Grassland Resources in Nepal

Grassland Resources in Nepal


By: Rameshwar Singh Pande, NFGRC-Nepal
Posted on July, 2007

1. Introduction:
Grasslands are naturally occurring areas dominated herbaceous plants (grasses, herbs, shrubs and thin stand of trees), which are grazed/browsed by ruminants. Out of total geographic area of 14.7 million ha, about 1.7 million ha are considered as grasslands in Nepal. Grasslands are the important resource of feed for domestic as well wild ruminants.

Grasslands, especially of the lower altitude areas originated principally by clearing the forests mainly for timber, fuel wood and other household items and continuous grazing by the ruminants. Similarly, above 4000 masl the climate is too severe for tree growth, which resulted in the development of the meadow of small grasses and bushes. Thus, except the alpine meadows above the timberline the grasslands of the Terai and Hills are primarily the products of the forest retrogression. Most of the grasslands of the lower altitudes are converted into croplands.

Most of the high altitude grasslands are found spreading on natural slopes and the catchment area of the rivers. The physical conditions of these grasslands not only contribute to feed production but also effects on the environmental conditions of the regions.

Owing to the continuous and overgrazing of the grazing lands, pastures, palatable grass/legume species have been selectively grazed out and gradually eliminated, leading to the dominance of unpalatable and undesirable grass and bushes. Such a misuse/uncontrolled grazing have resulted in extreme deterioration of the grazing areas. The situation is worse in the vicinity of the village. In the lower regions, pastures are grazed through out the year whereas in the higher altitude there is little respite due to the severe winter snow which inhibits the movement of livestock.

Most of the accessible grasslands are degraded and low productive mainly due to the mismanagement and overgrazing. Such degraded grazing lands caused excessive water run off and accelerated soil erosion. ICIMOD reported that the soil loss for a typical middle Mountains of Nepal is estimated 20-100 tons/ha/yr. from poorly managed slopping terrace and 40-200 Mt/ha/yr. from degraded grasslands. Such severe soil loss could be saved through proper management. One study showed that loss of topsoil due to erosion was 25 times in mismanaged pasture compared to the managed one.

Lack of the legume component and the excessive grazing pressure resulted in poor soil fertility, eroded surface, poor water retention capacities, low productivity of poor quality pastures. Most of the accessible grazing lands in the high altitude regions are unproductive. Availability of feed is becoming less and less for the grazer and the livestock rearing has become uneconomical business. In the Trans - Himalayan steppe zone such as Mustang, Manang and DolKha the situation is highly crucial.

It is assumed that the rangelands of Nepal are producing only 25 percent of its potential; and again over 40 percent of the produced fodder could not been utilised due to the inaccessibility of these areas. Mainly due to steepness, remoteness, lack of trails, drinking water facilities etc. Little attempt has been done to improve these rangelands in the past. However, at high altitude region, boarding to autonomous region of Tibet, Government of Nepal through Department of Livestock Services has been implementing Pasture Development Programme especially in ten districts through its Northern Belt Pasture Development Programme (NBPDP). FAO funded projects such as High Altitude Pasture Development (NEP 85/007); Himalayan Pasture and Fodder Research Network (RAS/79/121) and many NGO's such as Swiss Development Assistance (SATA), Pakhribas Agriculture Centre (PAC), Lumle Agriculture Centre (LAC), CARE/Nepal etc have been implementing research and development programmes in Pasture, fodder and rangelands improvement.

The present need for the nutrition of ruminants is the supply of adequate quantity of basal fodder rather than the improvements of the existing feed quality. Proper management and improvement of the rangelands will be helpful to solve many of the exiting nutritional, economical and environmental issues for the livestock development. Present work on pasture and rangelands development has contributed significantly on feed supply. However, the work done in pasture and range improvement is not sufficient to tackle the existing problems.



2 Areas and Distribution of Grasslands
It is estimated that over 1.7 million ha of land is considered as grasslands which comprises approximately 11.5 percent of the total land resources on Nepal. Area of the grasslands increases so as the elevation. Out of total area under grasslands, over 98 percent is located in Middle hills and mountains and less than 2 percent grasslands are found in Terai. Grasslands of Terai are mainly confined inside the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
Area and type of grasslands according to the ecological region:
· Mopuntains - Temperate/alpine grasslands in 1082,232 ha
· Hills - temperate/sub-tropical grasslands in 545335 ha
· Terai - tropical grasslands in 74101 ha

3. Grassland vegetation
Due to the extreme climate variations, different types of grasslands are found in Nepal. Nepal is rich in biodiversity; over 6,500 species of flowering plants have been recorded to be found (Pulunin and Stainton, 1985). Shrestha (1989) also reported about 3,283 plant species in Arun valley alone. It was estimated that over 180 species of different species of grasses and legumes are found. Most of these species are grasses, only few species are legumes such as Astragalus spp, Medicago SP, Desmodium spp and others.

On the basis of physiographic and ecological distribution of grasslands, Livestock Master Plan (1993) identified following type of vegetation:
· Tropical: Phragmitis- Saccharum- Imperata type
· Sub-tropical: Themeda- Arundinella type
· Temperate: Andropogon type
· Subalpine: Danthonia type
· Alpine: Kobresia type
· Steppe:

3.1 Tropical Grasslands Vegetation (Phanta):
The Southern Terai belt has tropical types of vegetation. Such types of vegetation are found up to the elevation below 1,000 m, where the climate is humid - warm tropical. In this zone, summer is hot (35-38oC) and cool winter. Rainfall is quite heavy during monsoon (July to September). Average rainfall is 1917 mm/yr. Most of the growth of the grasses takes place during monsoon period. Humid tropical rangelands are more confined in the national park, wildlife reserves of Southern belt.

The grasslands of this zone are called "Phanta" in Nepali. The characteristic feature of such rangeland is the dominance of tall grasses like Phragmites, Sacharum, and Imperata spp. These grasses have low feeding value, however, these grasses provides excellent shelter to the wildlife. The grasslands of this zone are associated with the evergreen hardwood forest.
¨ Major grasses: Andropogon pumilus, Bothriochloa intermedia, Bothriochoa odorata, Chrysopogan aciculatus, Cynoden dactylon, Desmostachys bipinnata, Hymenachne pseudoinlerrupta, Imperata cylindrica, Ischaemmum timorense, Narenga porphyroecoma, Panucum natatum, Paspalum conjugatum, Phragmites karka, Saccharum arundinaceum, Sacchrrum bengalense, Saccharum spotaneum, Sclerostachya fusca, Sporobolus indicus, Vetiveria zizaniodes and others.
¨ Major fodder tree and shrubs: Artocarpus lakoocha, Ficus bengalensis, Ficus religiosa, Zizyphus jubuta, Tamarindus indica, Bahunia variagata, Dalbergia sissoo and others.

Tropical grasslands are rapidly disappearing. For example, most of the tropical grasslands outside the national parks and wildlife reserves are converted into cultivable lands. Remnants of these species can be found in the uncultivated barren lands, river and roadside. No attempts have been made to evaluate the feeding value of these grasses in Nepal. As these grasses are coarse and fibrous, the feed value is considered as low. Besides the animal feed these grasses also used for thatching, to prepare household materials such as broom, mats and for paper mills. The DM production is considered is about 3-4 Mt/ha of herbaceous forage and about 250 kg of browse per hectare. Wide ranges of tree/shrub species grown in this region are used fodder source.

3.2 Sub-tropical Grasslands Vegetation
This type of grasslands is found in the Middle hills between the elevations of 1,000-2,000 m. In this zone sub-tropical climate is found. The average temperature is 15- 20oC and rainfall is 1,700 mm/yr. These are the open grazing lands appears in a small patches associated with the evergreen forests around the vicinity of human dwellings. The forest vegetation is Chir pine (Pinus roxburghii); Chilaune (Schima wallichii) and Castenopsis spp). These rangelands are developed by clearing the forest trees for domestic use. The characteristic feature of these rangelands is the domination of the Arundinella; Themeda, Thysanolaena and other grass species. Most of the grasslands suitable for crop cultivation are converted into the croplands.

Most of these grasslands are heavily grazed and in poor conditions. The productivity of these grasslands are estimated to be about 1.5 to 2.0 mt DM/ha of herbaceous forage and 300 kg/ha of browse materials. The feed quality of these grasses is of medium quality. A list of major species of these types of grasslands is as follow:

¨ Major grasses: Andropogon pumilis, Apluda mutica, Arundinell bengalensis, Arundinella nepalensis, Bothriochloa intermedia, Bothriochloa decumbens, Chrysopogon fulvus, Chrysopogon gryllus, Chrysopogon jwarancusa, Capillipedium parviflorum, Cymbopogon microtheca, Cymbopogon stracheyi, Cynodon dactylon, Dimeria fuscescens, Digitaria setigera, Digitoria cruciata, Eragrostiella leioptera, Eragrostis nigra, Eulaliopsis binata, Eleusina indica, Heleropogon contortus, Isachna globusa, Ischaemum baratum, Oplismenus compositus, Paspalidium flavidum, Paspalum dilitatum, Paspalum scrobiculatum, Penisetum clandestinum, Penisetum pedicellatum, Perotis hordeiformis, Polygonum spp, Sporobolus fertilis, Thysanolaena maxima and others.
¨ Major fodder trees/shrubs are:
Artocarpus lakoocha, Bauhinia purpurea, Boehmeria rugulosa, Bomax malabaricum, Utea brondosa, Erythrina variegata, Eugenia jambolana, Ficus religiosa, Garuga pinnta, Litsea monopetala, Morus alba, Premna spp, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia tomentosa, Ziziphus spp and others.

3.3 Temperate Rangelands Vegetation (Kharka)
This type of rangelands is found in between the elevation of 2,000 - 3,000 m. In this zone summer, is mild and winter is cold, average temperature is 10-15oC. Average rainfall is 1500-1700 mm/yr. This type of rangelands is characterized by the domination of Andropogan spp. The most common species such as Pennisetum flaccidum (Nepali name: Dhimso) is used to make hay by the farmers of these region. This rangelands are associated with the evergreen oak (Quercus spp and Pinus excelsa) forest. Study on species composition of natural rangelands at Guthichaur Sheep Farm, Jumla in June 1989 showed that Chrysopogan grylus and Arundinella hookerii are the major indigenous grass species either in caged or uncaged areas. The Relative Density was 54.5 and 33.2 percent respectively in the caged areas, whereas in the uncaged area the relative Density was 70.0 and 18.4 percent of the above-mentioned two species.

The major species are found in such rangelands are as follow:
¨ Major grasses: Agropyron canaliculatum, Agropyron semicostatum, Agrostis canina, Agrostis falipus, Agrostis micrantha, Agrostis muriantha, Agrostis pilosula, Anaphalis contorta, Andropogon pumilus, Andropogen tritis, Arundenella hookerii, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Bromus ramorus, Bothriochloa bladhii, Calamagrostis epigejos, Calamagrostis emodensis, Calamagrostis pseudophragmites , Chrysopogon gryllus, Cymbopogon distans, Cymbopogon microtheca, Danthonia jacqnemontii, Deschampsia caespitosa, Deyeuscia scabrescens, Digiterai spp, Eragrostis nigra, Erigeron alpinus, Elymus caninus, Eulalia mollis, Festuca gigantea, Festuca ovina, Festuca rubra, Helictotrichon asperum, Keoleria cristata, Muhenbergia spp, Miscanthus nepalensis, Oryzopsis aequiglumis, Paspalum spp, Pennisetum flaccidum, Poa pratensis, Poa alpina, Poa annua, Polygonum spp, Seteria pallidefusca, Schizachyrium delarvayi, Stippa concinna, Taraxacum officinale, Themeda quadrivalis, Thymus serphyllum, Trisetum spicatumm, Trisetum micans and others.
¨ Major legumes: Desmodium spp, Medicago denticulata, Medicago lupinina, Pretropis cytosoides, Trigonella emodi, Vicia spp and others.
¨ Major fodder tree/shrubs: Alnus nepalensis, Bassia butyracea, Bauhinia purpurea, Brassaiopsis hainla, Grewia tiliaefolia, Saurauia nepaulensis, Ficus nemoralis, Buddleja asiatia, Ficus clavata, Wandlandia exerta, Castanopsis indica, Celtis australis, Eurya spp and others.

Temperate rangelands have major contribution in high altitude livestock farming. The productivity of these rangelands is estimated about 1- 1.5 mt DM/ha of herbaceous forage and 1,500 kg of browse/ha.

3.4 Sub-alpine Rangelands Vegetation
These rangelands are found in between the elevation of 3,000 - 4,000 m. The region is semi arid, average temperature is 3 – 10°C, and annual rainfall is very low varies from 150-500 mm/yr depending on location. These rangelands are the important sources of animal feed for the migratory stock. Nomadic herds of yak, chauris and sheep heavily depend on these grazing lands during summer. The grasses are associated with Rhododendrons, Betula spp, Tsuga dumosa, Danthonia, Stipa spp.

The major vegetation is as follow:
¨ Major grasses: Agrostis inaequiglumis, Agrostis pilosula, Agrostis tenuis, Anthoxanthum hookerii, Arrhanatherum elatius, Bromus himalaicus, Calamagrostis emodensis, Calamagrostis pulchella, Crotalaria albida, Danthonia schneideri, Duthiea nepalensis, Elymus canaliculatus, Elymus dehuricus, Elymus nuleris, Elymus schrenleiannus, Festuca eumminsii, Festuca leptopogon, Festuca omina, Helictotricton virescens, Medicago lupina, Poa alpina, Poa ludens, Poa polycolea, Stipa concinna, Stipa duthiea, Stipa koelzei, Stipa regeliana, Stipa seliria, Triluria oreophilia, Trisetum spicatum and others.
¨ Major legumes: Medicago lupina, Vicia tetrasperma and others.
¨ Major Shrubs: Berberis, Caragana, Junipers, Potentiall, Rosa, Spiraea and others.
¨ Major trees: Rhododendron spp, Juniperus spp, Betula spp, Rosa spp, Potentilla spp, Berberis and others.
¨ Major fodder tree/shrubs: Albizzia leblek, Betula spp, Brassaiopsis glomerulata, Castanopsis tribuloides, Ilex dipyrena, Machilus odoratissima, Quercus semicarpifolia, Quercus lamellosa, Symplocos spp and others.

The productivity of this rangeland is about 1.5 t DM/ha of the herbaceous foliage.

3.5 Alpine Rangelands Vegetation
Such type of rangelands is situated above 4,000 m. Most of the year these rangelands are covered with snow. During summer when snow melts the grasses grow very quickly and complete the life cycle. During these period these rangeland provides 3 - 4 months of grazing to the nomadic herds of Yak, Chauris and sheep.

A small of different plant community are common in this region. Department of Medicinal Plants (1976) reported that in alpine meadow of Langtang Valley the major species were Cortia depressa and Kobresia spp. In the Cortia type meadow 40-80 percent of the coverage was occupied by Cortia depressa and the subsidiary species were Potentilla pedunculosa, Primula obliqua, Carex spp and Geranium polyanthes. Whereas in the Kobresia type meadow, Kobresia spp occupied 40-90 percent of the coverage and the subsidiary species were varying in different sites. In the slopes the meadow were dominated with gramineous vegetation. The major species were Carex spp, Agrostis and Poa spp. On the level ground of open meadow Caltha palustris was a dominant species. The abundance of Caltha spp on well-grazed rangelands may be due to the unpalatability of this species to the animals. Caltha could be poisonous to the livestock. The other major species on level ground was Potentilla coriandifolia.

On the exposed ridge the dominant species was Oxygraphis gracialis. Whereas on gravely slopes with mosey ground cover, Bistorta vaccinifolia vegetation was common. The major type of vegetation is as follow:
¨ Major grasses: Agrostis pilosula, Androsace lehmani, Carex spp Cortia depressa, Elymus nutans Kobrasa hookerii, Kobresia nepalensis, Poa alpina, Poa attenuata, Potentilla argyrophylla and others.
¨ Major forbs: Astragalus spp, Galium spp, Geranium nepalensis, Plantago lanceolata, Potentilla spp, Saxifraga spp, Taraxacum sp. Thymus serpyllum, Trifolium repens Vicia spp and others.
¨ Major shrubs: Berberis spp, Juniperus communis, Rhodendron spp, Rosa spp, Salix spp and others.

The productivity of the herbaceous forage is about 1.5 mt/ha.

Major Plant species found in the Langtang Valley are Cortia depressa , Kobresia pygmaea Caltha palustris Potentilla spp (Department of Medicinal Plant, 1976)

3.6 Steppe Rangelands Vegetation
The north side of the Dhaulagiree/Annapurna Himalayan range (Manang, Mustang and Dolpa) an arid, treeless plateau; is categorized as steppe zone. The elevation range from 2,500 to 5,000 m. This entire zone is dry and receives rain less than 500 mm/annum. Wind erosion is quite common; a high velocity wind blows during afternoon.

The soil of the region is severely eroded with loss of fine particles and organic material. Most of the areas are denuded and bare ground. The vegetation cover is sparse and poor in quality. The major vegetation type is as follows:

¨ Major grasses: Andropogon tritis, Aristida spp, Calamagrostis spp, Crysopogon stellera, Cymbopogon stracheyi, Danthonia cachemyriana, Deyeuxia holciformis, Deyeuxia pulchella, Festuca ovina, Melica jacquemontii, Melica scaberrima, Orinus thordii, Oryzopsis lateralis, Pennisetum flaccidum, Poa alpigena, Poa pagophila, Poa poophagorum, Rumex nepalensis, Stippa spp and others.
¨ Legume: Medicago falcata and others.
¨ Major forbs: Astragalus spp, Medicago falcata, Nepata elata, Polygonum spp, Sambucus wightiana , Taraxacum spp, Thymus serpyllum, Viola spp and others.
¨ Major shrubs: Artemisia maritima, Berberis spp, Caragana brevispina, Caragana gerardiana, Ephedra gerardiana, Lonicera spinosa, Rosa sericea and others.
¨ Major trees: Juniperus squamata, Pinus wallichiana and others.

Scattered bushes of caragana spp are observed to be appearing on such rangelands. Basnyat (1991) observed that grasses and legumes grow inside these bushes and complete its lifecycle by protecting from wind erosion and grazing. The productivity of these rangelands is very low and feed quality is also considered as low. Kandel et al. (1988) reported the plant composition and the productivity of the rangelands of Mustang regions found that the major species are Rosa sericea, Caragana spp, Artimisia sp, Cotoneaster sp, Stippa spp, Medicago falcata, Paspalum flaccidium, Anaphalis sp, Potentilla spp and others and the productivity ranges from 116- 290 kg/ha.


7. Productivity of Rangelands
The quality and quantity of fodder produced in natural rangelands are very poor, on an average pasture production range from 0.12 Mt DM/ha to 3.2 mt DM/ha. FAO (1990) estimate that pasture production is more in per-humid rangelands compared to the other climatic zone (Table 7.5). Similarly, an experiment was carried out to estimate DM production of native rangelands of two different sites at Solukhumbu area, Syangboche (elevation 3720-3780 m) and Tauche (elevation 4220-4400 masl). Mean DM yield recorded in September 1990 was 1010 kg DM/ha at Tauche and 1440 kg DM/ha at Syangboche.

Pasture production is much more depends on altitude and ecological zone in natural state of growth. In the high altitude regions, above the tree line rangelands are the main vegetation. The climate is too cold and unsuitable for tree growth. The growing season is very short. For example, in Syangboche region vegetational growth starts from late April – first May depending on the initiation of the spring and ends towards mid Nov to mid Dec, which gives average 175- 204 days of vegetation growth period (Grela and Sharma, 1991). Wiart (1983) found that pasture production was highest at 2700 m altitude compared to 2000 m; 3,700 and 4,000 m. Total DM yield was 3.2, 2.02, 2.03 and 2.06 Mt DM/ha respectively; on the basis of 3 cut per year in the central regions of Nepal. Shrestha et al (1990) reported that annual DM production is approximately 3.6 Mt DM/ha in Terthum district of eastern Nepal at elevation 2040 - 2150 m and Taplejung (altitude 2,450 - 2,630 m). Similarly under Jiri conditions the fodder yield was 3 Mt DM/ha and the growing season was for 5 months

Paudyal and Bauer (1988) found that in most of the kharka at altitude 2200 to 3,999 m in Sagarmatha National Park the grass cover was 40-50 percent. And, most of the pasture was at the height below 30 cm.

Many exotic pasture species introduced in Nepal. The productivity of these pastures varies according to the cultivar used as well as the management practices. Mono- cultivation of ryegrass at Jumla yielded 12.6 Mt/ha (Singh et al 1990) similarly, cocksfoot 6.5 mt/ha at Jiri (Panday et al 1990a).

8. Production and Utilization of Fodder:
The total production of fodder from the rangelands is 5067962.5 MT DM. A large proportions of forage losses either due to inaccessibility or due to under utilization. It is estimated that only 64 percent of the rangelands are accessible. Rest are inaccessible due to steepness, lack of trail, lack of drinking water, rocks and others. Pasture production from the accessible rangelands is only 3241428.5 MT DM. Furthermore, whole quantity of pasture produced in accessible rangelands may not be utilized by/for the livestock due to seasonality of growth, migratory system of grazing, snow fall, rain, plant senancenense and others. It is estimated that only 74.4 percent of the pasture produced in accessible area are utilized. When compared to the total pasture production, only 2413160.7 MT DM, which is 47.6 percent, are assumed to be available for grazing stock.

9. Nutritive Value of Pastures
The nutritive value of the pasture depends on vegetation type and season of availability. The pasture produced in the lower zone is less nutritious and tends to be matured earlier compared to the alpine pastures. The alpine pastures are very nutritious. The average CP content is found 10.5 percent (Dhaubhadel and Tiwari 1992). Most of the migratory herd gain weight and the breeding take place while grazing on the alpine pastures.

Calculation of DM and CP percentage of the natural alpine pastures: The alpine pastures remain most succulent and nutritious during the months of June to September. During these period, the DM percent is less than 25 and CP percent is in the peak. As the plant mature percentage of DM increases and reaches up to 80 percent during the months of February

10. Stocking Rate and Carrying Capacity
Most of the available land resources are over stocked beyond its carrying capacity. Carrying capacity and stocking rate vary within the region. There is a lack of systematic study to evaluate carrying capacity of grazing areas for different stocks for the different ecological belts of Nepal. Alirol (1979) estimated that the carrying capacity is 1.4 LU/ha for Kalinchok region. Whereas Archer (1987) estimated that the carrying capacity for the high altitude regions are no more than 0.06 LU/ha/yr. In the recent study at Terhathum district, Eastern Nepal (elevation 1500-2900m) Shrestha et al, (1990) estimated that the carrying capacity is 1.7 adult cattle/ha.

Most of the rangelands are over stocked beyond its carrying capacity and are severely grazed out. The stocking rate on agricultural land is probably highest in the world. Based on standard livestock unit (LU: 400 kg body weight), overall stocking rate on total land area is 0.36 LU per ha of total land. Similarly, on agricultural land the stocking rate is 1.33. The stocking rate is highest in Middle belt compared to Southern and Northern belt. Theoretical calculation of the stocking rate reveals that compared to the total landmass of Nepal and/or agricultural land only the stocking rate is relatively high on rangelands resources. Mean stocking rate is 3.1 LU per ha of rangelands. As the rangelands in the Southern belt is minimal the stocking rate is very high i.e. 25.3 LU.

Compared to the stocking rate the carrying capacity of these grazing areas are very low. Overall stocking rate on rangelands resources is 3.5 times high. In the Middle belt the stocking rate is over 37 times high. Contrary to the Southern and Middle belt the stocking rate in Northern belt is less than carrying capacity. It is mainly due to the abundance of rangelands and low population of livestock.

The differences in the estimates of the carrying capacity might be due to the measures used to quantify the carrying capacity. However, all the data presented above are estimates and most of the data represents certain regions only. The relatively high carrying capacity of the grazing areas reported by Shrestha et al (1990a) might be due to good management because the grazing lands were privately owned.

11 Major Limitations
· Invasion of rangelands: Rangelands are national property utilized by community people since time immemorial. There is a lack of responsibility towards protection and conservation of the national property. Occupation and invasion of rangelands for personal use has been increasing recently. Most of the rangelands in high altitude areas around the vicinity of the villages are gradually converted into the orchard or the croplands. It was estimated that about 10 % of the community lands are annually used for this purpose in Jumla, Dolpa and Jajarkot districts.
· Livestock types and numbers: The number of livestock is beyond the carrying capacity of rangelands. On the other hand types of livestock are also disproportionate e.g. the number of goat population far more than sheep and the goats are considered as a destroyer of the vegetation.
· High cost of development: Improvements of rangelands are expensive and time-consuming programme. Due to lack of adequate budget and resources pasture improvement activities are low prioritised under HMG/N programme.
· People's participation: Peoples are reluctant to invest time and money for improvement of government/ community rangelands even for their own use.
· Technical staff: There is a shortage of technical staff in the field of pasture and fodder development. Whatever the staff are available they are reluctant to serve in remote district.
· Pasture species: The pasture species are low productive and are less palatable compared to exotic pastures.
· Training and education: The training people either farmers or staff lack proper training in pasture production and livestock management.
· Research and extension: There is a lack of research work on native pasture production and management system especially in Northern belt region

12. Recommendations
For the sustainable use of pasture resources for better livestock production proper attention should be paid by the concern agencies. The pasture improvement programmes should be carried out by the department of Livestock Services though the strong peoples' participation. Strong coordination should be established with the development and research organization for technology generation and dissemination of technology.

12.1 Range Resources Inventory
To understand the present condition, the vegetational composition and the productive potential in relation to the existing environmental conditions, is of paramount importance for the proper range management. The present and the past utilization of the range vegetation must be investigated properly to form a basis of the range resources. The future management practices should be based on the integrated range inventory. The socio-economic aspect should be given due consideration. There is a lack of systematic study of rangelands situation in Nepal. The only source of the distribution of rangelands their condition and production potentiality are assumption of the data. Though, LRMP provides the information of the area and distribution, which was conducted in around 1980's. It was assumed that much of the land use pattern have been changed since then. Due to the human greed most of the accessible rangelands have been converted into the cultivable land.

12.2 Grazing Management
Livestock is the core factor to the rangeland management. The major cause of poor conditions of pastures is due to overstocked livestock and its husbandry system. The widely proposed practices for livestock management are:

· Stall feeding: stall feeding practices control the overgrazing of natural feed resources as well as it increases the collection of dung’s and urine which ultimately improves the soil fertility status of soil. However, in Nepalese conditions where feed deficits is a major problem, the stall fed animals may not get the adequate feed and suffers more with mal nutrition and starvation compared in scavenger grazing and can pick up anything edible.
· Improved animals: Breed improvements are one of the major options to reduce the number of livestock. Traditionally the farmers keep more numbers to fulfil the requirements of animal products such as milk, meat, and compost. This can be met with fewer numbers of livestock with high production under stall-fed and well management conditions.
· Population control: The overpopulation should be controlled especially the high number of unproductive livestock populations should be controlled either by slaughtering or by live export to neighbouring countries.

The pastures should be grazed in a rotational basis, leaving about 25 percent of the vegetation for re-growth. Following practices should be used for proper grazing management:
12.3 By closing the rangelands from the grazing animals
Due to the continuous grazing of the natural pastures not only lowered the productivity but also caused the lower plant density per unit of lands. Closing the rangeland for grazing animals could provide the opportunity for natural seeding and propagation. However, it requires long period. The practice is quite useful and productive however, it could not be implemented under NBPDP due to the lack of people's participation. By providing resting or closing of the natural grazing areas through fencing the relative plant density and the productivity of the pastures increased significantly. For example in the Ghami Village Alt 3740 m the biomass production in the open grazing lands was 76.8 kg DM/ha whereas DM production within the fenced area was 158.0 kg/ha. The major plant species were Pennisetum, Chrysopogon, Caragana spp and others (Kandel et al. 1988). Similarly, Singh et al. (1990) reported that within the three months period of time in Jumla areas alt 2800 masl the total number of plant count was increased by 65 % in the open grazing lands. The total number of plant was 1291 in the open area where as in the caged conditions the total plant count was 1976. Similarly the green matter yield was increased by 76 percent.

Grazing or browsing by livestock directly effects on species composition and productivity of the grassland vegetation. Livestock are selective grazier; exhibit preferences for different types of plants for their food (Pande, 1990; 1991). Some species are very palatable and selectively grazed out such as pasture legumes. When the grazing pressure is increased or there is a lack of good pasture on the sites, livestock graze on less palatable species. At the higher grazing pressure, the plants are heavily defoliated which could be detrimental to the plant survival. Most of the rangelands available in Nepal are under heavy grazing pressure, and are over grazed, deteriorated conditions and are dominated with unwanted species and weeds. Closing of the rangelands to preserve the plant diversity as well as the productivity is the effective means. Study conducted at Jumla revealed that the number of plant species and plant cover as well as biomass production was higher at the closed site compared to the open site. Similarly when the rangeland was closed for a long period resulted the consequence increase in Plant species and fodder yield

Due to browsing most of the new seedling of plant and shrubs may inhibit growth and die. Livestock also effects on environment degradation and loss of bio diversity through trampling on ground and camping.

12.4 Range Management
Indigenous techniques for the rangelands management is exist in Nepal but the techniques are not pacing with the increased livestock population and by the closure of Tibetan rangelands for Nepalese migratory herds. In the traditional system of rangelands management only resting and burning have been adopted. However, due to high grazing pressure and lack of responsibility for managing the community pastures, most of the rangelands are in deterioration conditions. The rangelands could be more productive by their judicious utilization through proper management. The improved rangeland management techniques are:
12.4.1 Artificial reseeding:
The reseeding could be done artificial means using following techniques:
¨ Broadcasting of seed on the grazed and tramped ground
¨ Broadcasting of seed on the burnt ground
¨ Broadcasting of seed after clearing all bushes and weeds
¨ Broadcasting of seed on cultivated ground.

· Broadcasting of seed on the grazed and tramped ground: In the high altitude regions the migratory stock utilizes grazing lands during summer period. Usually, when the herd left the grazing lands the grazed out vegetation and the trampled ground offers a suitable ground for reseeding of the pasture seeds. Once the ground is reseeded with seed, the ground should be protected for al least a year for proper pasture establishment.

· Broadcasting of seed on the burnt ground: Burning is an oldest practice to manipulate the re-growth of the vegetation. The re-growth after burning provides the quality feed to the stocks. It was observed that the forage yield, the palatability of the forage and utilization also increases following the burning due to tender and nutritious re-growth of grasses and forbs. However, haphazard and accidental burning could be harmful and disastrous. Planned burning could yield in the increased palatable forage and also removes the old dead materials from the range. Burning also suppresses the undesirable bushes and prevents the invasion of the inferior species. In some cases the new growth could be toxic to the animals. This technology was successfully practiced under NBPDP at Sindhupalchauk district, which was quite successful. After burning the pasture seeds were sown into the burnt ground. The growth and establishment was quite encouraging. Burning could be desirable in other humid region but it could be harmful in arid and dry regions.

· Broadcasting of seed after clearing all bushes and weeds: After removing all bushes and weeds from the rangelands the seed could be sown directly on the cleared ground. In this process the rate of establishment could be low. The techniques were widely adopted under NBPDP, but the establishment was very low due to high weed competition. Furthermore, the clearing of bushes accelerated the runoff and thus soil erosion was high.

· Broadcasting of seed on cultivated ground: The seed could be sown on the cultivated ground. There is different method for sowing seed on cultivated bed.
¨ Patches
¨ Trenches:
¨ Patch system: This system is quite popular for high altitude rangelands development. Under this system 5 to 10 sq. m patches of plain surface with well fertile soil are selected. The weeds and vegetation are removed and the seeds are sown into the patches. There should be at least 100 patches in one ha.
¨ Trench system: In trench system normally a trenches of 1.5 m X 0.5 m X 3.0 m size and at a distance of 1 m along the counter should dug out and the seed should be sown on the trench. This is the most suitable method for the arid conditions such as in Mustang.

Sowing should be done when there is proper moisture in the soil. The best time is after commencement of monsoon shower from June onward.

Management after reseeding is very important for getting good establishment. A rest period of two to three growing season is recommended after reseeding. The first year grazing should be light only up to 50 per cent biomass should be removed in the first season.

12.4.2 Incorporation of legume into the existing sward:
Legume components in the natural rangelands of Nepal are negligible. Incorporation of the legume such as clover in the natural rangelands, not only increase the productivity and the quality of the pastures by supplying more DM and improving the nutritional quality but also improves the soil fertility level through fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Archer (1990) reported that by broadcasting white clover into the natural grazing areas of Himalayan region DM production increased by three folds compared to the existing productivity level.

12.4.3 Introduction of Fodder Shrub/trees:
Fodder trees are the important source of fodder especially during the lean period. Due the deep root system these trees remains green during the dry period. Under the NBPDP 126,915 numbers of saplings were distributed in the project districts.

12.5 Improvement of Physical Facilities
Most of the rangelands are difficult and inaccessible due to the lack of proper trails, bridges. The mule trails and bridges on river, rivulet should be constructed. Drinking water tank should be erected to facilitate the drinking water to the livestock.

· Drinking water facilities: The source of water for drinking to the grazing herds is only streams or lakes in Nepal. There are no artificial facilities provided for the stocks especially at high altitude regions of Nepal. Most of these resources are located far from the grazing grounds. Most of the vegetation near the watering source are severely grazed and degraded. An optimum distribution of the watering points over the rangelands helps in proper utilization of vegetation. Under the Northern Belt Pasture Development Programme over 41 drinking water facilities were constructed during the project period.

· Provision of Mule trails and Bridges: The rangelands should be easily accessible by the grazing stock. There should be proper trails for easy access and bridges to cross the river and rivulets. Most of the rangelands are located at high altitude regions, which are inaccessible due to the lack of trail and bridges to cross the river/rivulets. It is estimated that over 40 percent of the rangelands of high altitude regions are inaccessible. Under the Northern Belt Pasture Development Program over 39 mule trails have been constructed during the project periods.

· Clearing of undesirable bushes: The removal of undesirable and non-palatable species from rangelands is the most important step towards range improvements. Most of the rangelands are fully covered with undesirable species such as Eupatorium spp. Eradication of such bushes and weeds provides a chance for the desirable species to flourish and utilize the available nutrients and moisture. The bush free rangelands provided five times more fodder compared to the bushy rangelands. If the area is located on a slope the bushes and the shrubs should not be exposed at once. Otherwise the topsoil will be washed away due to increased run off. The undesirable shrubs of the sloppy areas should be removed in strip gradually. In the steppe region such as Mustang the native bushes should be protected as much as possible. They are the major source for moisture conservation in this arid zone. Basnyat (1990) recommended that such bushes should be protected and the improved pasture seed should be sown inside the bushes.

12.6 Seed/planting Material Production
The supply of quality seeds and the planting material is the major limiting factor to pasture improvements. The resource centre should be established through formation of the farmers groups.
· Nursery and Seed Source Development: To supply the seed required for the reseeding the range a handy nursery and seed source within the range area is recommended.
· Use of fast growing fodder crops: To solve winter feed deficiency fast growing fodder crops such as fodder radish and kale crops should be introduced and cultivated under the farmer’s field conditions.

12.7 Fodder conservation
The surplus fodder grown during the summer season should be conserved as a hay or silage to feed the livestock during the lean season.

12.8 Use of Irrigation:
Moisture is the major limiting factor for the better establishment as well as the performance of the natural vegetation especially of the herbaceous species. Irrigation of the rangelands could improve the productivity. The DM production of the Medicago falcata in the irrigated orchard in Mustang districts was found 2494 kg DM/ha compared to 93 kg DM/ha in the open rain-fed grazing lands at the altitude of 3610 m (Kandel et al. (1988).

12.9 Use of Fertilization:
Application of fertilizer in the existing pastures is the effective and quick means to improve the productivity and the vegetational composition of the natural rangelands. But in the Nepalese contest to use fertilizer especially in pastures will be highly costly and uneconomical. Most of the rangelands of Nepal are low in Nitrogen fertilizer. By the use of Nitrogen fertilizer the productivity of the grasses species could be tripled. Grasses are more responsive to fertilizer application compared to the legumes or forbs. For legume species inoculation and the use of Phosphatic fertilizer is recommended. However, the compost and the dung’s should be used to increase the productivity of the pastures.
There is a lack of systematic study to evaluate the increased productivity of the native pastures by the use of fertilizers in the natural conditions. However, the trial conducted in the cultivated condition using exotic as well as native species revealed the good response of fertilizer to the production of the fodder. Pandey et al (1990 a & b) found that by the use of FYM @ 8 mt/ha as a basal dose to Rye grass and Cocksfoot cultivars at Jiri condition the fodder yield was increased by 20 % compared to the non fertilized conditions. Similarly, tiller density and the plant height were also increased due to manuring

12.10 Training/awareness Creation:
Training at the farmers as well as staff is badly needed. Frequent training on pasture production, pasture management and livestock production should be conducted to create awareness towards the feeding management and environmental conservation.

The farmers of the high altitude regions are mostly illiterate. Proper training and education for pasture management is seriously needed. During the NBPDP over 532 farmers were trained on various issues of pasture and livestock management.

12.11 Peoples Participation:
Pasture development programme should be carried through the Users' groups. Management of the pasturelands should be handed to the community peoples. Technology and inputs (such as seeds and planting materials) should be provided by the concerned agency at the initial stage. Unless the strong peoples participation there is a doubt for the sustainable improvement of the pastures in the Northern belt of Nepal.