How wildlife affects fire frequency

The migrating wildebeest and zebra in the region consume about 6,900 tonnes of grass per day. It may be too simple however to see this as only competition for livestock. Increased residency time of wildebeest on village lands may dampen the effects of climate change by removing biomass and reducing fire frequency. This may in turn promote a greater diversity of vegetation and improve the resilience of village lands to external perturbations as intense fires and droughts. RUG, TAWIRI and UG will investigate if (a) GPS collared wildebeest are attracted to areas of new growth following recent fires (MODIS imagery), and (b) if areas frequented by wildebeest burn less often (due to removal of biomass), with consequences for woodland cover and grazing opportunities. Building from Task 2.2 ILRI, UG and RUG will compare vegetation diversity over 3 years in 20 Whitaker plots located in village grazing lands that are shared with the migration with 20 plots that are not shared with the migration, across regional soil and rainfall gradients. ILRI, UG and RUG will record the fire return interval in each area, changes in vegetation structure as well as placing camera traps to quantify the amount of grazing by livestock versus migrants. Thus ILRI, UG and RUG will be able to determine links between fires, wildebeest and vegetation resilience that enhance the sustainability of village lands and enhance the benefits that people derive from the ecosystems in terms of improved grazing, provision of fire wood, and wild harvests (such as honey, medicinal plants and herbs).