TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

124 IMPROVEMENT OF TROPIOAL AND SUBTROPICAL RANGELANDS
FIGURE 8-3 Goat. have a unique abili'f ~ grue Ie.. d.irable woody plan"
and alao are adept at climbing. (J. O'Rourke)
a very few years will lead to declines in the land's productivity and,
therefore, substantial decreases in livestock (figure 6-6).
To achieve maximum production per unit area, liveweight gain
per animal is reduced. High production, both per animal and per unit
area, can be achieved by varying the stocking rate during the gruing
season. Relationships between intensity of grazing and livestock
production are shown in figure ~1. This relatioD8hip, described by
Heady (1915) as he adapted it from Mott (1960) and Bement (1969),
has been applied to the Somalia cue (Bement, 1981). Stocking rate
is related to product per animal and product per hectare.
Individual animal grazing and gain per hectare are shown with
increasing amounts of ungrazed or available forage on a conceptual
basis. The left side of the figure indicates insufficient feed for animal
gains. With increasing feed, animals gain in weight, reaching to a
maximum at pointe A and B. At point C, the animals are in balance
with the forage and optimum production of both vegetation and
animals is attained. Point C is the proper stocking rate. It can
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