Co-grazing of sheep and goats: Benefits and constraints

Animut, Getachew; Goetsch, A.L.

doi:10.1016/j.smallrumres.2008.03.012

Cited by 81 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…They can graze tall herbage more easily than sheep because of their physical size (Hodgson 1990;Wilmshurst et al 2000). Cattle might select separate leaves merely from tall plants, while sheep and goats with their narrower and more pointed muzzles graze more fastidiously and readily select individual leaves and other plant parts (Animut and Goetsch 2008;Arnold and Dudzinski 1978;Dumont 1997).…”

Section: Selective Grazingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytodiversity of temperate permanent grasslands: ecosystem services for agriculture and livestock management for diversity conservation

et al. 2011

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Plant diversity has been reported to increase productivity. Farming practices aiming at conserving or increasing plant diversity are, however, usually less profitable than conventional ones. In this review, we aim to find reasons for this discrepancy, discuss ecosystem services of grassland phytodiversity that are useful for farmers, and ways of livestock management most beneficial for diversity. Under agricultural conditions, a clear effect of species richness on a site's primary or secondary production has not yet been demonstrated. Reasons could be that species numbers in permanent grassland are above the threshold of five species found effective in experimental plots or that the conditions are more in equilibrium with management than in weeded experimental plots. Other diversity effects on production stability, nutrient and water retention or product quality might convince farmers to increase diversity. However, these should be tested in agricultural situations, as most research has again been carried out in experimental plots. To enhance phytodiversity, grazing has been found superior over mowing, as selective grazing, treading and excreta deposition increase the heterogeneity of a sward and thus the niches available. Especially rotational grazing with intermediate intensity may be advantageous for phytodiversity. However, complex interactions between environmental conditions, sward composition, management and livestock behaviour make it difficult to forecast grazing effects. Thus, ecological and agricultural researchers should cooperate more, e.g. either in interdisciplinary projects or by hiring researchers from the respective other profession and thus diversifying research groups, in order to integrate agricultural management into biodiversity research and biodiversity measurements into agricultural research to 123Biodivers Conserv (2011) 20:3317-3339 DOI 10.1007 advance our understanding of how to make conservation and enhancement of grassland phytodiversity both feasible and sustainable.

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Section: Selective Grazingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytodiversity of temperate permanent grasslands: ecosystem services for agriculture and livestock management for diversity conservation

et al. 2011

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“…It is not, however, possible to make any generalizations, either due to inconsistent values for sheep and goats or due to different methods used for measuring (Animut and Goetsch, 2008). In our case, goats spent less time walking than sheep, probably because they perceived browse plants as a discrete food resource (a "patch"), and animals do not walk away from a shrub or tree until they deplete it and they readily perceive another item nearby.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Activity time budget patterns of sheep and goats co-grazing on semi-natural species-rich dry grassland

Pokorná¹,

Hejcmanová²,

Hejcman³

et al. 2013

CZECH J ANIM SCI

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Activity time budget patterns and grazing response to sward and environmental conditions were investigated for paddocks of sheep and goats co-grazing for conservation purposes on a semi-natural speciesrich dry grassland community endangered by shrub and tall perennial plant encroachment in a protected nature reserve in South Moravia (Czech Republic). Grazing was conducted by a rotational stocking system for 14 weeks in late grazing season in 2008 with 60 dry ewes and 20 goats. Twelve ewes and four goats were observed; grazing, ruminating, idling and other activities (salt licking, social interactions, walking), along with topographical position in the paddock were recorded at 5-minute intervals within 14 hours of daylight. Sheep and goats did not differ in their principal activity time budgets, such as the average total daylight time spent grazing (sheep: 8.57 h, goats: 8.59 h), ruminating (sheep: 1.42 h, goats: 1.44 h), or idling (sheep: 3.23 h, goats: 3.18 h), the duration of bouts of each activity, or the number of bouts of grazing and ruminating. There was no pattern in activity time budgets indicating dynamics in progressing season, nor was there a response to daily average temperature or to paddock size. Sheep and goats showed similar responses to groundcover of particular plant functional types. The animals showed a positive trend in response of total daylight grazing time to grass available biomass and a negative response of total daylight grazing time to herbaceous biomass for both sheep and goats. The total daylight grazing time was independent of availability of woody plants. Goats devoted more time (1.51 h) to other activities than sheep (1.34 h), especially to social interactions and salt licking. On the other hand, sheep spent proportionally more time walking. Both sheep and goats showed similar patterns in spatial use of paddocks on hill slopes, spending the most time in the middle part and the least time in the lower part of paddocks.

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“…In Portuguese pastoral systems, farmers choose the species (goat v. sheep) and breed in relation to topography (slope, altitude) and shrub density (Pacheco, 1999). Since they have similar nutrient and management requirements, co-grazing of sheep and goats can be an efficient way to take advantage of their different foraging abilities (Animut and Goetsch, 2008). Mixed grazing of cattle, sheep and goats produces a higher overall capture of vegetation resources, provided the diversity and spatial distribution of vegetation communities is such that the animals can exhibit complementary feeding behaviour (Nolan and Nastis, 1997).…”

Section: Management Practices For Rangeland Utilization In the Meditementioning

confidence: 99%

Rangeland utilization in Mediterranean farming systems

Jouven

Lapeyronie

Moulin

et al. 2010

Animal

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In the countries surrounding the Mediterranean basin, most of the semi-natural grazing lands are covered by rangelands. Rangelands can be defined as highly heterogeneous natural vegetation communities with high conservation value, growing in harsh environments (poor soils, unfavourable climatic conditions). In the recent socio-economic context, traditional livestock grazing practices that enabled one to reconcile rangeland preservation and animal production no longer apply, especially because they require labour that has become scarce and costly. The consequence is rangeland degradation, due to underutilization in Southern Europe, and overutilization in Northern Africa. We analysed issues raised by rangeland utilization in livestock farming systems of the Mediterranean basin. Based on a review of the scientific literature about rangeland utilization in this area, we argue that the best way to reconcile animal production and rangeland preservation would be to promote management practices allowing animals to express their adaptative capacities in feeding behaviour and productive response. In order to propose management practices adapted to extensive and simplified systems, we conclude that research efforts should focus on: (i) proposing a functional characterization of vegetation heterogeneity at the scale of the vegetation community, (ii) validating the criteria determining animals' foraging behaviour on Mediterranean rangelands, (iii) developing and using simulation models to test management strategies against seasonal and long-term variability in climatic conditions and (iv) evaluating the potential of modern technologies for improving rangeland utilization.

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Co-grazing of sheep and goats: Benefits and constraints

Cited by 81 publications

References 71 publications

Phytodiversity of temperate permanent grasslands: ecosystem services for agriculture and livestock management for diversity conservation

Phytodiversity of temperate permanent grasslands: ecosystem services for agriculture and livestock management for diversity conservation

Activity time budget patterns of sheep and goats co-grazing on semi-natural species-rich dry grassland

Rangeland utilization in Mediterranean farming systems

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