This study was conducted to examine impact of bush encroachment control on rangeland vegetation in the south eastern Ethiopia. The study targeted two main and dominant encroaching woody plant species, Acacia bussei and Acacia aerfota, and their effects on rangeland vegetation attribute dynamics in Raitu district of Bale zone, southeastern Ethiopia for two consecutive years. Rangeland site encroached by these two acacia species was replicated/divided into three plots, and each plot was subdivided into five sub-plots receive five treatments: cutting at 0.5 m above ground alone (T1), cutting at 0.5 m above ground and dissecting the stumps (T2), cutting at 0.5 m above ground and pouring chemicals on stumps (T3), cutting at 0.5 m above ground and debarking the stumps down into the soil surface (T4) and control (T5). Data on biomass, species richness, basal and litter covers, soil erosion and compaction, dead and re-sprouted encroaching tree/shrub species were collected. The applied treatments significantly influenced (P<0.05) basal cover, dry matter and the two encroaching tree species. The results of this study showed that T1 and T4 were good in controlling A. aerfota in that order. T4 and T3 had a significant effect on controlling A. bussie in their order. The most dominant grass and non-grass species observed after the control actions were Cenchrus ciliaris, Bothriochloa radicans, Hibiscus aponerus, Pennisetum mezianum, Lintonia nutans, Chrysopogon plumulosus and Eragrostis papposa. Therefore, controlling encroaching tree/shrub species had created a conducive grazing area with palatable herbaceous species for the livestock. The management of bush encroachment will contribute to stabilize rangelands and to minimize the negative effects of feed and food crises in the future. تفاصيل المقالة

Characterization of watersheds was conducted in semiarid rangelands of Dalloma woreda, southeast Ethiopia during 2018-19 fiscal years. Data were collected using household surveys, field observations, focus group discussion and key informant interviews . Both crop and livestock production (71%) and only livestock production (17%) ware the main activities to earn a living. Respondents ranked sale of livestock and livestock products (61%), sale of honey (20%) and sale of crops (10%) as the main source of income. The pastoral and agro-pastoral in the watershed mainly depends on the production of livestock as their main livelihood because of the suitability of the area for the production of livestock. Drought, the existence of pests, diseases and weeds, land degradation, high price of input, shortage of improved seeds and shortage of land were a major constraint for crop production. Livestock feed shortage, disease, marketing, lack of improved genotype and low animal by product are the major constraint for livestock productions. Drought, bush encroachment, crop encroachment, overgrazing, over utilization, population increase, disease and inappropriate government policies were the main factors for degradation of rangelands. The result of this study showed that land degradation together with poverty is the most serious problem. Since the well-being of the local community is highly interrelated to the natural resources it has to be managed properly in a sustainable way. Majority of respondents showed the community in the watershed and natural resources management faces interlinked complex problems, implying the importance of integrating different approaches to address the problems in the watershed and improving the livelihood of the community. Thus, integrated watershed management program should be implemented to address different problems in the watershed so that both natural resources and livelihood of the local community can be optimized. تفاصيل المقالة