PJB-2022-1511
Ethnoecological knowledge of wild fodder plant resources of district Buner Pakistan
Saddiq Ur Rahman, Zahid Ullah, Ahmad Ali, Mushtaq Ahmad, Hassan Sher, Zabta Khan Shinwari and Abdul Nazir
Abstract
Livestock rearing often remain the sole means of livelihood in agro-pastoral communities harboring in rural mountainous settings. This study documents the characteristics, altitudinal distribution, seasonal availability, mode of utilization, preference rank, and palatability of fodder species used by indigenous agro-pastoralist communities of Buner, Pakistan. In total 85 informants (69 male, 16 female), aged between 25-90 years, including farmers, shepherds, local farm owners and veterinary practiotioners were interviewed, to obtain traditional knowledge for determining priority fodder species for sustainable livestock raising. In total 115 fodder species, belonging to 34 families were reported from the study area. Poaceae, Fabaceae and Rosaceae together shared 64% of the fodder species, contributed 39, 17 and 07 species, respectively. Most of the fodder plants (43%) are available in summer season, the peak months being July and August, while 30% fodder plants grow in spring season. In 64% cases whole plants were palatable while in 24% cases leafy shoots and in 12% species only the leaves were palatable. 44% species were of high priority, 32% medium priority and 24% were low priority species for livestock as identified by informants. Further 71% species were preferred by cattle only in fresh condition while 28% in both fresh and dry conditions. Based on pairwise comparison (PC), top 05 fodder species included Avena fatua ranked 1st with 25 points, followed by Echinochloa crus-galli (2nd, 24 points), Brachiaria ramosa (3rd, 23 points), Phaceleurus speciosus and Melia azedarach 4th and 5th respectively. The indigenous livestock rearing communities possess valuable traditional knowledge with substantial implications for prioritizing wild fodder/forage species, for sustainable livestock raising by rural pastoralists and domestic livestock owners
To Cite this article:
Rahman, S.U., Z. Ullah, A. Ali, M. Ahmad, H. Sher, Z.K. Shinwari and A. Nazir. 2022. Ethnoecological knowledge of wild fodder plant resources of district Buner Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot., 54(2): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2022-2(27)
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