The 2008 Joint Meeting of the Society for Range Management and the America Forage and Grassland Council.

Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 9:00 AM

Change in Landscape Pattern and Vegetation Succession in Response to Herder Settlement

Ahmed El Aich Sr.1, Concepcion Lopez Alados2, Denis Dean3, Melinda Laituri3, and Randall Boone4. (1) Productiona Animales, Institut Agronomique & Veterinaire Hassan II, BP 6202, Rabat, Morocco, (2) Instituto Pirenaico de Ecologia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Avenida Montanana 1005, Apdo 202, Zaragoza, E-50080, Spain, (3) Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Stewardship, Colorado State University, Campus Delivery 1472, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1472, (4) Natural Resources Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523

Historically, ecological integrity of the pastoral systems in the Middle Atlas in Morocco depended on mobility in the form of double transhumance that concerned the lowlands in winter and the highlands during summer. Conversion of the lowlands to agriculture reduced the grazing area and caused a breakdown in the transhumance system. As a consequence, herders reduced their mobility and settled in the summer high grazing lands. Herdsmen on Ait Beni Yacoub rangelands began settling early in the century, but it was during the period 1960-1970 that significant settlement was observed.  Settlement of herders had a great negative impact on rangeland resources since it increased the duration of the grazing season as well as grazing pressure, resulting in a significant increase in invader species (Euphorbia nicacensis), an increase in annual species, a decrease in perennial species, and a decrease in the vigor of Genista Pseudopilosa.

This paper aims to assess changes in landscape pattern and vegetation cover and diversity subsequent to the increase in herders’ settlements. In order to assess the impact, a GIS Model was developed and multivariate statistical analyses were performed on the data generated. Field survey on land use by herders was done. Vegetation diversity in relation to land use was determined. Finally, data on fractal development instability of Genista Pseudopilosa was determined.

Our findings provide evidence of the impact of sedentarization on the environment, including desertification, loss of biodiversity, ecosystem fragmentation, overgrazing, and loss of productive pasturelands.


See more of Livestock Management in Shrub-Dominated Semi-Arid Rangelands: A Comparison of Landscape Histories and Pattern Use in the Mediterranean and Southwestern North America
See more of Symposia

See more of The 2008 Joint Meeting of the Society for Range Management and the American Forage and Grassland Council (January 26 - 31, 2008)