Theme 22: Grazing Management
Publication Date
2001
Location
Brazil
Description
A six-year study was conducted in a Mediterranean grassland in north-eastern Israel to investigate the effects of cattle grazing management on a perennial legume, Bitumen Trefoil (Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) Stirton). The relationship between grazing pressure and its relative plant cover was studied in the context of inter-annual variation in rainfall. Treatments included manipulations of stocking rates (moderate, heavy and very heavy) and of grazing regimes (continuous vs. seasonal), in a factorial design. The results showed that inter-seasonal rainfall variation was a dominant factor in the expression of plant cover changes of this species. Grazing showed no significant effect on plant cover of this species even under very heavy grazing pressure. The importance of this species as complementary forage at the end of the grazing season and its resistance to grazing is discussed within the framework of persistence of dominant species, despite wide variation in grazing regimes and climatic condition.
Citation
Gutman, M.; Sternberg, M.; and Perevoltsky, A., "Effects of Cattle Grazing on a Perennial Legume, Bitumen Trefoil (Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) Stirton), in a Mediterranean Grassland" (2001). IGC Proceedings (1985-2023). 53.
(URL: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/19/22/53)
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Effects of Cattle Grazing on a Perennial Legume, Bitumen Trefoil (Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) Stirton), in a Mediterranean Grassland
Brazil
A six-year study was conducted in a Mediterranean grassland in north-eastern Israel to investigate the effects of cattle grazing management on a perennial legume, Bitumen Trefoil (Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) Stirton). The relationship between grazing pressure and its relative plant cover was studied in the context of inter-annual variation in rainfall. Treatments included manipulations of stocking rates (moderate, heavy and very heavy) and of grazing regimes (continuous vs. seasonal), in a factorial design. The results showed that inter-seasonal rainfall variation was a dominant factor in the expression of plant cover changes of this species. Grazing showed no significant effect on plant cover of this species even under very heavy grazing pressure. The importance of this species as complementary forage at the end of the grazing season and its resistance to grazing is discussed within the framework of persistence of dominant species, despite wide variation in grazing regimes and climatic condition.
