Assessing foraging strategies of herbivores in Mediterranean oak woodlands: a review of key issues and selected methodologies

Abstract

Montados are agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystems, typical of the Southwest Iberian Peninsula, of high socio-economic and conservation importance, where grazing is a dominant activity. Montados are characterized by an open tree canopy of Quercus sp. and a diverse undercover of shrubs and grasslands that constitute the plant food resources for grazing animals. Plant food resources of Montados are highly variable, both spatially and seasonally, in quantity and quality. Reliable and easy to use methods to monitor grazing are necessary to allow proper understanding of foraging strategies of grazing animals and to set sustainable grazing management. We describe the main characteristics of the plant food resources available for grazing animals, striking its variability, and revise the potential of using N-alkanes and saliva proteome methods to assess foraging strategies in Montados. In a scenario of dynamic multiple choices, we discuss the use of n-alkane methodology for the simultaneous estimation of diet composition and voluntary intake and saliva proteome as a mean of increasing the knowledge on diet adjustments.

Climate Changes Challenges to the Management of Mediterranean Montado Ecosystem: Perspectives for Use of Precision Agriculture Technologies

“…In Montado, high inter-annual variability in pasture biomass production can occur. During drier years, it follows a pattern that is typical of semi-desertic biomes, but in more favorable rainfall years the pattern is well within the range of herb biomass production of the subhumid woodland-grassland biome [39]. The plant food resources available to grazing animals in Montado ecosystem are highly diverse and variable, both spatially and seasonally, in quantity and quality.…”

“…Plant biomass increases from winter to late spring, and restarts growing again after first autumn rains which may occur as early as September or as late as November. Usually the crude protein content of pasture decreases from winter to summer, while its fiber content increases [6,12,39].…”

Organic Livestock Farming — Challenges, Perspectives, and Strategies to Increase Its Contribution to the Agrifood System’s Sustainability — A Review

“…With regard to poultry, there is an indication that quite big flocks can be managed efficiently in a way where the flock act as weeders in other crops or fight pests in orchards. This integration of feed resources of the farms with the different livestock species is possible due to their different grazing habits [69,70], and is pivotal for the sustainability of the agroecosystems and rural areas [25,129].…”

Management of Montados and Dehesas for High Nature Value: an interdisciplinary pathway

“…Besides the concept of HNV farmland, the drivers for the achievment of such a condition should be considered. The classification of farming systems as HNV is mainly associated with the impact of the different driving forces which are responsible for the HNV status, and these are highly dynamic and change over time (Cooper et al 2007), therefore an HNV classification is never a permanent condition. Typically, HNV farming systems are low intensity and low input systems (animal stocking rates, fertilizers and pesticides), with a high structural diversity (a mosaic of land cover and land use).…”

“…Typically, HNV farming systems are low intensity and low input systems (animal stocking rates, fertilizers and pesticides), with a high structural diversity (a mosaic of land cover and land use). In addition, the use of seminatural vegetation by livestock, often in combination with the presence of other semi-natural elements (field margins, hedges, ponds and rocky outcrops), are determinant feature of these systems (Cooper et al 2007).…”