About 93.3% of respondents indicated that the extent of barren areas, i.e., the area within pastures devoid of vascular plants, had increased over time. Only 6.7% of the respondents reported that barren areas had decreased over time in freely grazed rangelands. The degree of expansion of barren areas was perceived to be more serious in the LAR (P < 0.05) than in the HAR. According to 91.6% of respondents, runoff water had increased over time (P < 0.001). Farmers in the area also complained about loss of top soil, which contains useful nutrients required for botanical diversity and productivity. According to 88.9% of respondents, formation of slope sided pedestals had increased over time. A highly significant variation (P < 0.001) was detected between regions, indicating that eroded areas are extremely prone to formation of slope-sided pedestals.
Eroded areas had significantly compacted soil and reduced plant biomass (P < 0.05). About, 89.5% of the respondents replied that there is an increasing tendency for invasion and encroachment of weed and unpalatable plant species. Moreover, 91.6% of the respondents disclosed that grazable pasture is not adequate for both dry and wet season grazing. ‘Thus, there has been a gradual decline in the amount of grazable pasture over time (P < 0.001). The shortage of grazable pasture was viewed as a critical problem for cattle production in the LAR (P < 0.001). According to 67.2% of respondents, biomass production capacity of rangeland fodder has decreased over time (P < 0.001).
According to 75.9% of respondents, the botanical composition of herbaceous layer had increased (P < 0.05), whereas 85.2% of respondents agreed that the basal cover of the herbaceous layer has decreased (P < 0.01). The majority of the respondents (82%) reported that soil erosion had visibly affected the composition of palatable grasses, which are important feed resources for cattle in traditional production systems (P < 0.001). In addition, 87.9% of the respondents replied that the grass composition (grass species diversity) had decreased over time (P < 0.001). According to 89.4% of the respondents, the ratio of perennial to annual grass composition had decreased. Despite evidence of degradation of the freely grazed areas, a greater change in basal cover of the herbaceous layer was observed in the LAR compared to the two other regions (P < 0.05). Likewise, 88.9% of the respondents reported that the status of overgrazing had increased (P < 0.001).
4.4. Perceptions of farmers on cattle performance based on numerical information
Overall, farmers reported a decline in productivity and the health of their livestock, but all performance parameters showed significant differences among altitude regions (P < 0.05) (Table 4). In comparison with the other regions, more farmers in the LAR reported a decrease in the body condition of their cattle. However, a higher percentage of farmers perceived increased cattle mortality in the MAR as well as the LAR in comparison with the HAR, concomitant with a perception of decreased milk yield, lactation length, time needed to grow to maturity and longer calving intervals. The proportions of farmers witnessing changes in susceptibility to disease were also considerably different between the regions. However, more farmers reported higher numbers of days open combined with an increased number of repeated services per conception in the LAR (area with increased soil erosion) compared to the other areas. Finally, the number of cattle per household seemed to remain fairly constant in both the MAR and HAR, but more farmers in the LAR perceived a decrease in cattle per household.