Tsamdrogs and grazing practices

4.2.1

Tsamdrog right ownership

The

rights

^to

Tsamdrogs

^are

important

^household

possessions

^{and these}

rights

^are

passed from generation

^to

generation.

Fvery

household inthe northeast and southwestaspects ^ofthe

study

^areaowned

grazing right

^{to atleasttwo tractsof}

Tsamdrog

^{ateachofthesummerand winter}

grazing grounds.

Somehouseholds with

big

herds had 3-4 tractsof

Tsamdrog, usually

^{located atdifferent}

altitudes. Eachtractof

Tsamdrog

^was

distinct, being separated

from each other

by ridges, rivers,

gorgesand cliffs. These boundarieswere

respected

and every herder confined his herdto his

Tsamdrogs.

^The

Tsamdrogs

^were

individually registered

^{in thenames ofthe}

headof the household

(the wife)

^{and were}often known

by

^{names which}

depicted

^their

locationand

physical

^features.

Tsamdrog grazing rights

^{arehandeddown frommotherto}

daughter.

^{Theherderslived in}

temporary

^sheltersmade of wood andstone,

usually

^located

nearstreamsin the_open

Tsamdrogs.

^{Thenative foddertreesaroundtheirshelters hadei¬}

ther been

planted

^{or the}

original

^{foddertreeshad}been maintained.

Herders in the

study

^{area wererelatedtoone another. Gibson}

(1991) reported

^{a similar}

casewith

yak

^{herdersin the}

alpine region.

^Cattle

rearing

^isa

family

^{affair and}

generally

2-3 members of the households are

engaged

ⁱⁿ

looking

after the animals.In

1997,

^there

was

only

^{onecaseofahousehold}

employing

^a

helper

from outside its

family

^{tolook after}

the herd. Some householdsuseothers'

Tsamdrogs during

^{the lean season}

(winter).

^In

1997,

nine households statedthat

they

used others'

Tsamdrogs,

for which six

paid

^the

ownersin terms of butter andcheese,whiletheother three

paid

^{in cash.}

4.2.2

Differing grazing patterns

Grazing

^{calendarsonthetwo}

slopes of

^the

study

^area

differ

^andare

gradually evolving

overtime.

Inpast

times,

before everymonsoon, all herders on the southwest

slope spent

^{aweek mi¬}

grating

^{with theircattle totheirhomesinthe north.}

Nowadays, they

stay ^{in the}

vicinity

^of

the

study

area,

shifting periodically

^{from one}

Tsamdrog

^{tract to} another. Most of them

moveup ^totheir

Tsamdrogs

^at

higher

^{altitudes to} avoid the harshmonsoon of the

study

area.Between

October-November, they bring

^{back their cattle to} the southwest

slope

^of

the

study

^{area, and}stay there until March ofthe

following

year. In

1997,

there were

only

twofamilies who still

migrated

^{in summer}with their cattle all the way up^to their homes in the north.

Ontheotherhand, farmers onthenortheast

slope kept

^{theircattle on}the northeast

aspect

of the

study

^{areaformostof the}year. ^In

January

^and

February, (after

harvest) the cattle

weretakentothefallow

agricultural

lands in the

villages. Crop-growing

^{wasthe mainac¬}

tivity

^{offarmers on} the northeastaspect.

82

4.2.3

Typology

^of

Tsamdrog

Tsamdrogs

^{and their}

surroundings

^{can be dividedinto three}

grazing grounds depend¬

ing

^{onuseandcattle}

preference.

The open

Tsamdrogs

^are

intensively

^used.

Tsamdrogs

^{and their}

surroundings

^{can be}divided into three

grazing grounds depending

onuseand cattle

preference.

^{These are} openmeadows, ^forest

fringes

^and

high

^forests.

Cattletendto

prefer

^{meadows and theseare}

intensively

used before

they

graze in thefor¬

est

fringes.

Cattle graze in the forests in

winter,

^when

forage

^{in thetwoother}

grazing grounds

^{has been}

depleted.

Thetransactsurvey in theopen

Tsamdrog

^showsthatgrasses dominated the

herbage

^com¬

position

in the open

Tsamdrog (Figure 4.3),

^{in contrastto}under forest stands where

ground vegetation

^{was dominated}

by

forbs and shrubs. The main _grasses in the open

Tsamdrog

^were

Paspalum, Digitaria

^and

Kikiyu.

^{The numberof forbswaslow,andthese}

were

represented by

Pilea and ferns. Shrubswere

usually

^absentas

they

^werecut

by

^herd¬

ers to make wayfor grasses; ^{this was}illustrated

by

^the presence^of

dry

^brushes

littering

the meadows

(Figure 4.3).

grasses forbs litter/brush rock bareground

Figure

^{4.3 Plant cover}percentage ⁱⁿ October 1998 and in March 1999on the

Tsamdrog

(Tsamdrog^transect survey1998 and 1999.

The grasscoveragerecorded in October1998 and March 1999 didnot

differ,

^asgrass sods

were still intactandhad notbeen

completely

^eliminated

by grazing

in winter. The

height

ofgrasses recorded between ^seasons shows thatthemean

height

of grasses ^was

signifi¬

cantly

lower in March 1999

(29 cm)

than in October1998

(48 cm) (Table 4.4).

^Thismeans that open meadows

(Tsamdrogs)

^{wereoverusedin the winter.The}increased exposure of rocks in March 1999

compared

^to October 1999 could be attributed tothe survey ^meth¬

odology problem

^{mentionedearlier}

(see Chapter 2.2.6.3)

^{where the}

plots

^{measuredatthe}

twodifferentseasons were notthe same.

October

1997(n=39)

^{March 1998} (n=34) ^Pooled P

Mean SD Mean SD df t-vari-

ance

48.108 23,609 29.018 15.842 71 4.101 0.001

(SD=Standard

^{Deviation, df=}Degree ^offreedom, ^Bold_p ^value=

significant)

Table 4.4 Twosamples^{t-testonthemean}height (cm)^ofgrassesgrouped by^seasonsin

theTsamdrog ^onthe southwestaspect.

4.2.4 Traditional

grazing practices

Traditional

grazing practices

^were

developed

^overtheyears

by

^herdersto

prevent

^over¬

grazing

^andover-use

of Tsamdrogs.

Herdershave considerable

knowledge

^{ofthe forestand}ecosystem

they depend

upon.

They

have learntto devise

indigenous grazing practices

^to

optimize

^{their useofTsam¬}

drogs. They

^{knowwhenandfor how}

long

each of their

Tsamdrogs

^{tracts can be}

grazed.

Every

year in

November,

^{ontheirreturn tothe}

study

area,

they usually

^start

pasturing Tsamdrogs

^locatedatthe lowest altitude andmove

uphill.

^{In the first}

days

^{of their}

stay,

cattle arelefttograze for^ashort

length

^{of time.}

They

^arerounded up in the

evenings

^and

restricted in makeshift enclosures to prevent^{excessive use of}

forage overnight.

^In

time,

cattle areleftto graze

overnight

^{in andaround}

Tsamdrogs,

^Whenpastures

begin

^{to show}

evidence of decline in

forage,

^{cattle aretaken to anothertract of}

Tsamdrog

^{and the same} system ^of

grazing

^is

applied

^there.

By February,

^all

palatable

grasses and shrubs have either dried up^orbeeneaten

by

^cattle.

Cattle wander into the

adjacent

^forests

scavenging

^for

forage

and this is whentree seed¬

lings

^and

saplings

^are either browsed or

trampled

upon. Cattle^even debarktrees to sup¬

plement

^their

feed8.

Herders then start

lopping

^{the foddertrees}

growing

^{in theirtracts of}

Tsamdrog

^to

supplement

^{the cattlefodder.}Some herders also travel intothe foreststohar¬

vest two head-loads oftreefodder_every

day (survey

^1997)forcalves thataretetheredat thecamps. Gradual

thinning

^{outof theforests}

adjacent

^tothe herders' camps is attributed tothis

practice.

By April,

^{herders starttomove}up with theircattle to

higher

^reaches

(>3000 masl,

^firfor¬

est,^around

Shogala lake)

^{beforethemonsoonbreaks. On}

leaving

^theircamps in the

study

area, the

understorey

brushes and bushes in and aroundtheir

Tsamdrogs

^arecleared. This is doneto promote grass

growth

and green

foliage

ⁱⁿ the coming^monsoon. Most Tsam¬

drogs

^aredevoidofcattle from

April-September, giving

grasses and shrubs timeto

reju¬

venate. Thisrest

period

^{coincides with the}

vegetation

growing ^season

(Figure 4.4),

8 PersonalobservationmMarch 1999

84

JO M

>

m 0)

o UL

Changmg^{line of}forage

Lopping^{of fodder}

**

•*.

,. treesinforest

iTsamdrogsJ

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

Apr May

Figure

^{4.4 Schematicdiagramtoshow thechangeof}

forage availability

ⁱⁿ

Tsamdrog

^dur¬

ing^the stay^ofthe cattle herdon the southwestaspect^{of the}study ^area (con¬

structed based onthe interviews andpersonal observations).

No documento Cattle grazing - an integral part of broadleaf forest management planning in Bhutan (páginas 82-85)