Publication Date
1997
Description
The grazing effects of sheep and goats on vegetation dominated by heaths (Erica spp) and gorse (Ulex gallii) were studied for two years. Two plots were grazed from May to October 1992 by 7 ewes or 7 does and in the following year each plot was subdivided into two subplots subsequently grazed either by sheep or by goats in a factorial design. During the first grazing season both sheep and goats reduced similarly the cover percentage of shrubs since the herbaceous content was scarce, although goats reduced more the height of the shrubs than sheep. The cover of dead matter increased notably in both treatments due to the new gaps formed in the canopy. In the second year the different grazing behaviour of sheep and goats became apparent in the vegetation since the content of shrubs decreased and herbaceous species increased more in the goat than in the sheep grazed plots.
Included in
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Canopy Changes in Healthlands (Erica-Ulex) Grazed by Sheep or Goats
The grazing effects of sheep and goats on vegetation dominated by heaths (Erica spp) and gorse (Ulex gallii) were studied for two years. Two plots were grazed from May to October 1992 by 7 ewes or 7 does and in the following year each plot was subdivided into two subplots subsequently grazed either by sheep or by goats in a factorial design. During the first grazing season both sheep and goats reduced similarly the cover percentage of shrubs since the herbaceous content was scarce, although goats reduced more the height of the shrubs than sheep. The cover of dead matter increased notably in both treatments due to the new gaps formed in the canopy. In the second year the different grazing behaviour of sheep and goats became apparent in the vegetation since the content of shrubs decreased and herbaceous species increased more in the goat than in the sheep grazed plots.
