Theme 07: Foraging Strategy
Description
Spatial distribution of herbage mass (HM) was monitored two-dimensionally during the grazing season (from May to November) in a bahiagrass pasture rotationally grazed by cattle. An electronic capacitance probe was used to estimate HM in 1464 permanent positions (50 × 50 cm) whose centres formed 1.5 × 1.5 m grids in the central 90 × 34.5 m area of the pasture. The highest mean HM was in September and October, while coefficient of variation in November. The two-dimensional charting of HM showed almost stable spatial patterns throughout the grazing season, with some patches of high HM appearing and disappearing. The development of new patches was considered to be partly due to the avoidance of areas affected by newly deposited dung pats, and the extinction of patches to the grazing down of areas where dung pats were disappearing or had disappeared. It was concluded that the technique is useful for monitoring the spatial pattern of HM, herbage production and consumption, and for associating the consumption with ingestive behavior of grazing animals.
Included in
Two-Dimensional Monitoring of Spatial Distribution of Herbage Mass under Grazing
Spatial distribution of herbage mass (HM) was monitored two-dimensionally during the grazing season (from May to November) in a bahiagrass pasture rotationally grazed by cattle. An electronic capacitance probe was used to estimate HM in 1464 permanent positions (50 × 50 cm) whose centres formed 1.5 × 1.5 m grids in the central 90 × 34.5 m area of the pasture. The highest mean HM was in September and October, while coefficient of variation in November. The two-dimensional charting of HM showed almost stable spatial patterns throughout the grazing season, with some patches of high HM appearing and disappearing. The development of new patches was considered to be partly due to the avoidance of areas affected by newly deposited dung pats, and the extinction of patches to the grazing down of areas where dung pats were disappearing or had disappeared. It was concluded that the technique is useful for monitoring the spatial pattern of HM, herbage production and consumption, and for associating the consumption with ingestive behavior of grazing animals.
