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

Grassland perspectives 469
The grasslands of the Russian steppe were increasingly cleared for crops
during the twentieth century; initially crops rotated with tumble-down fallow ,
but later the cropping cycle became more intensive. Meadows in floodplains
and depressions remained an important source of hay . Stock were mainly
housed during the collective period. The system has yet to stabilize following
decollectivization, but herds are fragmented and are left to graze at will, leading
to overgrazing close to homesteads while distant pastures are neglected.
The studies concentrate on domestic livestock, but most mention the other
grazers, which are important in natural grassland ecosystems – ranging from
large ruminants and marsupials to the rodents and lagomorphs that are major
herbivores in many cool, semi -arid situations. Wildlife plays an important role
in maintaining some grasslands, such as in eastern Africa , where the presence
of elephants and fire are important.
GRASSLAND DEVELOPMENT , IMPROVEMENT AND REHABILITATION
Most grasslands, whether commercially or traditionally managed, have required
some development inputs to make stock-rearing possible or more efficient. All
grazing resource s have to be taken into account and these cover much more
than the herbaceous stratum.
Grassland resources
Water
Water is the major determining factor in stock management in most extensive
grazing lands ; in areas dependent on seasonal surface water, stock must move out
once sources have dried. Improvement of water supply by creating water points
or improving existing ones, and clearing of undesirable vegetation to allow free
access for stock and better grass growth, are common to both systems , and
provision of minerals or traditional salt licks is frequent. Water availability is a
factor in determining many migration patterns in mobile systems. In both East
and West Africa , traditional rules govern pastoral water use, and in very dry
areas water is a more important resource than is grazing. In areas with very cold
winters, as noted in the Mongolia study, surface water freezes; wells provide
water, but, in their absence, herders may have to extract water from below ice,
melt snow or have stock eat snow to find water – in severe winter weather
events, dehydration may be as damaging to stock as lack of food.
Without water development , stock would be limited to areas close to permanent
sources of water throughout the dry season , and large areas of grassland
would not be useable for livestock production. From ancient times, stock
watering points have been developed to assure year-round water supply within
a group ’s grazing area or to make grazing land accessible. Access to water is
mentioned as a limiting factor to use of some grazing areas in South Africa .
According to the South American studies, creation of water supplies has made
stock rearing possible in large areas of Patagonia and the Gran Chaco , and