Coaltech Research Association

The impact of cattle grazing on rehabilitated land

Two annual surveys of species composition, biomass and soil sampling inside and outside fenced plots on rehabilitated pasture at an opencast colliery near Ogies, with benchmark sites for comparison.

ND Thovhakale, EM Stam / July 2019

What this report found

Grazing pressure on the rehabilitated block ran at roughly three times the estimated carrying capacity. The sward was dominated by low quality grasses with a high proportion of bare ground and a raised erosion risk. Fenced exclosures over one year changed the abundance of a few species, but the vegetation showed no clear direction of recovery.

R1500,00

Description

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