Carbon Stock and Change Rate under Different Grazing Management Practices in Semiarid Pastoral Ecosystem of Eastern Ethiopia
Grazing management strategies tend to have different effects on rangeland plant production. Changes in grazing management can, therefore, affect the carbon stock potential of rangelands. Despite rangeland ecosystems being important global sinks for carbon, we know relatively little about the effect...
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/5/639 |
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| author | Haftay Hailu Gebremedhn Tessema Zewdu Kelkay Yayanshet Tesfay Samuel Tuffa Sintayehu Workeneh Dejene Sylvanus Mensah Adam John Mears Devenish Anthony Egeru |
| author_facet | Haftay Hailu Gebremedhn Tessema Zewdu Kelkay Yayanshet Tesfay Samuel Tuffa Sintayehu Workeneh Dejene Sylvanus Mensah Adam John Mears Devenish Anthony Egeru |
| author_sort | Haftay Hailu Gebremedhn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Grazing management strategies tend to have different effects on rangeland plant production. Changes in grazing management can, therefore, affect the carbon stock potential of rangelands. Despite rangeland ecosystems being important global sinks for carbon, we know relatively little about the effect of traditional grazing management practices on their potential to store carbon. In this study, we evaluated the carbon stock and change rate of rangelands using three traditional grazing management practices in the semiarid pastoral ecosystem of eastern Ethiopia. By comparing data on vegetation and soil carbon stocks, we found that there was a strong significant difference (<i>p</i> < 0.001) between these different management practices. In particular, the establishment of enclosures was associated with an annual increase in carbon stocks of soil (3%) and woody (11.9%) and herbaceous (57.6%) biomass, when compared to communal open lands. Both enclosure and browsing management practices were found to have the highest levels of soil organic carbon stocks, differing only in terms of the amount of woody and herbaceous biomass. Thus, modest changes in traditional grazing management practices can play an important role in carbon storage and sequestration. Further research is required on a wider range of traditional pastoral management practices across space and time, as understanding these processes is key to combating global climate change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:34:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-91c745ff323a4c6d8e1b323cf80de999 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:34:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-91c745ff323a4c6d8e1b323cf80de9992023-11-23T11:46:41ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2022-04-0111563910.3390/land11050639Carbon Stock and Change Rate under Different Grazing Management Practices in Semiarid Pastoral Ecosystem of Eastern EthiopiaHaftay Hailu Gebremedhn0Tessema Zewdu Kelkay1Yayanshet Tesfay2Samuel Tuffa3Sintayehu Workeneh Dejene4Sylvanus Mensah5Adam John Mears Devenish6Anthony Egeru7African Center of Excellence for Climate-Smart Agriculture and Biodiversity Conservation, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa P.O. Box 138, EthiopiaCollege of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Debark University, Debark P.O. Box 90, EthiopiaCollege of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mekele University, Mekelle P.O. Box 23, EthiopiaOromia Agricultural Research Institute, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 81265, EthiopiaAfrican Center of Excellence for Climate-Smart Agriculture and Biodiversity Conservation, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa P.O. Box 138, EthiopiaLaboratoire de Biomathématiques et d’Estimations Forestières, Université d’Abomey Calavi, Cotonou 04 BP 1525, BeninDepartment of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UKTraining and Community Development, Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), Kampala P.O. Box 16811, UgandaGrazing management strategies tend to have different effects on rangeland plant production. Changes in grazing management can, therefore, affect the carbon stock potential of rangelands. Despite rangeland ecosystems being important global sinks for carbon, we know relatively little about the effect of traditional grazing management practices on their potential to store carbon. In this study, we evaluated the carbon stock and change rate of rangelands using three traditional grazing management practices in the semiarid pastoral ecosystem of eastern Ethiopia. By comparing data on vegetation and soil carbon stocks, we found that there was a strong significant difference (<i>p</i> < 0.001) between these different management practices. In particular, the establishment of enclosures was associated with an annual increase in carbon stocks of soil (3%) and woody (11.9%) and herbaceous (57.6%) biomass, when compared to communal open lands. Both enclosure and browsing management practices were found to have the highest levels of soil organic carbon stocks, differing only in terms of the amount of woody and herbaceous biomass. Thus, modest changes in traditional grazing management practices can play an important role in carbon storage and sequestration. Further research is required on a wider range of traditional pastoral management practices across space and time, as understanding these processes is key to combating global climate change.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/5/639open grazingenclosurebrowsing areaclimate change mitigationrangeland ecosystem servicescarbon stock |
| spellingShingle | Haftay Hailu Gebremedhn Tessema Zewdu Kelkay Yayanshet Tesfay Samuel Tuffa Sintayehu Workeneh Dejene Sylvanus Mensah Adam John Mears Devenish Anthony Egeru Carbon Stock and Change Rate under Different Grazing Management Practices in Semiarid Pastoral Ecosystem of Eastern Ethiopia Land open grazing enclosure browsing area climate change mitigation rangeland ecosystem services carbon stock |
| title | Carbon Stock and Change Rate under Different Grazing Management Practices in Semiarid Pastoral Ecosystem of Eastern Ethiopia |
| title_full | Carbon Stock and Change Rate under Different Grazing Management Practices in Semiarid Pastoral Ecosystem of Eastern Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Carbon Stock and Change Rate under Different Grazing Management Practices in Semiarid Pastoral Ecosystem of Eastern Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Carbon Stock and Change Rate under Different Grazing Management Practices in Semiarid Pastoral Ecosystem of Eastern Ethiopia |
| title_short | Carbon Stock and Change Rate under Different Grazing Management Practices in Semiarid Pastoral Ecosystem of Eastern Ethiopia |
| title_sort | carbon stock and change rate under different grazing management practices in semiarid pastoral ecosystem of eastern ethiopia |
| topic | open grazing enclosure browsing area climate change mitigation rangeland ecosystem services carbon stock |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/5/639 |
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