Temporal variations of herbage production and nutritive value of three grasslands at different elevation zones regarding grazing needs and welfare of ruminants

Abstract

Interannual and monthly variations of herbage production and nutritive value regarding grazing ruminants' needs and welfare were evaluated in three grasslands (semi-mountainous, mountainous and sub-alpine) located at different altitudes (480–900, 901–1500 and 1501–2334 m, respectively) in northern Greece during 2015–2016. Herbage biomass was collected from 30 experimental cages (10 per grassland), weighed, dried at 65 ∘C, milled and analyzed for crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), lignin, calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) content and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD). The sub-alpine grassland was the most productive (1031 and 1231 kg DM ha-normal1) with the highest mean annual herbage CP content (93 and 87 g kg-normal1 dry matter; DM) for 2015 and 2016, respectively. CP content was sufficient to meet small ruminants' and beef cattle maintenance requirements until April and May in the semi-mountainous and mountainous grasslands, respectively, while it could cover the above requirements in the sub-alpine grassland until June and August, respectively. The herbage Ca concentration was higher than the grazing ruminants' needs, while the phosphorus concentration was insufficient. Protein and phosphorus supplementation should be provided to animals to cover their maintenance requirements during the whole period and to reach high levels of welfare. Even though grazing is considered as a welfare-friendly procedure, it is uncertain whether all the welfare principals are satisfied in extensive production systems due to variations of forage availability and nutritive value as well as the lack of infrastructure in grasslands.

Effect of Long-Term Experimental Warming on the Nutritional Quality of Alpine Meadows in the Northern Tibet

“…The content of CP (8.37%-17.59%) in this study was greater than the CP requirement for livestock maintenance (7%-9.5%) (Soussana and Luscher, 2007;Roukos et al, 2011;Koidou et al, 2019). The content of NDF (32.93% -58.42%) in this study was lower than the upper limit of dietary intake (60%-65%) for most animals (Roukos et al, 2011;Samuil et al, 2018).…”

Proximity patterns in water buffaloes' activities on pasture

“…Darker colored and bigger square boxes in the panels correspond to higher strength of correlation. Asterisks ( * * ) indicate the statistically significant level of association at P < 0.01. of grazing is considered a more welfare-friendly system for animals (Koidou et al, 2019), and hence the social character of grazing could lead to better communication among water buffaloes, resulting in the improvement of their welfare and their ability to implement optimal foraging strategies. Furthermore, during the foraging process, the animals' opportunities for establishing an important position in the herd seemed to be independent of age and gender.…”

The effects of first defoliation and previous management intensity on forage quality of a semi-natural species-rich grassland

“…Further, there have been few studies of changes in forage quality in relation to ageing of swards during the vegetation season [ 8 – 11 ]. Generally, fibre contents (acid detergent fibre (ADF) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF)) show a progressive increase but in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations (’dilution effect’) generally decrease with ageing of the forage during the vegetation season [ 6 , 11 – 13 ]. Forage in the early part of the growing season (or in new regrowth) usually has high digestibility values but low herbage yields; in contrast, with increasing maturity and net accumulation, biomass yields increase but there is also an increase in cell wall content and a decline in digestibility [ 6 ].…”

“…Where grassland is managed for conservation objectives within an agri-environmental programme, continual sampling of the grassland herbage during the vegetation season is necessary to determine the optimum range of dates for forage harvesting or grazing periods. However, very few such studies have been done [ 13 ]. Several studies have evaluated the forage quality of semi-natural low-production grasslands [ 10 , 11 , 13 , 15 ], but these have not dealt with forage maturation during the vegetation season in relation to management intensity.…”

“…However, very few such studies have been done [ 13 ]. Several studies have evaluated the forage quality of semi-natural low-production grasslands [ 10 , 11 , 13 , 15 ], but these have not dealt with forage maturation during the vegetation season in relation to management intensity.…”