Influence of grazing pressure on forage quality and intake by sheep grazing smooth bromegrass
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Authors: H. G. Jung, and T. Sahlu
Date: 1989
Journal: Journal of Animal Science
Volume: 67
Number:
Pages: 2089-2097
Summary of Methods: Jung and Sahlu determined the effects of sheep grazing at two different stocking rates on available forage, forage quality, diet quality, and animal intake and weight gain. Forage quality declined over time in both pastures, but pastures grazed at the high stocking rate had less available green forage for sheep grazing. Due to the limited available forage, animal gains, forage intake and diet quality and digestibility was lower in pastures with high stocking rates. These results indicate that grazing smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis) pastures at higher stocking rates does not enhance forage production or quality and that the greater forage quality and availability on pastures with low stocking rates enhances diet quality and subsequent animal gains.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: stocking rate, diet quality, intake, selective grazing, animal gains, diet composition, smooth bromegrass, bromus inermis
Annotation: No location was given. Pastures were smooth bromegrass pastures. Stocking rates were 15 head/ha for the low stocking rate and 30 head/ha for the high stocking rate. Paddocks were separated by ungrazed buffer strips and mowed each April to a 5-cm stubble height. Thirty, .09-m2 quadrats were clipped at ground level in each paddock and all standing forage was collected from these quadrats.
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