Impact of Deferment on Grassland Condition and Diet Quality of Cattle under a Short-Duration Grazing System
Authors
Abstract
Rest and deferred rotation grazing treatments have proven to be effective tools that improve range condition, but little is known about their effect on range animal’s diets. The purpose of the present research was to evaluate the impact of deferment in a short-duration grazing on vegetation and diet quality of heifer in a context of a Puna grassland ecosystem of Peru. The study was conducted using a completely randomized design with two replications, where treatments resulted from the combination of two grazing systems (short duration grazing with and without deferment) evaluated over three years from 2016 to 2018. Forage yield (4.9 vs. 4.5 Ton/h DM/year) and range condition (55.5 vs. 50.7 %) improved with a deferment. Conversely, diet quality was negatively affected (P<0.05) as result of deferment as an evidenced by a lower in vitro digestibility of dry matter (IVDDM) (40.6 vs. 45.5 %), a higher Neutral Detergent Fiber content (NDF) (79.0 vs. 74.6 %) and also a lower Crude Protein content (CP) (10.0 vs. 11.4%). The results revealed that deferred grazing improves range condition and forage yield of Puna grasslands when managed under a short duration grazing scheme; however, at the cost of reducing the quality of the diet selected by heifers. When combined with short-duration grazing, deferment improved range condition and increased forage yield at the expense of diet quality, although, with no failure to meet the minimum recommended CP level for a bacteria ruminal function.
Keywords
References
Adema, E.O., Butti, L.R., Babinec, F.J. and Distel, R.A. 2016. Comparison between continuous grazing and rotational grazing of a rolled pasture in the center-west of the Province of La Pampa (In Spanish). Asociación Argentina de Producción Animal. Revista Argentina de Producción Animal. 36(1): 9-17.
Association of Official Agricultural Chemistry (AOAC). 2001. Official Methods of Analysis. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Gaithersburg, MD. USA Method 976.06.
Austin, D., Urnes, P. and Fierro, L. 1983. Spring Livestock grazing affect crested wheatgrass regrowth and winter use by Mule deer, Journal of Range Management. 36:589-593.
Briske, D.D., Bestelmeyer, B.T., Stringham, T.K. and Shaver, P.L. 2008. Recommendations for development of resilience-based state-and-transition models. Rangeland Ecology and Management 61: 359–367.
Cruz, J.A. 2008. Diet composition, forage intake and energy demand of Criollo x Brown Swiss cattle grazing high Andean elevation rangelands of Pasco Region, MS Thesis. Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. Lima - Peru
Da Trindade, J.K., Pinto, C.E., Neves, F.P., Mezzalira, J.C., Bremm, C., Genro, T.C.M., Tischler, M.R., Nabinger, C., Gonda, H.L. and Carvalho, P.C.F. 2012. Forage Allowance as a Target of Grazing Management: Implications on Grazing Time and Forage Searching. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 65(4), 382–393. doi:10.2111/rem-d-11-00204.1
Dong, Q.M., Zhao, X.Q., Wu, G.L., Shi, J.J. and Ren, G.H. 2013. A review of formation mechanism and restoration measures of “black-soil-type” degraded grassland in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Environ. Earth Sci., 70: 2359-2370.
Flores, E.R. 2016. Climate change: high Andean rangelands and food security. Rev. Glaciares Ecosist. Montana. 1, 73–80.
Florez, A. and Malpartida, E. 1987. Management of Native Grasslands and Cultivated Pastures in the High Andean Region of Peru, Volume I y II. Book Funds of the Banco Agraria, Lima, Perú.
Goering, H.K. and Van Soest, P.J. 1970. Forage fiber analyses (apparatus, reagents, procedures, and some applications). Agric. Handbook No. 379. ARS–USDA, Washington, DC.
Gutiérrez, H. and De la Vara, R. 2008. Analysis and design of experiments (In Spanish). Second Edition. Mc Graw Hill Interamericana.
Harker, K.W., Torell, D.T. and Van Dyne, G.M. 1964. Botanical examination of forage from esophageal fistulas in cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 23, 465–469.
Harper, K. and McNeill, D. 2015. The Role iNDF in the Regulation of Feed Intake and the Importance of Its Assessment in Subtropical Ruminant Systems (the Role of iNDF in the Regulation of Forage Intake). Agriculture, 5(3), 778-790. Doi: 10.3390/agriculture5030778
Herbel, C.H. 1983. Principles of intensive range improvements. Journal of range management. 36(2):140-144.
Josse, C., Cuesta, F., Navarro, G., Barrena, V., Cabrera, E., Chacón-Moreno, E., Ferreira, W., Peralvo, M., Saito, J. and Tovar, A. 2009. Ecosystems of the North and Central Andes. Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela (In Spanish). General Secretariat of the Andean Community. http://www.saber.ula.ve/handle/123456789/39336.
Kent, M. 2012. Vegetation description and data analysis. A practical approach. 2nd. Edition Wiley-Blackwell. 414 pp.
Kothmann, M.M. 1984. Concepts and principles underlying grazing systems: a discussion paper, p. 903-916. In: National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences. Developing strategies for rangeland management. Westview Press, Denver, CO.
Locke, J.C., French, J.T., Gonzalez, C.E., Harveson, L.A., Warnock, B.J. and Gray, S.S. 2021. The Effects of Continuous and Rotational Livestock Grazing on Forb Quality and Quantity: Implications for Pronghorn Habitat Management. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 77, 75–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2021.03.006
Martínez, R., Ruiz, D., Andrade, M., Blacutt, L., Pabón, D., Jaimes, E., León, G., Villacís, M., Quintana, J., Montealegre, E. and Euscátegui, C. 2011. Synthesis of the Climate of the Tropical Andes. In: Climate Change and Biodiversity in the Tropical Andes. Chapter 6. Pp: 97 – 109.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). 2021. Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle: Eighth Revised Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25806.
Olson, K.C., Rouse, G.B. and Malechek, J.C. 1989. Cattle nutrition and grazing behavior during short duration-grazing periods on crested wheatgrass range. Journal of Range Management 42(2): 153-158.
Quispe, C.E., Ñaupari, J.A., Distel, R.A. and Flores, E.R. 2021. Feeding selection of sheep and alpaca on Puna tussock rangelands grazed previously by cattle. Small Ruminant Research, 197, 106349. doi: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2021.106349
Rodríguez, N., Florez, A. and Malpartida, E. 1986. Determination of the nutritional value of the main species of natural pastures of the Central Sierra of Peru (In Spanish). Texas Tech Pasture and Forage Research in Peru. Volume III: 14-24.
SAS Institute. 2004. Statistical Analysis System SAS/STAT 9.2 User’s Guide. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC.
Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (SENAMHI). 2018. Total annual precipitation by department, 2000-2018 (In Spanish). Perú. https://www.senamhi.gob.pe/?p=descarga-datoshidrometeorológicos.
Tácuna, R.E., Aguirre, L. and Flores, E.R. 2021. Changes in vegetation structure and hydrological function in response to rest of rangeland (In Spanish). Ecol. apl. Vol. 20(2): 127-136. https://doi.org/10.21704/rea.v20i2.1803.
Teague, R. and Kreuter, U. 2020. Managing Grazing to Restore Soil Health, Ecosystem Function, and Ecosystem Services. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 4. doi:10.3389/fsufs.2020.534187.
Teague, R., Provenza, F., Kreuter, U., Steffens, T. and Barnes, M. 2013. Multi-paddock grazing on rangelands: Why the perceptual dichotomy between research results and rancher experience? Journal of Environmental Management, 128, 699–717. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.05.064.
Tilley, J.M. and Terry, R.A. 1963. A two-stage technique for the in vitro digestion of forage crops. Journal of British Grassland Society. 18: 104-111.
Van Uytvanck, J., Maes, D., Vandenhaute, D. and Hoffmann, M. 2008. Restoration of wood pasture on former agricultural land: the importance of safe sites and time gaps before grazing for tree seedlings. Biological Conservation. 141:78–88.
Ventura, O. 2003. Economic valuation of environmental goods and services of the high Andean grasslands in Peru-policies for sustainable management (In Spanish). Arequipa, Perú.
Verdoodt, A., Mureithi, S., Ye, L. and Van Ranst, E. 2009. Chrono sequence analysis of two enclosure management strategies in degraded rangeland of semiarid Kenya. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment. 129:332-339.
Waterman, R.C. and Vermeire, L.T. 2011. Grazing deferment effects on forage diet quality and ewe performance following summer rangeland fire. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 64(1): 18–27. doi:10.2111/rem-d-09-00146.1.
Wilson, J.R. 1994. Cell wall characteristics in relation of forage digestion in ruminants. Journal of Agriculture Science. 122(2): 173 – 182.
Yalli, T.B., Ñaupari, J.A. and Flores, E.R. 2020. Llama and cattle grazing effects on hydrological function in a high-elevation mountain rangeland. Arch. Zootec. 69 (267): 372-376. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21071/az.v69i267.5357.
Yayneshet, T., Eik, L.O. and Moe, S.R. 2009. The effects of exclosures in restoring degraded semi-arid vegetation in communal grazing lands in northern Ethiopia. J. Arid Environ. 73(4-5): 542–549. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2008.12.002.
Zarria, M.R. and Flores, E.R. 2016. An ecological site approach to select range improvement practices on Andean rangelands. In: 2016 Canada International Rangeland Congress. Saskatoon, Canada.
