Long-Term Trade-Offs among Herbage Growth, Animal Production, and Supplementary Feeding in Heavily Grazed Mediterranean Grassland
Author
Henkin, Z.Ungar, E. D.
Perevolotsky, A.
Gutman, M.
Yehuda, Y.
Dolev, A.
Landau, S. Y.
Sternberg, M.
Seligman, N. G.
Issue Date
2015-07Keywords
beef cattlebiomass dynamics
continuous grazing
grazing efficiency
grazing pressure index
herbaceous biomass
poultry litter
primary production
split-paddock grazing
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Henkin, Z., Ungar, E. D., Perevolotsky, A., Gutman, M., Yehuda, Y., Dolev, A., Landau, S. Y., Sternberg, M., & Seligman, N. G. (2015). Long-Term Trade-Offs among Herbage Growth, Animal Production, and Supplementary Feeding in Heavily Grazed Mediterranean Grassland. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 68(4), 332–340.Publisher
Society for Range ManagementJournal
Rangeland Ecology & ManagementAdditional Links
https://rangelands.org/Abstract
A 17-yr grazing trial was conducted in the eastern Galilee of Israel to quantify trade-offs among the responses of pasture and livestock productivity, duration of grazing, amount of supplementary feed, and profitability to higher stocking density during the growing season of a Mediterranean grassland. Treatments included two stocking densities and two grazing protocols. The stocking densities throughout the grazing period were 0.55 animal unit (AU)·ha-1, which is common in this region, and 1.1 AU·ha-1, which is considered high. The grazing protocols were continuous grazing throughout the grazing season and split-paddock grazing in which the herd grazed one subpaddock from the onset of grazing until the pasture was depleted, after which the herd was moved to the second ungrazed subpaddock. Under both protocols, heavier stocking density reduced standing biomass of the whole paddock at the end of the growing season by 43% and grazing duration during the subsequent dry season by 38% but increased the daily consumption of supplementary feed and the weaned live-weight production per unit area. Under continuous grazing the high stocking density of 1.1 AU·ha-1 was maintained throughout the grazing season for 17 consecutive yr with no detectable effect on productivity of the pasture, typical to the resilience of Mediterranean grasslands that have been grazed for thousands of years. The lower pasture biomass production was compensated by higher weaned calf production. At the current local prices, the heavier stocking density was close to the economically optimal stocking density for the pasture in the region. It is concluded that on Mediterranean grassland intensive use of the pasture with high stocking density during the growing season can be economically feasible in those cases where the feed requirement of the herd can be maintained throughout the growing season. © 2015 Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Type
Articletext
Language
enISSN
0022-409xae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.rama.2015.05.003
Scopus Count
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Grazing systems, stocking rates, and cattle behavior in southeastern WyomingHepworth, K. W.; Test, P. S.; Hart, R. H.; Waggoner, J. W.; Smith, M. A. (Society for Range Management, 1991-05-01)Grazing systems and stocking rates are used to influence livestock grazing behavior with the intent of improving livestock and vegetation performance. In 1982, a study was initiated to determine effects of continuous, rotationally deferred, and short-duration rotation grazing and moderate and heavy stocking rates on steer gains, range vegetation, and distance traveled by and activity patterns of steers. Steers were observed from dawn to dark on 12 dates during 1983, 1984, and 1985, and activity recorded every 15 minutes. Eight steers per treatment (system X stocking rate combination) per date were observed in 1983 and 1984, and 10 per treatment in 1985. In 1984 and 1985, map locations of all steers were recorded at the same times as activity, and distance traveled summed from distances between successive map locations. In 1984, activity of 3 steers per treatment was electronically monitored during darkness. Steers grazed approximately 8.6 hr per day during daylight and 1.6 hr during darkness. Steers grazed an average of 8.9 hr/day during daylight under moderate vs 8.1 hr under heavy stocking, but stocking rate interacted with date in 1984 and grazing system in 1985. Steers traveled farther under continuous than under short-duration rotation grazing at both stocking rates in 1984, but only at the high stocking rate in 1985. Steers had to travel farther to water in the continuous pastures, and may have had to cover a greater area in an effort to select a more desirable diet, particularly under heavy stocking. These differences were not reflected in differences in gain among stocking rates or grazing systems.
-
Grazing systems, pasture size, and cattle grazing behavior, distribution and gainsHart, R. H.; Bissio, J.; Samuel, M. J.; Waggoner, J. W. (Society for Range Management, 1993-01-01)Reduced pasture size and distance to water may be responsible for the alleged benefits of intensive time-controlled rotation grazing systems. We compared cattle gains, activity, distance traveled, and forage utilization on a time-controlled rotation system with eight 24-ha pastures, on two 24-ha pastures grazed continuously (season-long), and on a 207-ha pasture grazed continuously, all stocked at the same rate. Utilization on the 207-ha pasture, but not on the 24-ha pastures, declined with distance from water. At distances greater than 3 km from water in the 207-ha pasture, utilization was significantly less than on adjacent 24-ha pastures, at distances of 1.0 to 1.6 km from water. Cows on the 207-ha pasture travelled farther (6.1 km/day) than cows on the 24-ha rotation pastures (4.2 km/day), which traveled farther than cows on the 24-ha continuously grazed pastures (3.2 km/day). Grazing system, range site, slope, and weather had minimal effects on cow activity patterns. Gains of cows and calves were less on the 207-ha pasture (0.24 and 0.77 kg/day, respectively) than on the 24-ha rotation pastures or 24-ha continuously grazed pastures (0.42 and 0.89 kg/da, respectively), with no differences between the latter. Calculated "hoof action" on the rotation pastures was less than that demonstrated to increase seed burial and seedling emergence. Intensive rotation grazing systems are unlikely to benefit animal performance unless they reduce pasture size and distance to water below previous levels, decreasing travel distance and increasing uniformity of grazing.
-
Studies of Rotation Grazing in the SoutheastBiswell, H. H. (Society for Range Management, 1951-01-01)