AVAILABLE SOIL-MOISTURE AS A BASIS FOR LAND CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT IN SEMI ARID REGIONS

Rangelands are extensive areas in arid or semi arid regions. They have many uses (e.g. grazing, dry land farming, wildlife habitat, recreation and mining). Generally vegetation is sparse and the principal plant species are adapted to erratic rainfall events. Rainfall use efficiency (RUE) is the quotient of annual primary production divided by annual rainfall i.e. the number of kilograms aerial dry matter produced by 1 ha in 1 year per millimetre of rain. It decreases with increasing aridity. Reasonably well managed arid and semi arid grazing lands are usually in the 3.0-6.0 value range. Available soil moisture is the principal determinant of productivity. The role and significance of the major parameters (rainfall, soil depth, slope and salinity, texture, cover, erosion etc) are considered. Available moisture can be predicted if the appropriate relative productivity indices (RPI) are used in a parametric way. The predictions can be used to classify land according to its capability to support plant growth. Equations have been derived which enable land to be classified on the basis of its potential productivity. Links between land capability and vegetation cover are given.