Effects of Proximity to Abandoned Livestock Corrals on Standing Grass Biomass, Grass Species Diversity, and Wildlife Use in Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Maasai Mara, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Pastoralists in African savanna ecosystems are shifting from livelihoods based purely on livestock only to a blended approach of livestock keeping and wildlife conservation for eco‐tourism. A popular feature of this model is the establishment of community conservancies that encourage co‐existence of traditional livestock keeping with wildlife ecotourism. Pastoralists in these ecosystems periodically establish livestock corrals which they later abandon in search of fresh pasture. The impact of these abandoned corrals on trees and shrubs is fairly well documented, but few studies exist on grasses. To complement these studies, we examined the effects of proximity to 5‐year‐old abandoned livestock corrals on standing grass biomass, grass species diversity, and wildlife use in Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Maasai Mara, Kenya over a period of 6 months. Using a distance‐based criterion, we compared close (5–55 m) and far (150–200 m) belts during wet and dry seasons. The standing grass biomass was consistently higher in close belts than far across both seasons. Biomass was significantly higher during the wet season compared to the dry season. Decreaser species showed the highest biomass close to corrals, especially during the wet season, indicating strong nutrient‐driven productivity. However, grass species richness and Shannon diversity were higher in far belts (18 species; H ′ = 2.03) than close belts (14 species; H ′ = 1.43), indicating the dominance of a few competing species in close belts. Wildlife dung density, used as a proxy for habitat use, was significantly higher in close belts, especially in the dry season. Biomass declined with increasing dung density ( β  = −0.0156 ± 0.0036 SE, p  < 0.001), with stronger grazing effects close to corrals. These findings demonstrate that abandoned corrals function as ecological hotspots that enhance productivity, influence species composition, and shape wildlife distribution, highlighting their potential role in adaptive rangeland management and sustainable livestock–wildlife coexistence.