Impact of rest duration and land tenure on species richness, frequency and plant cover   of degraded rangelands in Tunisia

Louhaichi, Mounir; Gamoun, Mouldi; Ben Salem, Farah; Belfekih, Ezzeddine; Ghouhis, Fethi; Sawsan Hassan; Pietro Bartolini; International Livestock Research Institute - ILRI; Barbara Rischkowsky; Mounir Louhaichi; Sara Jani; Aymen Frija; Dina Najjar; Azaiez Ouled Belgacem; Francesco Bonechi

Impact of rest duration and land tenure on species richness, frequency and plant cover of degraded rangelands in Tunisia

2019

Louhaichi, Mounir | Gamoun, Mouldi | Ben Salem, Farah | Belfekih, Ezzeddine | Ghouhis, Fethi | Sawsan Hassan (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA) | Pietro Bartolini (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA) | International Livestock Research Institute - ILRI | Barbara Rischkowsky (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA) | Mounir Louhaichi (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA) | Sara Jani (CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems - DS) | Aymen Frija (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA) | Dina Najjar (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA) | Azaiez Ouled Belgacem (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA) | Francesco Bonechi (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA)

To investigated changes in the spatial and temporal patterns of community structure and rangeland function in response to the period of rest. A total of 20 sites in southern Tunisia (Tataouine) covering more than 15000 ha including 12 private rangelands and 4 communal subjected to grazing management, in addition to 4 freely grazed site which considered as control were retained for detailed monitoring-assessment study. This data could be one of the tools to examine the impact and potential of traditional best practices for rangeland restoration on regeneration and the persistence of plant species by monitoring the evolution of specific characters (global plant cover, specific frequencies, flora richness and the plant density, biomass, rangeland production and carrying capacity). The state of the soil surface (wind veil, crust, stones, litter) is also studied to monitor and assess changes of soil structure. This Data will not be open access for the time being as it will be used for potential publication which will recommend the best practice for rangeland rehabilitation under climate change in the dry areas. Afterward it will be open access to allow the researcher to have database about the rangelands condition in certain time under certain managements. Vegetation was monitored during spring, in April 2019, in the peak season of primary production and when development of the annual vegetation was at its prime. Vegetation cover and species composition were estimated using the point-quadrats method along three 50-m long transects in each site and with 100 points per transect. A fine pin was descended to the ground every 50 cm along the line. Each of the 100 hits per line was recorded according to the plant species and type of ground touched (Stones, Sand, Crust, Litter). The total vegetation cover is calculated as: VC = (n/N) × 100 with n: the number of hits of all plant species and N: the total number of hits (100 hits in our case). Species frequency is the number of times a plant species is present in a the transect.

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