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RGE811S- RANGELAND ECOLOGY - 2ND Opp - JULY 2022 |
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NAMIBIA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCEAND TECHNOLOGY (NUST)
Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Sciences
QUALIFICATION: Bachelor of Natural Resource Management Honours
QUALIFICATION CODE:08BNRH
LEVEL: 8
COURSE: Rangeland Ecology
COURSECODE:RGE811S
DATE: July 2022
DURATION: 3 Hours
SESSION: July
MARKS: 100
SECONDOPPORTUNITY
EXAMINERS:Prof. Ben Strohbach and Mr. Jerome Boys
MODERATOR: Dr. Absalom Kahumba
THIS PAPERCONSISTSOF 3 (THREE)PAGESINCLUDINGTHIS FRONT PAGE
Instructions
1. Answer all four (4) questions.
2. Candidates must correctly number their responses on the ANSWER sheet.
3. Candidates are allowed to use calculators.
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Question 1:
[20)
Define the following terms in Rangeland Science context.
1.1. Savanna
(3)
1.2. Biome
(3)
1.3. Vegetation type
(2)
1.4. Evapo-transpiration Tree Equivalent (ETTE)
(2)
1.5. Stability
(2)
1.6. Resilience
(3)
1.7. Grazing capacity
(3)
1.8. Stocking rate
(2)
Question 2:
[15)
Discuss the Highland Savanna vegetation type in detail and with special focus
on:
(2)
2.1.lts location in Namibia,
(2)
2.2. Broad plant composition,
(2)
2.3. Adaptability of plants,
(2)
2.4. Grazing/fodder availability throughout the year,
(2)
2.5. Its suitability for livestock farming and,
(S)
2.6. Adjacent savannas
Question 3:
[10)
Discussthe growth and development of a Karoo Dwarf Shrub in detail with
focus on:
3.1. Growth point development
(2)
3.2. Growth reserves
(3)
3.3. Reasonsfor slow growth rate
(4)
3.4. Active growth time
(1)
Question 4:
[20)
Discussthe different forms of rangeland degradation and possible restoration
techniques for each of those forms of degradation.
Question 5:
[SJ
Explain how vegetation in good condition is more beneficial as opposed to
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vegetation in a bad condition.
Question 6:
[10]
Discussthe importance of cultivated pastures in a livestock farm set-up,
factors that should be considered before embarking its establishment and
some species that are most commonly cultivated in Namibia under dryland or
irrigation.
Question 7:
[S]
Name any five (5) characteristics of good pasture plants from a nutritional
point of view.
Question 8:
[15]
A farmer decided to determine the grazing capacity of a camp on his/her farm.
The farmer clipped 40, (0.5m x 0.5m) quad rates with a yield of 15 kg of grass
after it was dried in an oven.
8.1. Convert the clipped grass biomass to kg/ha.
(3)
8.2. Calculate the grazing capacity in kg Animal Biomass/ ha/ year, using a
(4)
50% utilization factor.
8.3. The camp is 80 ha and the farmer is planning to stock the camp with 1500 (5)
ewes with an average mass of 55kg for 240 days. How will you advice this
farmer and should he/she go ahead with the plan?
8.4. What will be the correct stocking density of sheep on the 80 ha camp for (3)
the planned 240 days?
3