
Total Area |
904 |
Monthly Carryover of Energy (MJME) | |||
Month |
Pasture |
Conserv. |
Livestock deficit/month |
Jan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Feb |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Mar |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Apr |
0 |
0 |
0 |
May |
0 |
0 |
9 8240 |
Jun |
271 523 |
0 |
0 |
Jul |
731 834 |
0 |
0 |
Aug |
1 324 704 |
0 |
0 |
Sep |
1 004 987 |
0 |
0 |
Oct |
306 409 |
0 |
0 |
Nov |
260 448 |
0 |
0 |
Dec |
221 380 |
0 |
0 |
Total livestock carried = 320 |