Grasslands of the World.pdf - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

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Plate 11.1
Trifolium fragiferum .
Grasslands of the world
Goats are widespread although much less numerous than sheep. Camels are a
mainstay in the desert areas.
The mountains of the north once had a Mediterranean forest vegetation,
which has been greatly reduced by clearing for agriculture or felling; in some
places forest is degraded to matorral . The steppes are the great traditional grazing
lands ; Artemisia steppes (Artemisia herba-alba ) are extremely widespread
and there are large stands of Stipa tenacissima (‘alfa) and Lygeum spartum
(esparto ). Stipa tenacissima and Lygeum spartum are mediocre fodders but are
commercially important since they are harvested for papermaking and basketry
on such a scale that these populations have been damaged. An unusual
browse formation in western Morocco is the argan (Argania spinosa ) zone,
where this shrub is browsed by goats , which clamber into the trees to feed;
argan seed yields an edible oil.
Cereals are often grown in rotation with fallow , which produces large
areas of high-quality grazing . Many Mediterranean fallow plants have been
domesticated in Australia and incorporated into cereal-fallow rotations;
there have been many attempts to re-import these plants and the associated
technology into North Africa but with very limited success, as large cereal
farmers are not livestock owners and fallows are often let to passing transhumant
herds, which graze them to bare ground. The rich pastoral flora of the
fallows includes: Avena spp., Bromus spp. , Hordeum spp., Lolium rigidum ,
Hippocrepis spp., Lathyrus aphaca , Lotus spp. , Medicago ciliaris , M. littoralis ,
SARDI