Pastoral utilization and land cover change: a case study from the Sanqebethu Valley, eastern Lesotho

Abstract

Since colonial times, the mountain kingdom of Lesotho has served as a prominent example for widespread land degradation. Over the last decades, land use has been confronted with accelerated soil erosion, turf loss and grassland degradation as a result of a generally high and continuous anthropo-zoogenic impact, e.g. grazing, grassland burning and fuelwood collection. Based on a comparative approach, this paper analyses recent developments of pastoral resource utilization and subsequent vegetation change in the Sanqebethu Valley, situated in the eastern highlands of Lesotho (Mokhotlong District). The assessment of contemporary land use and land cover change is based on a time series of remote sensing data (Landsat TM) from 1989 and 1999, a recent ground survey and comparative data from 1988. High altitude grasslands show a slight reduction of vegetation cover, although the general intensity of pastoral utilization decreased significantly in the interim decade. The results are discussed with regard to recent pasture-ecological and theoretical concepts.