Communal Rangeland Rest in Arid Area, a Tool for Facing Animal Feed Costs and Drought Mitigation: The Case of Chenini Community, Southern Tunisia

• Published in: Journal of biological sciences (Faisalabad, Pakistan) Vol. 8; no. 4; pp. 822 - 825
• Main Authors: Belgacem, Azaiez Ouled, Salem, Hichem Ben, Bouaicha, Ali, El-Mourid, Mohamed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 15-05-2008
• Subjects: Hordeum vulgare
• ISSN: 1727-3048
• DOI: 10.3923/jbs.2008.822.825

The study was carried out at the communal rangeland in the community of Chenini, Southern Tunisia aiming at assessing the effect of the rest technique on plant cover dynamics and productivity. In both protected and grazed (control) rangelands, total plant cover, species richness as well as biomass production and range value were determined. The results showed considerable and positive effects of protection on the parameters scored. The short term protection (2 years only) permitted an increase of the rangeland production of about 352000 forage units, an equivalent of 352 tones barley. In addition to the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources, the communal rangeland rest may be considered as an interesting technical option and tool to face the increase of animal feeding resources costs and to mitigate drought in Southern Tunisia.