Land Use/Cover Change analysis and its Implication on Livestock Feed
Resource Availabilities in Southeastern Rangeland of Ethiopia
Abstract
The objective of this study was to analyze the combined effects of
climate and land use/cover changes on livestock feed resources and
livestock species composition. The land use/cover data were generated
from Landsat images of 1986, 1995, 2010 and 2018. The images were
classified using a maximum likelihood classifier algorithm. The result
from meteorological data and the land use/cover change were compared
with household perception on livestock feed availability and livestock
species composition. The result showed that the dominant land use/cover
in the eco-region throughout the study period was bush/shrub cover
followed by woody vegetation. This study revealed transition of land
use/cover from grassland, woody and forest vegetation cover to
bush/shrub and cropland in the study areas. The analysis of time series
meteorological data showed significantly increasing patterns of
temperature, and the highly variable nature of rainfall during
1986-2018. The pattern of livestock population throughout the analysis
period exhibited a significantly increasing trend. The land use/cover,
temperature and rainfall significantly affected livestock feed
availability and quality. Over the last 32 years, potential grazing
resources had been declined with a resultant increase in the proportion
of bush/shrub feed resources available for livestock. The inter-annual
variation of rainfall during the analysis period was 40.45%, which
implies that the rangeland is in non-equilibrium dynamics. The
rangelands carrying capacity was significantly decreased from 3.76
TLU/ha/year in 1986 to 1.74 TLU/ha/year in 2018. However, the stocking
rate was increased from 1.8 TLU/ha/year in 1986 into 7.15 TLU/ha/year
during 1986-2018. It is recommendable to choose camel and goat more
likely than cattle and sheep raising with increasing temperature and
decreasing pattern of rainfall. Hence, available feed resources and the
probability of choosing livestock species vary with eco-region and land
use/cover that indicates the need for site-specific feed and rangeland
management scheme.