Description of practice
The practice of managing the distribution of water resources in rangelands is crucial because forage utilization decreases rapidly as the distance to water increases. Animals will overuse sites near water locations rather than walk greater distances to abundant forage. Water requirements of grazing animals must be considered when planning water resources, and vary with species and class of animal, nature of the forage and weather.
| Examples of how to use water distribution in rangelands | Further information (see Note below) |
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Improved well distributionWater points are optimally and efficiently distributed in rangeland to ensure a balanced distribution of herds and avoid overuse of vegetation around a limited number of wells. |
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Water points fed by springs and streamsWater from springs or other sources is brought to water points in pastures. This greatly increases livestock productivity and reproductive performance, reduces erosion from cattle tracks in critical locations surrounding springs, and protect springs from being destroyed by the animals. |
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Water harvesting for livestock watering pointAn artificial watershed (of ca. 100 m2) is installed in remote locations with poor access to water. The watershed is built from cement and drains into a well or tank to collect water during the winter for use during the dry season for livestock watering. |
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Planning water points for rotational grazingA rotational grazing scheme is introduced following the establishment of new watering points to provide water in summer. The scheme ensures longer growing times for grass recovery on pastures and increases quantity and quality of pastures. |
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Note: Most of the Further information links are to a full description of the example in the WOCAT database. However sometimes the link may be to similar practices or a research paper. Occasionally the link is to a commercial product in which case it should be understood that this does not imply any endorsement of the product by iSQAPER.