Rangeland Production and Annual Rainfall Relations in the Mediterranean Basin and in the African Sahelo Sudanian Zone

Abstract

The study of the relationships between annual rainfall and range production in the Mediterranean Basin and the Sahelian Sudanian tropical zones of Africa shows a close correlation between average range production and average rainfall over large geographic areas. For a given amount of rain, net production is higher in the Mediterranean than in the Sahel. The regressions developed show that, on the average, each millimeter of rainfall produces 2 kg/ha of consumable dry matter, or 0.66 Scandinavian Feed Units (FU), in the Mediterranean, whereas in the Sahelian and Sudanian zones these figures drop to 1 kg/ha and 0.40 FU.