Grass composition and rangeland condition of the major grazing areas in the mid Rift Valley, Ethiopia

A range inventory and condition study was conducted in three altitude zones: lowland (1500-1700m), medium altitude (1700-2000m), and highland (2000-2500m). Each altitude zone was stratified into four or five important grazing areas. One area represented lightly grazed government ranches or parks which were used as benchmarks, another area represented the seasonal grazing areas with an intermediate grazing pressure and the remaining were the heavily grazed roadsides, lakeshores and other communal grazing lands. The range condition assessment was based on the composition of the herbaceous layer, basal cover, litter cover, relative number of seedlings, age distribution of grasses, soil erosion and soil compaction. Dry matter was sampled in the mid-wet season to assess the relationship between available dry matter and range condition. A total of 36 grass species, 3 legume species, 2 sedge species, 15 other herbs and 31 species of trees were identified. The palatable Cenchrus ciliaris was dominant in the bench...