Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...

collected between 2001 and 2007 is currently being analysed and will provide the park with an
interesting overview of the more recent trends in livestock numbers within BMNP.
The Present
Livestock grazing has now been recognized as the major stress on the key ecological attributes of
the Afroalpine zone, and is considered an immediate priority in the Sustainable Natural Resource
Management (SNRM) Programme in the recently ratified BMNP General Management Plan
(OARDB 2007, Nelson this edition). However, information is urgently required in order to initiate
and implement such management activities, including quantifying levels, locations and impacts of
livestock grazing. Specifically this project aims to determine the impact of livestock grazing on
Afroalpine vegetation and rodent communities and how it may affect long-term conservation goals
for the endangered Ethiopian wolves (see Sillero-Zubiri et al. this edition; Randall et al. this edition)
and the park in general.
This study comprises three main objectives:
Objective 1: Understanding spatial and temporal patterns of livestock habitat use
Livestock abundances have been estimated along 100 km of fixed line-transects throughout the
Afroalpine, for the period between July 2007 and June 2008. Livestock sightings (cattle, equids and
shoats) along those transects were recorded and densities estimated for the different times of the
year using conventional distance sampling methods (Fig. 1). Livestock movement during diurnal
grazing will be investigated using GPS and GIS technologies in three sites (Upper Web, Morebawa
and Sanetti) through the use of focal follows where one animal (horse, cow or shoat) is followed by
an observer and activity, location (with use of GPS), habitat and group size are recorded every 15
minutes. Analyses will then determine important factors associated with livestock habitat selection
such as elevation, slope, distance to water, vegetation type and distance to settlements. Ultimately, a
spatio-temporal map of livestock numbers in the park corresponding to current vegetation condition
and forage distribution will be produced which will assist with the threat monitoring framework for
the Afroalpine (as per the BMNP GMP).
Objective 2: Examining relationships between grazing pressure, vegetation biomass and
rodent density and demography
The relationship between grazing pressure, vegetation biomass and rodents are being examined in
two different ways: Firstly through the use of livestock exclosures and secondly through the use of
the natural variability in grazing intensity in the park.
Livestock exclosures will enable us to determine the recovery period of vegetation biomass
and structure, as well as rodent dynamics. Three livestock exclosures have been erected (50 x 50
m) in the Upper Web Valley. Vegetation and rodent surveys will be carried out in the exclosures
<strong>Walia</strong>-<strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> on the Bale Mountains 202