Assessment of dry matter yield, nutrient content and carrying capacity of the alpine rangeland pasture

Abstract

The study assessed the carrying capacity and nutrient content of available rangeland pasture at Phobjikha gewog, Wangduephodrang district. Stratified random sampling was used to collect sample for study. The strata were divided into five strata of 100 m altitudinal gradient interval based on elevations ranging from 2800 to 3200 masl. A total of 46 samples were collected using a quadrant from different strata by simple random method. The biomass of the samples was recorded in the field and the proximate analysis was conducted in laboratory. The study recorded mean dry matter (DM) yield of about 0.75 t/ha, 1% crude fiber (CF), 13.35% crude protein (CP), 13% ash and 2.36% ether extract (EE). The average annual carrying capacity (CC) estimated for the rangeland pasture was 0.34 LU/ha. Among the strata, the highest CC of 0.53 LU/ha was recorded at 2800 masl and the lowest CC of 0.15 LU/ha was recorded at 3200 masl. The carrying capacity and chemical composition with exception to % CP showed inverse correlation with elevation range (r =.227, p =.052).