Connectivity between pastoral zones and protected areas: an opportunity to enhance rangeland forage supply in West Africa

Abstract

Background: Extensive livestock farming plays an important socioeconomic role in the Sahel region but remains vulnerable due to the scarcity of forage resources. Aim: This study investigated how connectivity between a managed pastoral zone and a protected area contributes to enhancing forage resource availability and rangeland quality. Methods: A stratified sampling design was adopted to assess floristic diversity, forage productivity, and rangeland quality in two land-use types, notably a protected area and a pastoral zone that includes young and old fallows, in Burkina Faso. To assess species forage values, interviews and field observations were used. Results: Floristic diversity was similar between the pastoral zone and the protected area (p > 0.05) due to the homogenization of herbaceous vegetation structure and composition in the two land-use types. The two connected land-use types were dominated by the Poaceae family, followed by Fabaceae, when therophytes and hemicryptophytes were the dominant life forms. These features reflect herbaceous vegetation that is well adapted to climatic disturbances and agropastoral pressures. The high forage productivity in the pastoral zone (2104.65 ± 1767.75 kg DM ha⁻¹) was similar to that of the connected protected area (2499.50 ± 1036.46 kg DM ha⁻¹). This productivity relies on annual grasses and legumes in young fallows of the pastoral zone, and a combination of annual and perennial grasses in the protected area. The resulting complementarity ensures a diversified and resilient forage base that supports extensive livestock systems. Connectivity promotes the dominance of high pastoral value species in rangelands, while the protected area serves as a refuge for valuable forage species sensitive to agropastoral disturbances. Conclusions: Ecological connectivity between the pastoral zone and the protected area sustains grazing systems in the rangelands and ensures the sustainable use of forage resources. The establishment of a buffer zone between these two land uses would enhance their sustainability.