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Ecological issues of livestock husbandry development in dry lands Volume 16, issue 2, Juin 2005

Author
Consultant international écologie, gestion et développement des régions arides, 327, rue AL De Jussieu, 34090 Montpellier, France

Livestock husbandry is usually the major and sometimes unique agricultural resource of non-desert dry lands; these represent some 11% of the land mass of the planet. Because of the nature of the climate, livestock husbandry undergoes a number of ecological constraints that interfere with limiting factors of an other nature. Some of the constraints may be mitigated or even removed through appropriate management strategies of both rangeland and herds/flocks. The degree to which such strategies may be efficiently operational depends on the nature and strength of the other constraints, particularly societal. The present article attempts to show the production potential of arid rangelands with their possibility and limits in terms of development via such strategies.