A strategy of broadleaf forest grazing management

92

• Goal 4: Contributionto the

production

^{offood, water,} energy and other

products by

co-ordinating

interactionbetween broadleafforests and

farming

systems.

5.3.2

Improvement

^of

forage

^resources

The

present study provides ample

evidence that

forage

^{resourcesin the}

study

^{area arede¬}

clining

ⁱⁿ

quantity

^and

quality.

^To avoid further

degradation

^of

forage

resources, the present

forage

base in the

study

^areamustbe raised. Tsuchida

(1987) provided

^{alist of} pasturemanagement

practices

^which

improve grassland productivity

in Bhutan. For

Tsamdrogs

^{in the}

study

^{area this wouldmean:}

•

Regulating

^{the numberofcattle and their}

period

^ofuse

•

Temporary

^rest

•

Removing unpalatable plants

•

Introducing

^and

planting

^of

forage plants

Regulating

^thenumber of cattle in

Tsamdrogs implies creating

^{smaller herds, as thefirst}

step.

Reducing

the number of cattle

outright

may^notbe

possible given

^the

dependence

^of

farmers andherders on their cattle fora

livelihood,

^{and the}Buddhist aversion to

culling

animals.

However,

^{the trendof}

decreasing

^{livestocknumbers in}

Bongo Geog

^overthe

years shows ^that

people

^will

gradually

^reducetheir cattle numbers.

Regulating

^the

period

ofuseand

allowing

^the

grazing grounds (Tsamdrogs) periods

^of

temporary

^{restareinher¬}

entin the traditional

grazing practices (as explained

ⁱⁿ

Chapter 4.2.4).

^{Herdersmovetheir}

cattle fromone

Tsamdrog

^{toanother inan}

organized

system^thatprevents

overgrazing

^and

heavy

utilization.

Temporary

^restis

given

^to

Tsamdrogs

^as

they

^aredivided into summer andwinter

grazing grounds. Tsamdrogs

^{in the}

study

^{area arerested in summer,whichco¬}

incides with the

growing period. However,

^inrecentyears,many herders in the

study

^ar¬

eashave

stopped migrating

^{to their summer}

Tsamdrogs.

^This

change

^is

beginning

^to

affect the sustainableuseof

Tsamdrogs,

^{asis shown}

by

^the

deteriorating

^{conditionof for¬}

ageresources as cattle

spend

^moretime

grazing

ⁱⁿ

Tsamdrog

^tracts.

Apart

^from

cutting

^back

undergrowth brushes,

^herders carry ^out little

Tsamdrog

^mainte¬

nance,and

they plant

neither localnorexotic

forage plants

there. Herderswere notrespon¬

siblefor the introduction of

Kikiyu

grass,which

currently

grows in _{the open}

Tsamdrogs.

Thiswas

spread through

^cattle

droppings.

^The

ground vegetation inventory

^{hstshows that}

the number ofnativegrasses ^and

forage plants

^arelimited andthe introduction of other

forage plants,

^{either native or}

exotic,

may need tobe

explored

^{toenrich the}

forage

^base.

Field observations show that herders donot

attempt

^to

improve Tsamdrogs

because of le¬

gal implications. Tsamdrogs

^areintended

only

^for

grazing

^{andcannotbeusedin}anyother way.Earlier studies

(Gibson,

^{1991 and}

Gyamtso, 1997)

^reveal

adequate

^{evidence fora}

policy adjustment

^{toallow herders to}

improve

^andmaintain

forage

^{resourcesin Tsam¬}

drogs.

^Gibson

(1991) suggested

^{that someof the}

Tsamdrogs

^near

roads,

^used

by

^herders

in the

study

^{area, could behandedoverto the}herders forpermanentsettlement.

Hocking

etal. 1999

(in press)

^{observedthatthe}introduction ofa

policy

which converted

Tsamdrog rights

^topermanent

ownership rights

(on ^a

case-by-case basis)

^{would be a} step^towards

minimizing grazing

pressure in broadleaf forests of the

study

^area.

94

5.3.3 Native fodder tree

management

Forage

resources are critical in winter when green

herbage

^dries up. It^was observed that cattle

usually

^browse

seedlings

and herders

lop

^{trees in winterto}

supplement

^{cattle feed.}

Planting

^and

managing

^{foddertreesin}

Tsamdrogs

^isanotherstrategy ^of

improving forage

resources. Ithas a

high

^{chance of}

adoption by

farmers and herders as many of^{them are}

already raising

^{foddertrees in their}

Tsamdrogs.

^{Mostnative trees are}

high yielding

^and

green leaves^areavailable in winter

(Table 5.3). Considering

^that

hay-making (to supple¬

mentwinter

feed)

^isnot

practical

^duetovery^wetmonsoonsandlimited open pasturesⁱⁿ

Tsamdrogs, growing

^and

maintaining

^{foddertreesin}

Tsamdrogs

^{will beabetter}

option

^to

offset winter fodder

shortage

^{in the}

study

^{area. A wealth}of informationonfoddertreesis available from

neighboring Nepal

^{and India,and this can}

easily

^be

adapted

^{tothe condi¬}

tionsofthe

study

^area

(Troupe 1921, Panday 1982).

^Local

knowledge

^{of foddertreeman¬}

agementis also available fromfarmers and herders.

Species

^Annualyield per^tree

in fresh matter

Lopping ^season

Castanopsis

^{indica 60-80}

Kg

^Oct-Feb

Castanopsistribuloides 40-60 Kg ^Oct-Mar

Ficus nemoralis 100-120

kg

^Jan-FebandApr-Jun

Persea 60-100 kg ^Dec-Mar

Quercus lamellosa 50-80kg ^Oct-Mar

Prunus cerasoides 80-120kg ^Jun-Jul

Saurauja nepaulensis ^40-60kg ^Nov-Feb

Brassaiopsis^{hainla 40-60}kg ^Oct-Mar

Table 5.3 Period of fodderavailability^andapproximate^annualyield^forimportant^fodder

treesin the study^area

(Panday 1982).

5.3.4

Regulating grazing

ⁱⁿ

Tsamdrogs

^{and forests}

5.3.4.1

Improvised

^controlled

grazing

The correlation

analysts

^of

ground vegetation, seedlings

^and

saplings, altitudes,

canopy

coverand cattle tracksacrossthree sites in the

study

^areashowed that forest stands atthe

higher

^{altitudes are}

relatively lightly grazed,

^while

Tsamdrogs

^and

adjacent

forest stands whichare nearsettlements atloweraltitudesare

intensively grazed. Saplings

^{and treesin}

Tsamdrogs

^{are also}

lopped

for fodder. This suggests that cattle distributethemselves ac¬

cording

^tothe

availability

^of

forage

^{resources.Therefore,themost}

important

management consideration for

regulating grazing

^is

matching foraging

^{with the}

availability

^of

forage

inforests. Broadleaf forestshave

complex

ecosystems^and

calculating

^the

potential

^stock¬

ing

^rate

(carrying capacity)

for broadleaf forests is

difficult,

^ifnot

impossible.

^Different

forest

community

types ^{that are}

grazed by

^{cattle cannotbe}delineated, ^and

production

rates and

grazing

responses of

forage plants

^{differfromone forest}

community

^{to another.}

Many

reports

(Miller,

1993;

Gibson,

^{1991 and} Karmouni, 1997) ^also

question

^{the rele¬}

vanceof

stocking

^ratewhen

applied

^tonatural ranges

(e.g. forests)

^as

grazing

^takes

place

in

complex

ecosystems

coupled by

^variedmicro-climates,seasons, flora andherdcompo¬

sition. The

study

^{areahas a}

grazing

^areaof

only

^3.1

acres2

per Livestock Unit'

(LU)

^for

a

period

^{of six}

months, making grazing

pressure^onthe forests in the

study

^areavery

high.

Gibson

(1991)

^{estimated a}

potential stocking

^{rate in the}

study

^{areaof about 8 acres}per

cow fora six-month

grazing period.

An estimate basedon the areaof

Tsamdrogs belong¬

ing

^{to a}herder also amounts to about 3.2

acres4

_{per LU for} a

period

of six months. Tree leavesobtained

by lopping

^{fodderin winterarenot}included in the calculation. The stock¬

ing

^ratemay^seem

meaningless owing

^{tounreliabledata usedin} the calculation; ^neverthe¬

less,

^it

gives

^an indication that the

study

^areais

over-grazed. Pending

^{theresults from}

future

studies,

the initial

stocking

^rateforthebroadleaf forest may^betakenas 10 acres^

of forests per^{LU. The}

proposed stocking

^{ratecanbefine-tunedastheforest}

management plan

^is

implemented,

^{as more}informationon

yields

^and

grazing

response of

forage plants

become available.

However,

^the

application

^{ofthe above}

stocking

^{rate to} control herd pressure is uncertain and is not

applicable

^{at this}

^time,

^when

large

^{herds of cattleare}

grazing

in forests. Con¬

trolled

rotation6

of herds that relies bothon

temporal

^{factorsand the state of}

Tsamdrogs

and

forage regime

may

work,

^{as akind} of rotational

grazing

^{is in-built} in the traditional

grazing practice

^{of the}

study area7. _During

the

good

^{season,herdscan be}

kept

^inatractof

Tsamdrog

^{fora short}

period

^followed

by

^a

quick

^{rotation toanothertractof}

Tsamdrog.

^In

lean_seasons,the herdscanbe

kept

^foras

long

^asthe

Tsamdrog

^tractshave

vegetative

^cov¬

er. The controloverthe state of

Tsamdrogs

^canbe monitored

by watching

for the appear¬

anceof

plants

associated with the decline.

Ageratum, Eupitorium, Artemesia, Rumex,

DichroaPtericanthus and Pteridium are the indicators of the

deteriorating

^conditionof

forage

in openmeadows andforest

clearings. Increasing

^dominanceof

Symplocos, Eurya,

Lindera,

Daphniphyllum,

^Casaeriaand Viburnum shrubs arecharacteristics of

grazed

^and

disturbed forests.

5.3.4.2 Involvement of

herders,

farmers and other stakeholders in forest

management

Silviculture and

harvesting

^{will form} part^ofmanagement

prescriptions

^to

produce

^wood

for localandindustrial

consumption.

^If

regeneration

^areasin

logged ^forests, plantations

and critical watershedsarenot

protected

^from

grazing,

^the

sustainability

of broadleaf for¬

estsisatrisk. Such

key

^{areaswill be selected, and} agreements will be made with local

people

who will be

kept

^informedof

grazing

restrictions in those areas. Itis

assumed9

that since

they

^have

Tsamdrogs

^with

improved forage,

pressure^on forestareas identified for

Basedonthe numberof cattle and forestareaof thestudy^area(=1000^ha).

Livestock unit⁼1 adultcowor2 calves.

Basedonan areaof threeTsamdrog^{tractsand thenumber of}cattle thatgraze^onthem.

Gibson(1991)recommendation.

Alternativeconcept^toloading^triedin forest range land inMorocco (Karmouni.1997).

Notapplicable^toother broadleaf forests whereTsamdrogs^{arelimitedand}community-owned

Ageratum. Eupitorium.Artemesia andPteridium_growin theovergrazedpasturebetween 1500-2500 masl (Tsuchida, 1991).

Theassumption^isbasedonthe responses^offarmersduring^thecourseofhousehold surveys, wherethey^admit¬

ted that uncontrolled cattlegrazingdamage seedlings^andtrees.Theyappear^{to be}willing^toco-operate^{on re¬}

ducinggrazingpressure^onforestsifthey^aregiven^otheralternâmes,

96

wood

production

^{will bereduced. However, successwill}

largely depend

^on the involve¬

mentof local

people

^{in the}

planning

^and

implementation

of the forest programs, and in theprogress ^of

confidence-building

^{between foresters}and farmers.

Integrating

^cattle

grazing

^{intobroadleafforest}management^is

complex

and goes

beyond

the forester's domainas it involvesmanagement^of

forests,

pastures, ^{cattle and}

people.

Foresters need the

support

of veterinarians and pasture

agronomists

^to

plan

programs of pasture^{and cattle breed}

improvement. Co-operation

between farmers and herders is nec¬

essary^to

plan

^and

implement

^forest managementprograms which ^are sensitive tolocal needs, and which would

ultimately bring

about sustainablemanagementof broadleaffor¬

ests.Thiscallsforanew

approach:

^aforest

planning

system^thatencourages

co-operation

between

pasture agronomists,

veterinarians,foresters and local

people

who will draw sup¬

port

^{from one anotherto}manage the broadleaf forests.

No documento Cattle grazing - an integral part of broadleaf forest management planning in Bhutan (páginas 93-97)