The food habits of goats on rangelands with different amounts of fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens) cover
2012; Elsevier BV; Volume: 84; Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.03.012
ISSN1095-922X
AutoresMiguel Mellado, A. García-Rodriguez, Eloy A. Lozano, Jeiczon Jaimes-Dueñez, Cristóbal N. Aguilar, J. R. Arévalo,
Tópico(s)Pasture and Agricultural Systems
ResumoEsophageally fistulated goats were released in a microphyll desert scrub habitat with 14.6% or 46.2% aerial cover of Atriplex canescens (induced by removal of all shrubs except A. canescens, with livestock grazing exclusion for 10 years) to determine the seasonal forage species selected by the goats. The shrub removal strongly influenced the goats' feeding habits. The goats grazing the Atriplex-dominated site consumed 4.5 times more A. canescens than the goats on the untreated (control) pasture during all seasons. Shrubs were used heavily during all seasons by goats in both pastures, with higher percentages (75.5–82.8%) in the diets of goats grazing the control pasture than in the diets of goats grazing the Atriplex-dominated area (62.5–68.5%). No differences were found between seasons. The goats in the Atriplex-dominated pasture ate more grass than the goats grazing the control area and used more perennial graminoids during the summer (15.0%) and spring (18.3%) than the goats on the control area (6.0–7.0%). Forbs were an important component of diets. It was concluded that the successful revegetation of the treated pasture affected the goats' feeding strategy, with an increase in the use of A. canescens, forbs and grasses in all seasons.
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