Van Niekerk, J. A.Van der Westhuizen, H. C.Mokhesengoane, Thabiso Emmanuel2024-06-112024-06-112023http://hdl.handle.net/11660/12546Thesis (Ph.D.(Sustainable Agriculture))--University of the Free State, 2023The study aimed to provide holistic guidance for future sustainable livestock production in the semi-arid rangelands of the Bloemfontein magisterial area for extensive land reform livestock farmers. It aimed to compare rangeland condition per land reform farm and between land reform farms, and to establish correlations between rangeland condition, soil chemical properties and managerial inputs on sampled land reform farms. The study also aimed to use land reform livestock farmers’ decisions on livestock stocking rates to establish their production efficiency and to establish correlations between rangeland condition and soil carbon. Nine extensive land-reform livestock farms out of a total of twenty-nine land-reform farms which participated in the stocking rate study during the 2018/2019 drought were sampled using a non-probability snowball sampling procedure. A multi-methodological approach, namely, qualitative and quantitative methodologies, was employed to investigate the research topic. Structured questionnaires were used to determine profiles of rangeland managers, farm management information, and sound sustainable livestock management information, including current stocking rates on all nine sampled farms. The rangeland degradation gradient method for the semi-arid rangelands of the central Free State province region was used to determine rangelands condition scores together with the wheel point apparatus tool on two camps of each sampled farm. Soil samples were taken from each camp at the beginning of the rangeland condition assessment transect line, in the middle and end, at 20 cm depth, using the soil auger tool. The descriptive statistics, average scores, and standard deviations were calculated using analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation, and t-tests to compare the average values. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 28 was used to analyse quantitative data. Metabolic body weights were used to calculate large stock units. The study recorded a significant relationship (p< 0.05) between soil carbon (C) and rangeland condition, with three times more C on a good rangeland condition score of >60% when compared to a poor rangeland condition score of <20%. A strong relationship (p< 0.05) was also found between a production plan and higher average rangeland condition scores. However, no significant relationship (p> 0.05) was found between other soil chemical properties and rangeland condition, except for the positive trends recorded on soil phosphorus (P) and soil pH levels and a significant relationship between soil carbon (C) and rangeland condition. On the other hand, no relationship (p> 0.05) was found between rangeland condition scores and other variables. The highest average rangeland condition score was 77%, and the minimum average rangeland condition score recorded amongst farms was 21%. Thus, the study concludes that the implementation of science-based knowledge on both stocking rates and rangeland management for extensive land-reform livestock farmers in the Bloemfontein magisterial area is paramount and valuable for climate change impacts mitigation and sustainable livestock productivity. Furthermore, the study recommends investigating carbon market participation as an incentive for farmers to implement sustainable ecological practices and the practicality of incorporating variable stocking rates into extensive livestock management systems.enRangelands assessmentland-reformextensive pastoral farmsThesisUniversity of the Free State