Rangeland Condition and Grazing Capacities of Livestock Farms During and After Drought in Three Biomes of South Africa

Approximately 590,000 km2 of rangelands were severely affected by drought, leading to a significant decline in rangeland productivity and an increase in livestock mortality across South Africa. This study aimed to understand variability in grazing capacities and stocking rates regarding land tenure, long-term grazing capacity norms, field surveys, and farmer perceptions under and post-drought conditions in the three biomes in South Africa. In-person interviews and field surveys were conducted with 85 farmers; Grassland (n=25), Savanna (n=35), and Nama Karoo (n=30) biomes during a drought period were interviewed, and vegetation condition was surveyed after a drought period. Grazing capacity did not differ significantly across land tenure systems in the Savanna biomes (p>0.05), but significant differences were found in the Grassland and Nama-Karoo biomes (p< 0.05). Over >60% of farmers in the Nama-Karoo biome rated their rangeland condition as poor due to the drought, and field surveys showed that grazing capacities were four times lower than the national recommended grazing capacity norm. The study concluded that the Department of Agriculture should adopt flexible, climate-responsive grazing capacity guidelines since the current and fixed grazing capacity norms do not account for the sharp decline in grazing capacity during drought.