Abstract
Browse shrubs and trees, in spite of their significant role in livestock production in arid and semi-arid zones, are often omitted from pasture potential assessments because of the lack of methodology, the difficulty in calculation or method application and because it is usually a long and tedious task. For an accurate estimation of the carrying capacity of rangelands the shrub and tree fodder component has to be taken into account in order to avoid under estimation of the potential phytomass available for browsing. In this study, a semi-destructive method was used to develop fodder prediction equations of seven shrub and tree species based on multiple explanatory variables at four different locations in Burkina Faso (Taffogo, Safané, Nobéré, Dano and Sokouraba). The physical characteristics (explanatory variables) and the leaf weight (response variable) of the plants were measured or calculated and the non collinear explanatory variables correlated with the response variable. More than 50 % of the observed variation in fodder was explained by the basal area and/or the crown cover for all the target species except Ficus sur at Sokouraba and both Acacia seyal and Balanites aegyptiaca at Safané. The prediction equations were species-specific and equations developed for the same species in different sites were different. These results suggest that many local species-specific fodder prediction equations have to be developed to get an accurate fodder prediction in a large scale, and practitioners of rangelands management may be cautious about applying general species-specific prediction equation tables.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arbonnier M (2002) Arbres, arbustes et lianes des zones sèches d’Afrique de l’Ouest. CIRAD–MNHN–UICN, Montpellier, p 539
Arnold M, Townson I (1998) Assessing the potential of forest product activities to contribute to rural incomes in Africa. ODI Natural Resource Perspectives No. 37, London
Belem B, Nacoulma BMI, Gbangou R, Kambou S, Hansen HH, Gausset Q, Lund S, Raebild A, Lompo D, Ouedraogo M, Theilade I, Boussim IJ (2007) Use of non wood forest products by local people bordering the “Parc National Kaboré Tambi”, Burkina Faso. J Transdiscipl Environ Stud 6:21
Bergeret A, Ribot JC (1990) L’arbre nourricier en pays sahélien. Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris, p 237
Bognounou F, Savadogo M, Boussim IJ, Guinko S (2008) Équations d’estimation de la biomasse foliaire de cinq espèces ligneuses soudaniennes du Burkina Faso. Sécheresse 19:201–205
Bognounou F, Savadogo P, Thiombiano A, Boussim IJ, Oden PC, Guinko S (2011) Informants based ethnobotany and utility evaluation of five Combretaceae species: differentiation by ethnicity and geographical location. For Trees Livelihoods 20:265–282
Breman H, De Ridder N (1991) Manuel sur le pâturage des pays sahéliens. Karthala, Paris, p 485
Breman H, Kessler JJ (1995) The role of woody plants in agroecosystems of semi-arid regions: with an emphasis of the Sahelian countries. Advanced series in agricultural sciences 23. Springer, Berlin, p 340
Brown S, Gillespie AJ, Lugo AE (1989) Biomass estimation methods for tropical forests with applications to forest inventory data. For Sci 35:881–902
Ceperley N, Montagnini F, Natta A (2010) Importance des sites sacrés pour la conservation des forêts galeries au centre Benin. Bois et forêts des tropiques 303:5–23
Cissé M (1980) The browse production for some trees of the Sahel: relationships between maximum foliage biomass and various physical parameters. In: Le Houerou HN (ed) Browse in Africa. International Livestock Center for Africa, Addis Ababa, pp 205–2010
Cotton C (1997) Ethnobotany: principles and applications. Wiley, Chichester, p 424
Driessen P, Deckers J, Spaargaren O (2001) Lecture notes on the major soils of the world, Agrovoc edn. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, p 334
Kaimowitz D (2003) Not by bread alone…forests and rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. In: Oksanen T, Pajari B, Toumasjukka T (eds) Forests in poverty reduction strategies: capturing the potential. European Forest Institute, Joensuu, pp 45–63
Kristensen M, Balslev H (2003) Perceptions, use and availability of woody plants among the Gourounsi in Burkina Faso. Biodivers Conserv 12:1715–1739
Kristensen M, Lykke AM (2003) Informant-based valuation of use and conservation preferences of savanna trees in Burkina Faso. Econ Bot 57:203–217
Le Houerou H (1980) Browse in Africa: the current state of knowledge. Papers presented at the international symposium on browse in Africa, International Livestock Center for Africa, Addis Ababa, 8–12 April 1980
Mizoue N, Masutani T (2003) Image analysis measure of crown condition, foliage biomass and stem growth relationships of Chamaecyparis obtusa. For Ecol Manag 172:79–88
Montes N, Gauquelin T, Badri W, Bertaudiere V, Zaoui EH (2000) A non-destructive method for estimating above-ground forest biomass in threatened woodlands. For Ecol Manag 130:37–46
Nacro HB, Somé NA, Ouédraogo A, Nignan S(2007) Utilisation pastorale de la jachère en zone soudanienne du Burkina Faso : variation de l’indice de diversité et de la valeur pastorale de la végétation herbacée en fonction du temps d’abandon cultural. Ann Bot Afr Ouest 5:21–30
Návar J, Méndez E, Nájera A, Graciano J, Dale V, Parresol B (2004) Biomass equations for shrub species of Tamaulipan thornscrub of North-eastern Mexico. J Arid Environ 59:657–674
Ouédraogo-Koné S, Kaboré-Zoungrana CY, Ledin I (2008) Important characteristics of some browse species in an agrosilvopastoral system in West Africa. Agrofor Syst 74:213–221
Poupon H (1976) La biomass et l’évaluation de la répartition au cours de la croissance d’Acacia senegal dans une savane sahélienne. Bois et Forets des Tropiques 166:23–38
R development Core T (2010) R development core team R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical computing, Vienna
Savadogo P, Elfving B (2007) Prediction models for estimating available fodder of two savanna tree species (Acacia dudgeoni and Balanites aegyptiaca) based on field and image analysis measures. Afr J Range Forage Sci 24:63–71
Sawadogo L, Tiveau D, Nygard R (2005) Influence of selective tree cutting, livestock and prescribed fire on herbaceous biomass in the savannah woodlands of Burkina Faso. West Afr Agric Ecosys Environ 105:335–345
Veneklaas EJ, Fajardo A, Obregon S, Lozano J (2005) Gallery forest types and their environmental correlates in a Colombian savanna landscape. Ecography 28:236–252
Zabek LM, Prescott CE (2006) Biomass equations and carbon content of aboveground leafless biomass of hybrid popular in Coastal British Columbia. For Ecol Manag 223:291–302
Zuur AF, Ieno EN, Smith GM (2007) Analysing ecological data. Spinger, New York, p 680
Zuur AF, Ieno EN, Elphick CS (2010) A protocol for data exploration to avoid common statistical problems. Methods Ecol Evol 1:3–14
Acknowledgments
This study was entirely funded by BMZ/GIZ as part of the project on Adaptation of Land Use to Climate Change in Sub-Saharan Africa (ALUCCSA). We thank Zampaligré Nouhoun for giving us unpublished data on ruminants forage preference in different locations.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bognounou, F., Ouédraogo, O., Zerbo, I. et al. Species-specific prediction models to estimate browse production of seven shrub and tree species based on semi-destructive methods in savannah. Agroforest Syst 87, 1053–1063 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-013-9620-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-013-9620-2