3.2
Methods
To
facilitate the collecting of field data, the protected area was divided into a
grid of 34 squares of 16 km2 (4000 x 4000 m) defined on site by GPS
coordinates, (see Map 2). Within each grid square, surveys were undertaken in
three different seasons, spring, summer and winter, to assess livestock
numbers and behavior over the whole year. Vegetation distributuion was
assessed only during the first spring survey. A summary of the study programme
is shown below:
-
Spring Survey (19 Apr. – 28 Apr. 1999): This included two rounds of
livestock and camel counting, collection of forage samples for documentation
of vegetation distribution.
-
Summer Survey (18 Aug. – 28 Aug 1999): This included two
rounds of livestock and camel counting.
-
Winter Survey (14 Jan.
– 18 Jan. 2000 and 4 Feb. – 7 Feb. 2000):
This stage only included two counts of livestock and camel counting.
It
should be mentioned that the word “livestock” in this report stands for
“goats and sheep”. Camels were counted separately because their grazing
habits are different and so were dealt with separately.
The
last stage was originally scheduled for late December but it was delayed
until January due to drought. It was not until January that the first rain
of the season fell on Rum.
The
study team was forced to stop the fieldwork after finishing the first
round of the winter stage because of the rainy weather and since Bedouins
do not graze their livestock in those weather conditions it was decided to
postpone the second count until early February
