Resumen
- Farmers in arid and sub-humid regions traditionally know trees and shrub species with fodder and medicinal value. In areas with strong rainfall seasonality, as in the case of FUNCiTREE cases, woody plants are an alternative forage for cattle feed particularly in the dry season when grasses dry out. The general practice in the dry season in these areas in Nicaragua is extensive grazing (over larger areas without rotation, and based on standing dry grass biomass) with some nutritional supplement. In sub-saharan Africa animal feeding depends mainly on free grazing on rangelands and also in this region, pastoralists also have to deal with fodder shortages during the dry season. During the lean season, trees and shrubs represent the only source of green fodder available on rangelands. FUNCiTREE aimed to identify fodder species and their functional characteristics as animal feed on the specific conditions of Sahelian rangelands with a focus on the Louga area in Senegal. This context is characterized by high anthropogenic pressure and a low biodiversity of the tree layer.