Browsing and its Relation to Range lands Management in Semi- Arid Area

Most browse species in Africa play a vital role for satisfying needs of local communities and households, including goods and services. Browse shrubs and trees are obviously important for animals, especially in the arid and semi-arid zones where they are very important for livestock, especially in the summer period when grassland growth is limited or dormant, due to unfavorable weather conditions. Despite this importance, research and development efforts are very limited with regard to trees and shrubs, and knowledge of browse in terms of production, utilization and other related information under semi-arid conditions is still lacking. This requires improving methods and techniques to be used to determine the available browse, and also requires more investigation to enable attaining conservation, protection or improvement. This study aims to investigate the existing situation and the potential of browse in semi-arid areas.