Effect of concentrate supplementation on herbage intake and live weight gain of sheep grazing a semi-arid grassland steppe of North-Eastern Asia in response to different grazing management systems and intensities

Susenbeth, A.; Jin, Hao; Ahnert, S.; Ohm, Magdalena; Dickhoefer, Uta

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2014.03.026

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…It may therefore be concluded that the herd mobility patterns observed in the Altay-Dzungarian region is balanced for the seasonal variability in herbage quality (Yoshihara et al 2013). With values of approximately 0.05 to 2.5 kg DM of above-ground herbaceous biomass per kilogramme live weight and day, the herbage allowance in the study region was at the lower end of values reported for pastures in Inner Mongolia (0.7 to 26.4 kg DM per kilogramme live weight; Schönbach et al 2012;Bösing et al 2014). According to Lin et al (2011) who categorized herbage allowances (kg DM kg −1 live weight), the values obtained in our study correspond to the classes 'heavy grazing' and 'very heavy grazing' during all seasons.…”

Section: Quantity and Quality Of Herbagementioning

confidence: 78%

“…In particular during spring and summer, the observed stocking rates were relatively high in both countries compared with similar regions in Inner Mongolia and Mongolia (Kawamura et al 2005;Lise et al 2006;Chen et al 2007;Sugita et al 2007;Glindemann et al 2009;Lkhagvadorj et al 2013a;Bösing et al 2014;Liao et al 2014a). Governmental regulation of animal numbers and duration of stay on pastures seemed to lower the stocking densities particularly in the Chinese Altay.…”

Section: Mobility Patternmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Nonetheless, the observed herbage offers were relatively low compared with studies in similar climatic contexts elsewhere (Sankey et al 2009;Behnke et al 2011;Sasaki et al 2012;Tao et al 2013), whereas the nutritive values were relatively high and constant throughout the studied years. Especially the latter observation is surprising, as in Central Asia the nutritive value of natural vegetation varies strongly with season and has been reported to be particularly low during winter and early spring (Yoshihara et al 2008;Glindemann et al 2009;Olson et al 2010;Sasaki et al 2012;Schönbach et al 2012;Bösing et al 2014;Ding et al 2014;Ma et al 2014;Müller et al 2014). It may therefore be concluded that the herd mobility patterns observed in the Altay-Dzungarian region is balanced for the seasonal variability in herbage quality (Yoshihara et al 2013).…”

Section: Quantity and Quality Of Herbagementioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

et al. 2016

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Due to increasing population and the recent implementation of policies to intensify the use of land and water resources, the transhumant pastoral systems in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay-Dzungarian region are rapidly changing, leading to modifications of herd size, herd composition and spatial distribution of livestock grazing. This may have major consequences for the supply and quality of rangeland biomass. Despite similar topographic settings, the socio-political framework for Chinese and Mongolian pastoralists differs significantly, leading to differences in rangeland utilization. To substantiate these claims, the long-distance transhumance routes, frequency of pasture changes, daily grazing itineraries and size of pastures were recorded by means of GPS tracking of cattle and goats on 1,535 (China) and 1,396 (Mongolia) observation days. The status quo of the main seasonal pastures was captured by measuring the herbage offer and its nutritive value in 869 sampling spots. In the Altay-Dzungarian region, small ruminant herds covered up to 412 km (Mongolia) and grazed on up to nine pastures per year (China). In Mongolia, the herds' average duration of stay at an individual pasture was longer than in China, particularly in spring and autumn. Herbage allowance at the onset of a grazing period (kg dry matter per sheep unit and day) ranged from 34/17 to 91/95 (China/Mongolia). Comparing crude protein and phosphorous concentrations of herbage, in China, the highest concentrations were measured for spring and summer pastures, whereas in Mongolia, the highest concentrations were determined for autumn and winter pastures. Based on our data, we conclude that regulation of animal numbers and access to pastures seemingly maintained pasture productivity in China, especially at high altitudes. However, this policy may prohibit flexible adaptation to sudden environmental constraints. In contrast, high stocking densities and grazing of pastures before flowering of herbaceous plants negatively affected rangeland productivity in Mongolia, especially for spring and summer pastures.

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Section: Quantity and Quality Of Herbagementioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Mobility Patternmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Quantity and Quality Of Herbagementioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

et al. 2016

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“…L. chinensis is a perennial rhizome grass that dominates in these steppe communities. The major soil types of this region are calcic chestnut and calcic chernozem (Bösing et al, 2014).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term effects of mowing on plasticity and allometry of Leymus chinensis in a temperate semi-arid grassland, China

Hou

Ren

et al. 2016

J. Arid Land

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Mowing is an important land management practice for natural semi-arid regions. A growing body of empirical evidence shows that different mowing regimes affect the functioning of grassland ecosystems. However, the responses of plant functional traits to long-term mowing and their allometric scaling under long-term mowing are poorly understood. For a better understanding of the effects of mowing on grassland ecosystems, we analyzed the allometric traits of leaves and stems of Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel., a dominant grass species in eastern Eurasian temperate grassland, at different mowing intensities (no clipping, clipping once every two years, once a year and twice a year). Experiments were conducted on plots established over a decade ago in a typical steppe of Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China. Results showed that most of the functional traits of L. chinensis decreased with the increased mowing intensity. The responses of leaves and stems to long-term mowing were asymmetric, in which leaf traits were more stable than stem traits. Also significant allometric relationships were found among most of the plant functional traits under the four mowing treatments. Sensitive traits of L. chinensis (e.g. leaf length and stem length) were primary indicators associated with aboveground biomass decline under high mowing intensity. In conclusion, the allometric growth of different functional traits of L. chinensis varies with different long-term mowing practices, which is likely to be a strategy used by the plant to adapt to the mowing disturbances.

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“…Bosing et al, 2014). As a solution to this, sheep production is gradually shifting from extensive to intensive management, with increased housing of ewes during pregnancy and lactation, and housing at increasing stocking density.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pen size and parity effects on maternal behaviour of Small-Tail Han sheep

Yang

Dwyer

et al. 2015

Animal

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The aim of this experiment was to study the effects of pen size and parity on maternal behaviour of twin-bearing Small-Tail Han ewes. A total of 24 ewes were allocated to a 2 × 2 design (six per pen), with parity (primiparous or multiparous) and pen size (large: 6.0 × 3.0 m; small: 6.0 × 1.5 m) as main effects at Linyi University, Shandong Province, China. Behaviour was observed from after parturition until weaning. All ewes were observed for 6 h every 5 days from 0700 to1000 h and from 1400 to 1700 h. Continuous focal animal sampling was used to quantify the duration of maternal behaviours: sucking, grooming and following as well as the frequency of udder accepting, udder refusing and low-pitched bleating. Oestradiol and cortisol concentrations in the faeces (collected in the morning every 5 days) were detected using EIA kits. All lambs were weighed 24 h after parturition and again at weaning at 35 days of age. The small pen size significantly reduced following ( P < 0.005), grooming ( P < 0.001) and suckling durations ( P < 0.05), as well as the frequency of udder refusals ( P < 0.001). However, there was a significant interaction with ewe parity, with decreased grooming and suckling in the small pen largely seen in the multiparous ewes ( P < 0.001). Independent of pen size, multiparous ewes accepted more sucking attempts by their lambs ( P < 0.05) and made more low-pitched bleats than primiparous ewes ( P < 0.001). Multiparous ewes had higher faecal oestradiol concentrations than primiparous ewes ( P < 0.001), and ewes in small pens had higher faecal cortisol levels compared with ewes in larger pens ( P < 0.001). As lambs increased in age, the duration of maternal grooming, following and suckling as well as frequency of udder acceptance and lowpitched bleating all declined, and the frequency of udder refusing increased ( P < 0.001 for all). Ewe parity, but not pen size, affected lamb weight gain during the period of observation ( P < 0.001). This is the first study to show that pen size, interacting with parity, can affect the expression of maternal behaviour in sheep during lactation. The study is also the first to report on the maternal behaviour of Chinese native sheep breeds (Small-Tail Han sheep), with implications for the production of sheep in China.

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Effect of concentrate supplementation on herbage intake and live weight gain of sheep grazing a semi-arid grassland steppe of North-Eastern Asia in response to different grazing management systems and intensities

Cited by 18 publications

References 29 publications

Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

Long-term effects of mowing on plasticity and allometry of Leymus chinensis in a temperate semi-arid grassland, China

Pen size and parity effects on maternal behaviour of Small-Tail Han sheep

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