The estimation of herbage yields under fire and grazing treatments in the Mountain Zebra National Park
Koedoe - African Protected Area Conservation and Science
| Field | Value | |
| Title | The estimation of herbage yields under fire and grazing treatments in the Mountain Zebra National Park | |
| Creator | De Klerk, J. Brown, L.R. Bezuidenhout, H. Castley, G. | |
| Description | The application of fire as a management tool is often used to change the species composition of the vegetation and its cover to maintain plant communities in a specific successional stage. This study investigates the influence of two fire treatments (a head and a back fire) on the plateau grassland communities in the Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP). The production of herbage yield on grazed areas and areas protected from grazing which were subjected to two fire treatments, were compared with that of an unburnt control area subjected to grazing in the same homogenous grassland over two growing seasons. No differences were found in herbage production between the two fire treatment areas. After the burn the grazing exclosures achieved the same herbage yield as the control area within two growing seasons. In comparison, the grazed areas could after the burn only achieve a herbage yield equal to 55.7 of that of the control area. The results indicate that fire stimulates active vegetation growth on the plateau grasslands in MZNP leading to a higher production rate and better utilisation by game. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS Publishing | |
| Date | 2001-07-01 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/koedoe.v44i1.181 | |
| Source | Koedoe; Vol 44, No 1 (2001); 9-15 2071-0771 0075-6458 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://koedoe.co.za/index.php/koedoe/article/view/181/165
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