mashaallah mohammadpour; Mohammadreza Tatian; Reza Tamartash; Jafar Hoseinzadeh
Volume 28, Issue 1 , April 2021, , Pages 34-54
Abstract
Rangelands beneath the forests of Dalab in the northwest of Ilam are grazed from May to November. To investigate the grazing behavior and determine the dependence of livestock on forage resources, three goats and three Kurdish sheep were randomly selected from three herds in the ...
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Rangelands beneath the forests of Dalab in the northwest of Ilam are grazed from May to November. To investigate the grazing behavior and determine the dependence of livestock on forage resources, three goats and three Kurdish sheep were randomly selected from three herds in the area, and by installing a GPS device on them, information on the distance and movement time of livestock were recorded every month. Maps of geological formation, slope, altitude, land use, and landform were prepared, and monthly GPS information was combined with the maps. The evaluation of forage production was carried out in 27 plots of forest floor and 25 samples of trees and shrubs. The results showed that the goat had an average daily mobility of 7.7 km and a distance of 2.6 km for grazing; but these figures for sheep are 7.8 and 1.9 km, respectively. It was also found that goats were more present in the altitude of 1400 to 1500 m and sheep in the elevation of 1300 to 1400 m. Livestock were more prone to grazing on the forest floor, and they preferred slopes of less than 30%, hill form, and Pabdeh geological formation. Comparison of grazing, moving, and stopping times showed no difference between the types of grazing in terms of grazing behavior, but there were differences between the types of activity (movement, stopping, and grazing) in different months. Examination of the grazing behavior of the livestock using video recording revealed that the livestock spent about 33 to 36 minutes on grazing, three to five minutes on stopping, and 12 to 14 minutes on grazing without movement. Finally, it was found that about 50% of the relative forage production was from forest floor grasses, 34% forest trees, and 10% sub-forest farms; therefore, livestock ration dependence on forest floor grasses is about 61 %, forest trees 25 %, and forest floor farms 7 %.
Mohammad Fayaz; Seyed Hamid Habibian; Hasan Yeganeh; Anvar Sanaie; Mohammadjavad Mahdavi
Volume 26, Issue 1 , June 2019, , Pages 174-186
Abstract
The knowledge of livestock grazing behavior is one of the effective factors in rangeland management. This research was carried out in order to recognize the sheep grazing behavior in the rangelands of Cheshmeh Anjir, Fars province, during the years 2007-2010.The indicators assessed ...
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The knowledge of livestock grazing behavior is one of the effective factors in rangeland management. This research was carried out in order to recognize the sheep grazing behavior in the rangelands of Cheshmeh Anjir, Fars province, during the years 2007-2010.The indicators assessed in this research included the daily distance traveled by livestock, average livestock movement, speed, and the time spent grazing. To determine these parameters, a GPS device was used and attached on the back of a 4- year old ewe using a special belt. Thus, after the start of grazing in the rangeland, the GPS was activated and then its data were extracted using mode track in ILWIS software at the end of the day. Data analysis was done in a completely randomized block design method using SAS software. The results of the study years showed that the average livestock movement speed and the daily distance traveled by livestock were significant at 1% and 5% levels, respectively; however, the time spent grazing did not show significant differences. Also, the results of study months showed that the average livestock movement speed was significant at 5% level and the daily distance traveled by livestock and the time spent grazing were not significant. According to the results, August 2008 with the mean value of 4 m/s and June 2009 with the mean value of 29 m/s had the lowest and highest average livestock movement speed, respectively; however, June 2009 with the mean value of 4.2 m/s and August 2008 with the mean value of 15.4 m/s had the lowest and highest distance traveled by livestock, respectively. The knowledge of mentioned factors will help rangeland management to determine the appropriate time for livestock moving and will increase livestock performance.
Mohammadamin Soltanipour; Saeedeh Nateghi; Mohammad Fayaz
Volume 25, Issue 3 , November 2018, , Pages 612-626
Abstract
This research was aimed to determine the grazing behavior of Tali goat, as the dominant livestock, in the Zaminsang rangelands of Hormozgan province for four years starting from 2006. The indices examined in this study included the time of livestock entry to and exit from rangelands, the daily distance ...
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This research was aimed to determine the grazing behavior of Tali goat, as the dominant livestock, in the Zaminsang rangelands of Hormozgan province for four years starting from 2006. The indices examined in this study included the time of livestock entry to and exit from rangelands, the daily distance moved by the livestock, the livestock path, maximum and average livestock speed, and the time spent for livestock rest, movement and grazing. To determine the mentioned indices, the GARMIN GPS was used and closed with a special belt behind a three-year-old goat. The GPS was activated when the livestock exited the barn. Then, at the end of the day, its data were extracted in the Ilwis software. The path of livestock movement was determined by the shepherds. According to the results, significant differences were found for the average speed of livestock in the fourth year, and the movement time and rest time in the fourth and fifth months, while no significant difference was found for other behavioral characteristics of livestock grazing. Moreover, during the study period, 31 to 39 percent of the time the livestock moved in the rangeland was dedicated to grazing.
Hasan Ghelichnia
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, , Pages 280-290
Abstract
Rangelands consist of different plant species with different vegetative and phenological characteristics that have a certain grazing value. Accordingly, livestock reveals particular grazing behavior. Without knowing these behaviors, range and livestock planning and management is not feasible. To understand ...
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Rangelands consist of different plant species with different vegetative and phenological characteristics that have a certain grazing value. Accordingly, livestock reveals particular grazing behavior. Without knowing these behaviors, range and livestock planning and management is not feasible. To understand the livestock behavior, The Niak site was selected in the mountain rangelands of Mazandaran in the Plour region. Livestock grazing behavior such as the distance traveled daily, the speed of the livestock, the time spent moving, resting and grazing were investigated using GPS. The study period was from 2007 to 2010. The results showed that livestock grazing behavior was different in different months of the season. Livestock grazing behavior showed no significant differences in different years. The maximum livestock movement (min) was recorded in slope class of 15- 30% and the lowest in slope class more than 60%. On average, the distance traveled by livestock in the first, second and third month of the grazing season was calculated to be 14.84 km, 13.30 km, and 12.38 km, respectively.
Sedighe Zarekia; Parvaneh Ashouri; Mohammad Fayaz; Mahmood Goudarzi; Niloofar Zare
Volume 21, Issue 4 , March 2015, , Pages 676-684
Abstract
Livestock is one of the components of rangeland ecosystems. Different grazing behaviors would be observed according to the climatic conditions, the type of livestock and vegetation. Knowledge of livestock grazing behavior on rangelands could be useful in the planning and utilization of rangelands. For ...
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Livestock is one of the components of rangeland ecosystems. Different grazing behaviors would be observed according to the climatic conditions, the type of livestock and vegetation. Knowledge of livestock grazing behavior on rangelands could be useful in the planning and utilization of rangelands. For this purpose, in this study, the grazing behavior of sheep in the steppe rangeland of Saveh was investigated. Initially, a three-year-old ewe was selected, then, using a geographic positioning system (GPS), the path of movement, the time of arrival and departure of livestock, time of rest and movement speed were recorded. Data were entered into the GIS and statistically analyzed using two-way analysis of variance. Results showed that, except for the livestock average speed, there was no significant difference among the measured parameters of grazing behavior during the four years of study. The time spent for movement and rest in different months of the grazing seasonshowed significant differences, while the length of the grazing path had no significant difference during different months. The highest time spent for movement and rest was attributed to May, although the grazing distance in May was not significantly different from other months, indicating the presence of more and better forage for grazing in this month. The lowest average speed of livestock was recorded in May. The most covered distance by sheep occurred in slope gradient ranging from 0 to 8% with dominant cover of Artemisia sieberi and Salsola laricina. Generally, it could be concluded that livestock grazing behavior and rangeland management could be better evaluated using GPS technology and GIS.
Mohammad Fayaz; Hasan Yeganeh; Mirtaher Ghaemi; Hosein Piri Sahragard; Mehdi Moameri
Volume 21, Issue 3 , December 2014, , Pages 482-493
Abstract
Knowledge of preference value of rangeland species during the grazing period is essential for range management and planning. The purpose of this study was to investigate the preference value of plant species grazed by crossbreed cows during the grazing period in Tezkharab Rangeland of West Azerbaijan ...
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Knowledge of preference value of rangeland species during the grazing period is essential for range management and planning. The purpose of this study was to investigate the preference value of plant species grazed by crossbreed cows during the grazing period in Tezkharab Rangeland of West Azerbaijan Province using species selection index. The data required were collected over six months of grazing season for four years to calculate the species selection index. According to the obtained results, the effects of species, grazing time and their interaction were significant on species preference value. Maximum and minimum preference values were recorded for Aeluropus littoralis (1.48, class I) and Halocenumum strobilaceum (0.14, class III), respectively. The preference value changes of the studied species were constant during the months of grazing season as well as the years. Overall, available forage of halophytes in saline rangelands of Urmia could be estimated using the data of preference value.
Ghader Karimi; Hasan Yeghaneh; Mehdi Moameri; Mahmoud Goudarzi
Volume 21, Issue 2 , August 2014, , Pages 295-306
Abstract
In order to understanding of the grazing cycle and grazing behavior at different slopes of Kordan rangelands, the grazing behavior of Fashandy breed sheep was investigated for four years. Parameters examined in this study included daily distance traveled by livestock, livestock path in the ...
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In order to understanding of the grazing cycle and grazing behavior at different slopes of Kordan rangelands, the grazing behavior of Fashandy breed sheep was investigated for four years. Parameters examined in this study included daily distance traveled by livestock, livestock path in the rangeland considering the slope, livestock speed (mean, maximum and minimum) and the time spent for livestock rest and movement per day. To determine the parameters, Garmin GPS was used on the back of a 4-year-old ewe using a special belt. After livestock exit from the fold, GPS was active and at the end of the day all recorded data were extracted by Mod-track in Ilwis software. The livestock path was determined by shepherd. Results showed that during the first month of grazing season and when vegetation was more, the distance traveled by livestock was less than that of other months. In addition, the maximum and minimum distances traveled by livestock were obtained at slopes of 30-60% and less than 15%, respectively. According to the results of grazing behavior during the months of grazing season, maximum and minimum livestock speed were recorded in July and in May and June, respectively. Therefore, the grazing program in similar areas could be managed at different slopes using the obtained results in this study.
Mostafa Zare; Mohammad Fayaz; Gholamreza Goudarzi; Ali Farmahini
Volume 21, Issue 2 , August 2014, , Pages 329-335
Abstract
Temporal and spatial factors have different effects on grazing behavior so that different temporal parameters including the speed and distance walked by livestock are among the factors that can serve as an important tool in grazing management. This research was conducted in Anjedan, a semi-steppe ...
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Temporal and spatial factors have different effects on grazing behavior so that different temporal parameters including the speed and distance walked by livestock are among the factors that can serve as an important tool in grazing management. This research was conducted in Anjedan, a semi-steppe region in Arak province, in different months of grazing season (five months) during 2007-2010. To determine the parameters, a GPS, attached to the livestock, was used in a certain day of each month of grazing season. The speed of livestock movement, the length of distance walked by livestock, and the time spent for grazing, rest and movement were recorded. The data were analyzed in a completely randomized design and the means were compared using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. According to the obtained results, the speed of livestock movement, the length of distance walked by livestock and the time spent for rest and movement showed significant difference during the studied years as well as in the months of grazing season. The time spent for grazing did not show significant difference in different years; however a significant difference at 5% level of probability was recorded in different months. More grazing, movement and rest and less distance walked by livestock were recorded when the environmental and climatic conditions were appropriate for the growth of range species especially annuals.