Browsing by Author "Makale, Fernadis"

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Experimental Prosopis juliflora Management Practices and Grassland Restoration in Three Eastern African Countries
(CABI, 2024-08-02) Eschen, René; Bekele, Ketema; Jumanne, Yohana; Kibet, Staline; Makale, Fernadis; Mbwambo, John; Megersa, Berhanu; Moyo, Francis; Munishi, Linus; Mwihomeke, Mickfanaka; Nunda, Winnie; Nyangito, Moses
Prosopis juliflora, a native tree species of Central and northern South America, was introduced in degraded habitats in Eastern Africa as a wind break, and as a source of fodder, fuel, and timber. P. juliflora has a high drought tolerance and has become a highly invasive tree or shrub, spreading rapidly, and transforming socio-economic systems. It negatively impacts livelihoods in many ways, including reduced income in pastoralist-dominated regions once coverage is above a certain invasion level. Management of P. juliflora is needed to restore ecosystem services, such as biodiverse grassland that provides fodder and sequesters carbon. In order to investigate which are the most effective and economically efficient management practices, a 3-year study was conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, three countries with savanna and grassland that have been invaded by P. juliflora. The management treatments being tested were: manual uprooting; cutting the stumps and applying herbicide; and basal bark herbicide treatment. Alongside these treatments, restoration interventions aimed at restoring natural vegetation were also tested, and these were: creating divots; creating divots + mulching with hay; and creating divots + mulching with hay + grass seed sowing. The control methods were all highly effective in killing P. juliflora, with methods to remove all above-ground biomass (manual and cut stump) resulting in a more productive and diverse surrounding vegetation than the basal bark herbicide treatment. The effect of the restoration interventions on vegetation composition was small, suggesting that species were re-established mostly from the soil seed bank. This case presents some of the methods and results of the study.
Experimental prosopis management practices and grassland restoration in three Eastern African countries
(Springer Nature, 2023-07-14) Eschen, René; Bekele, Ketema; Jumanne, Yohana; Kibet, Staline; Makale, Fernadis; Mbwambo, John; Megersa, Berhanu; Mijay, Mahamood; Moyo, Francis; Munishi, Linus; Mwihomeke, Mickfanaka; Nunda, Winnie; Nyangito, Moses; Witt, Arne; Schaffner, Urs
Woody species have been introduced in many parts of the world to provide economic benefits, but some of those species are now among the worst invaders, causing widespread economic and environmental damage. Management of woody species to restore original ecosystem services, such as biodiverse grassland that can provide fodder and sequester carbon, are needed to limit the impacts of alien species. However, the best management methods, i.e., the most economically efficient and effective way to remove trees and the most effective way to restore or rehabilitate the cleared land, are not developed for many species. In Eastern Africa, prosopis (Prosopis julifora) has invaded large areas of savanna and grassland, thereby affecting, among other things, fodder and water for livestock, access to dry season grazing lands and ultimately pastoral livelihoods. We tested three prosopis treatments (manual uprooting and cut stump and basal bark herbicide application) in combination with three incremental restoration interventions (divots, divots + mulching, divots + mulching + grass seed sowing). The three-year study was replicated in Ethiopia (Afar National Regional State), Kenya (Baringo county) and Tanzania (Moshi district). Prosopis survival and vegeta- tion development, both diversity and biomass, were recorded. The prosopis treatments were all highly effective (between 85 and 100% tree mortality in almost all cases), but the two treatments that involved the complete removal of the aboveground biomass (manual and cut stump) yielded a more productive and more diverse vegetation than the treatment that killed the trees standing (basal bark). Compared to the effect of prosopis removal, the effect of restoration interventions on vegetation composition was small, indicating that most species re-established from the soil seed bank. The results show that it is possible to restore land previously invaded by prosopis. Despite the differ- ent rates of vegetation establishment and variation in species composition, the restoration interventions resulted in vegetation that in some cases contained a substantial fraction of perennial grasses. The method chosen to control prosopis depends on the availability of resources, including herbicides, and the need to remove rootstocks if the intention is to plant crops.