Rangeland Restoration Analysis on the South Slope of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Northeast Libya

Journal of Rangeland Science

مقاله 4، دوره 11، شماره 1، فروردین 2021، صفحه 26-43   

نوع مقاله: Research and Full Length Article

نویسندگان

Adel M A Mahmoud^{* 1}؛ Mohd Bin Ismail²؛ Mohamad Azani Alias³؛ Alias Mohd Sood⁴

¹University of Omar Almokhtar

²Universiti Putra Malaysia

³Department of Forest Management, Faculty OF Forestry,Universiti Putra Malaysia

⁴Department of Forest Production Universiti Putra Malaysia

چکیده

This study was conducted on the south slope of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar (the Green Mountain) rangelands, northeast Libya to investigate changes in perennial plant species richness, landscape function and soil surface condition in order to determine whether exclosures are effected strategy for the improvement and rehabilitation of rangeland ecosystem at the regional level. Four study sites are positioned along a strong north-south rainfall gradient. A total of 28 monitoring sites were reinstalled and assessed between May and December 2014, the sites were then initially installed and assessed between the period of May and December 2006. The monitoring site layout is based on the Western Australia Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS). The response variables measured were those included in the protocols of Landscape Function Analysis technique (LFA). Based on the results, LFA indices were in the low and medium scales in all of the monitoring sites within the exclosures. Notably, it is considered a good comparison tool for what it is currently occurring at the target grazing areas. No changes in perennial plant species richness amid the study areas, with the exception of the Thahar Altair area (TT). Overall, in estimation, at least 10 years of protection from grazing is required in the highest rainfall area (Maduar Zetun), and a considerably longer period in the lower rainfall areas to the south before vegetation cover and soil surface conditions recover sufficiently to be re-exposed to grazing. Consequently, grazing should be controlled to conserve national forage resources.

کلیدواژه‌ها

Ajramiah؛ Libyan rangelands؛ Exclosures؛ LFA؛ NCI؛ WII

مراجع

Abdalrahman, Y., Spence, K., and Rotherham, I. D. 2010. The main causes of direct human-induced land degradation in the Libyan Al-Jabal Alakhdar region. End of Tradition, 8: 7.

Rezaei, S., Arzani, H., and Tongway, D. 2006. Assessing rangeland capability in Iran using landscape function indices based on soil surface attributes. Journal of arid environments, 65(3): 460-473.

Britannica, E. 2014. Rangeland. April 11, 2014, Dictionary.com website.

Derbel, S., Cortina, J., and Chaieb, M. 2009. Acacia saligna plantation impact on soil surface properties and vascular plant species composition in central Tunisia. Arid Land Research and Management, 23(1): 28-46.

El-Darier, S., and El-Mogaspi, F. 2009. Ethnobotany and relative importance of some endemic plant species At El-Jabal El-Akhdar region (Libya). World Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 5(3): 353-360.

FAO. 1964. The soil of northern Cyrenaica. Benghazi, Libya.

Gadallah, A. 2014. The effect of drought and grazing on the distribution of perennial plant cover in southern Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar rangelands, Libya (in Arabic). International Journal for Environment & Global Climate Change 2(2): 236-245.

Gebril, A. O., and Saeid, A. G. 2012. Importance of pastoral human factor overloading in land desertification: Case studies in northeastern Libya. Proceedings of World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology.

Hamad, S. M. 2012. Status of water resources of Al Jabal Al Akhdar region, North East Libya. Libyan Agriculture Research Centre Journal 3: 247-259.

Jauffret, S., Lavorel, S., and Leps, J. 2003. Are plant functional types relevant to describe degradation in arid, southern Tunisian steppes? Journal of Vegetation Science, 14(3): 399-408.

Lezama, F., Baeza, S., Altesor, A., Cesa, A., Chaneton, E. J., and Paruelo, J. M. 2014. Variation of grazing‐induced vegetation changes across a large‐scale productivity gradient. Journal of Vegetation Science, 25(1): 8-21.

Ludwig, F., de Kroon, H., Berendse, F., and Prins, H. H. 2004. The influence of savanna trees on nutrient, water and light availability and the understorey vegetation. Plant Ecology, 170(1): 93-105.

Ludwig, J. A., Wilcox, B. P., Breshears, D. D., Tongway, D. J., and Imeson, A. C. 2005. Vegetation patches and run off-erosion as interacting ecohydrological processes in semiarid landscapes. Ecology, 86(2): 288-297.

Lund, H. G. 2007. Accounting for the world's rangelands. Rangelands, 29(1): 3-10.

Maestre, F. T., Quero, J. L., Gotelli, N. J., Escudero, A., Ochoa, V., Delgado-Baquerizo, M., García-Gómez, M., Bowker, M. A., Soliveres, S., and Escolar, C. 2012. Plant species richness and ecosystem multi-functionality in global drylands. Science, 335 (6065): 214-218.

Mahmoud, A., Gadallah, A., Mohemmed, S., Mohamed, M., Abdel-Ghani, A., Alhendawi, R., and Russell, P. J. 2008. Aspects of range condition recovery in the southern Jebel Al Akhdar, northeastern Libya. Proceedings of the XXI International Grassland Congress and the VIII International Rangeland Congress (Vol. 1).

Mahmoud, A. M., Alhendawi, R. A., and Russell, P. J. 2012. The effect of grazing and average of rainfall on recovery of arid shrub land in southern Jabel Al Akhdar, northeastern Libya. Libyan Agriculture Research Center Journal international 3(S): 1244-1256.

Middleton, N., and Thomas, D. 1997. World atlas of desertification, Arnold, Hodder Headline, PLC.

Russell, P. J. 2006. Project Proposal for MSc Students. Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Center of the Management of Arid Environments, and Curtin University of Technology.

Russell, P. J. 2007. Assessing long-term change in rangeland ecological health using the western Australian rangeland monitoring system, PhD thesis, Curtin University of Technology.

Sanosi, M. 2008. Estimation of carrying capacity in south Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar rangelands, MSc thesis (in Arabic), Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Omar Al- Mukhtar University.

Snyman, H., and Du Preez, C. 2005. Rangeland degradation in a semi-arid South Africa-II: Influence on soil quality. Journal of arid environments, 60(3): 483-507.

SWECO. 1986. Land survey, mapping and pasture survey for 550,000 hectares of south Jabel El Akhdar area. Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. Omar Al- Mukhtar University. Albaida, Libya.

Tongway, D. and Hindley, N. 2004. Landscape function analysis: A system for monitoring rangeland function. African journal of range and forage science, 21(2): 109-113.

Tongway, D. J. 2010. Teaching the assessment of landscape function in the field: Enabling the design and selection of appropriate restoration techniques. Ecological Restoration, 28(2): 182-187.

Tongway, D. J., and Ludwig, J. A. 2007. Landscape function as a target for restoring natural capital in semiarid Australia. Restoring Natural Capital: Science, Business and Practice’. (Eds J. Aronson, SJ Milton and JN Bignaut.) pp: 76-84.

Tongway, D. J., and Ludwig, J. A. 2011. Restoring disturbed landscapes: Putting principles into practice, Island Press. Washington DC.

Wang, Q., and Batkhishig, O. 2014. Impact of overgrazing on semiarid ecosystem soil properties: A case study of the eastern Hovsgol lake area, Mongolia. J. Ecosys Ecograph, 4(140): 2.

Watson, I., Thomas, P., and Fletcher, W. 2007. The first assessment, using a rangeland monitoring system, of change in shrub and tree populations across the arid shrublands of western Australia. The Rangeland Journal, 29(1): 25-37.

Woolson, R. 2008. Wilcoxon signed‐rank test. Wiley Encyclopedia of Clinical Trials.

Zatout, M. M. 2014. Effect of negative human activities on plant diversity in the Jabal Akhdar pastures. International Journal of Bioassays, 3(09): 3324-3328.

Zucca, C., Pulido-Fernández, M., Fava, F., Dessena, L., and Mulas, M. 2013.Effects of restoration actions on soil and landscape functions: Atriplex nummularia L. Plantations in Ouled Dlim (Central Morocco). Soil and Tillage Research 133, 101-110.