Track 2-04: Animal-Plant Interactions
Description
The continuous use of the livestock fields of the Middle Valley of Río Negro, North Patagonia, Argentina, combined with adverse weather conditions that occur periodically, have contributed to the degradation of rangelands. The historical annual average rainfall regime in the Valle Medio of Río Negro is 303 mm but between 2002 and 2011, the average deficit was 33%. According to the Rural Society of Choele Choel, due to the decreased forage on offer, the existence of cattle in 2011 dropped to 85,000 animals, representing 50% of the normal amount for the area. During these critical times of drought, when grasslands decrease in quantity and quality, shrubs are supposed to contribute to the diet of cattle in this area.
Knowledge of the diet of grazing animals is important in developing management standards that allow the proper use of natural grasslands. The utilization of epidermal characteristics to identify plant components in esophageal, ruminal, or fecal samples is a widespread technique used to study diet composition of free-ranging herbivores (Holechek et al. 1982, Bóo et al. 1993, Lindström et al. 1998).
Our study was designed to evaluate cow's diet from spring (September 2011) to early summer (January 2012), a particularly difficult period for breeders, in a plot of a field in this area of north Patagonia, Argentina.
Citation
Schmale, E.; Lindström, L. I.; and Klich, M. G., "Microhistological Analysis of Cows' Diet during a Severe Drought in the Semi Arid Region of North Patagonia (Argentina)" (2020). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 11.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/22/2-4/11
Included in
Microhistological Analysis of Cows' Diet during a Severe Drought in the Semi Arid Region of North Patagonia (Argentina)
The continuous use of the livestock fields of the Middle Valley of Río Negro, North Patagonia, Argentina, combined with adverse weather conditions that occur periodically, have contributed to the degradation of rangelands. The historical annual average rainfall regime in the Valle Medio of Río Negro is 303 mm but between 2002 and 2011, the average deficit was 33%. According to the Rural Society of Choele Choel, due to the decreased forage on offer, the existence of cattle in 2011 dropped to 85,000 animals, representing 50% of the normal amount for the area. During these critical times of drought, when grasslands decrease in quantity and quality, shrubs are supposed to contribute to the diet of cattle in this area.
Knowledge of the diet of grazing animals is important in developing management standards that allow the proper use of natural grasslands. The utilization of epidermal characteristics to identify plant components in esophageal, ruminal, or fecal samples is a widespread technique used to study diet composition of free-ranging herbivores (Holechek et al. 1982, Bóo et al. 1993, Lindström et al. 1998).
Our study was designed to evaluate cow's diet from spring (September 2011) to early summer (January 2012), a particularly difficult period for breeders, in a plot of a field in this area of north Patagonia, Argentina.
