Seasonal diets of sheep in the steppe region of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Abstract

Sheep diets were determined seasonally for large flocks grazing year-round in 2 landscape types of the Magellanic steppe of Argentina. A tussock-grass steppe of Festuca gracillima Hooker f. dominates the uplands of the whole area. On acid soils (Quaternary landscape), woody variants of the steppe prevail; on neutral soils (Tertiary landscape), woody plants are almost absent and short grasses and fortes are abundant. Principal taxa consumed throughout the year were: Poa L., Deschampsia P.Beauv., and "sedges &rushes". Consumption of woody species and of the dominant tussock-grass Festuca gracillima increased notably in winter. Despite the large proportion of species in common, diets differed significantly between landscapes. In the Quaternary landscape, which has a higher botanical diversity, diets were more dissimilar among seasons and had a higher annual diversity index. Because of their different composition of forage types the 2 landscapes differed in their overall grazing value. The Tertiary landscape, with a low floristic diversity but richer in highly preferred species as Poa spp. would be a more risky grazing area in winter, when an ice sheet or a snow cover limits harvesting of the lower layer of short grasses and forbs.