A study of the impacts of grazing and trampling by domestic lifestock on plants communities and plant population on the Maltese Islands

Abstract

The research entitled "A Study of the Impacts of Grazing and Trampling by Domestic Livestock on Plant Communities and Plant Populations of the Maltese Islands' was carried out to describe the effects of grazing and trampling by domestic sheep and goats upon different ecological communities, with an emphasis on the garrigue landscape. Interviews with herders, direct field observations and quadrates were used for the gathering of data. Quantitative data was analyzed through the use of different statistical tools, formulae and graphical methods. A total of twelve sites, each consisting of two areas one of which was grazed and the other which was not, were processed in order to find out the species present and soil compaction in each area. The results of the grazed and ungrazed areas were compared and contrasted so as to identify any trends present, and identify the evident grazing effects upon the ecosystem in question. Numerous reasons were then put forward in order to attempt and explain why certain changes took place in the grazed areas, such as an overall decline in plant species but an increase in species diversity in some areas. The final results illustrate that grazing impact upon a landscape is dependent upon certain variables, these include; herd size, size of grazed area, plant composition, and duration of grazing. For example a small herd of twenty grazing sheep is less likely to affect a large open tract of garrigue than a fenced plot. Therefore, once one of these variables is modified so too does the degree at which grazing livestock alter the landscape.