Sedentary Grazing sub-system on Communal Areas in Tropical Sub-humid and Humid zones - LGH2

Ruminants extensively use the native pastures on communal lands which have not yet been cleared for cultivation. Sedentary grazing is less common than mixed system farming in this sub-system and, over time, frequently evolves into mixed farming. It is mainly found in tropical Africa and more rarely in Asia and America.

Often this sub-system is found in regions where the population pressure is high or increasing. The encroachment of cultivated lands leads to fragmentation of the pastoral areas, leaving the less fertile soils for grazing. This evolution is a cause of misuse of the pasture and overgrazing. Otherwise, cattle participate to the nutrient transfer from the rangeland to the fields and the management of soil fertility when they stay on cultivated areas after harvest.

To get a sufficient income for his family, the stock farmer must own a minimum number of animals. The sedentary condition limits the areas of pasture within a radius not exceeding a one-day walk from the farm. This limitation can lead to a localized excessive stocking rate.

In savanna, bushfires are a normal phenomenon and a factor of equilibrium between the grass cover and the trees. In humid savanna, fire always limits extension of woody plants for the benefit of most of the herbaceous species. Early burning after the rainy season is less aggressive than a late burning, which is much more violent. Heavy livestock grazing in savanna leads to the disappearance of the most palatable grass species and reduces the efficiency of fire and causes the decline of plant and animal diversity.

Part of the livestock is now owned by outsiders. These absentee owners have economic objectives more than environmental concern and hired herders do not have the same respect for traditional rangeland use as did traditional farmers.

The most common impacts are the pasture degradation, bush encroachment and risk of weed invasion.

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