Conclusions
AGV in the present study area suffers from human activities such as over
grazing. This may lead to habitat degradation and vegetation destruction
in some part of the area. Knowledge of the SSB and its temporal and
spatial variation is a useful tool for conservation and restoration
efforts. This study showed that shrubs, overall, played an important
role in reserving of herbaceous species seeds under their canopies.
However, the extent to which shrubs affects SSB characteristics is
dependent on the species of shrub. These different roles of shrubs on
SSB are advised to be considered in restoration of areas through
conservation of endemic shrubs in the semiarid regions. Although,E. stellata has a low or intermediate palatability for grazers,
it can be of priority for rangeland improvement and, restoration of
degraded sites if plant diversity increase is of priority. However,
highest SSB density under the canopy of A. scoparia with its
potential in medicinal and grazing uses may be considered for recovery
of degraded site through planting of this shrub as second priority.