Evaluation of Rangeland Grass Species Composition in Different Livestock Land use Systems in Marondera Zimbabwe

Abstract— This research work investigated that livestock land use systems influence grass species composition (Density and Biomass), and basal cover. A number of three livestock land use systems; communal livestock land use system, commercial livestock land use system and the resettlement livestock land use system each replicated thrice were assessed using the botanical sampling technique. Grass species density, species biomass and basal cover were measured using 50cm x 50cm quadrats. The collected data was analysed using Minitab version 17 at P≤0.05 significant level. The results revealed that grass species density, biomass and basal cover were lower in the communal livestock land use system than in resettlement and commercial systems. The prevailing grass species were dissimilar where more unpalatable grasses were found dominating in communal areas than in other systems. The invasive and increaser species were found in the communal livestock land use system than in the commercial and resettlement system. Furthermore, the basal cover was lower in the communal grazing lands than in the resettlement and commercial land use systems. Lack of knowledge, high stocking densities as well as poor grazing strategies were ascribed to these results. As a measure against rangeland degradation, there is a need to devise a monitoring scheme or strategy for early recognition of changes as some grass species maybe vanished. The basal cover changes require close attention and monitoring as very low percentages of basal cover might reduce the production potential of the rangeland.