What do domestic livestock eat in northern Patagonian rangelands?

Autores
Villagra, Edgar Sebastian; Pelliza, Alicia; Willems, Priscila Mabel; Siffredi, Guillermo Lorenzo; Bonvissuto, Griselda
Año de publicación
2013
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
The Patagonian rangelands are dominated by steppes interspersed with meadows (locally called mallines), which are small but permanently humid areas, characterised by high spring–summer quality and productivity of grasses and grasslikes. The region’s main economic activity is sheep ranching, either alone or mixed with goats and/or cattle, using horses as transportation animals. Overstocking has been signalled as one of the causes of rangeland degradation in this region. Knowledge of botanical composition of livestock diets provides valuable information helping in the design of management strategies to improve or maintain the forage resource. With this objective we studied the dietary botanical composition of domestic livestock on Patagonian ranches with and without mallines, at different seasons. It was found that the differences between diets of the same herbivore species on ranches with and without mallines were greater than the differences among the diets of the different herbivores species grazing in the same type of ranch. Grasses were the forage class most consumed by livestock in 76% of ranches without mallines and in 38% of the diets of ranches with them, with Stipa spp. being the main species consumed. Grass-like species were important in ranches with mallines, specially Juncus spp., and woody plants (Chuquiraga spp. as the most consumed) in ranches without mallines. Forbs hardly exceeded 10% in some spring diets of sheep, at both ranch types. Grasslikes constituted the major component of the spring and summer cattle diets, and constituted one-third of winter diets. For the rest of the herbivores studied, this forage class was important in spring–summer diets, but insignificant in the winter samples. Goats showed a greater use of the shrub in the less productive ranches and they were the most important consumers of shrubs on ranches with mallines during winter, which is the critical season of forage production. We conclude that the presence of mallines strongly condition the diet composition of the studied domestic herbivores. And, since the use of forage classes is different between these animal species, given a ranch type, the replacement of single-species grazing by mixed grazing can achieve the optimal possible use of the Patagonian rangelands.
Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche
Fil: Villagra, Edgar Sebastián. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina
Fil: Pelliza, Alicia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina
Fil: Willems, Priscila Mabel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina
Fil: Siffredi, Guillermo Lorenzo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Área de Recursos Naturales; Argentina
Fil: Bonvissuto, Griselda. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina
Fuente
Animal Production Science 53(4) : 360-367. (2013)
Materia
Pastizales
Pastures
Pastizal Natural
Natural Pastures
Nutrición Animal
Animal Nutrition
Livestock
Ganado
Región Patagónica
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso restringido
Condiciones de uso
Repositorio
INTA Digital (INTA)
Institución
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
OAI Identificador
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spelling What do domestic livestock eat in northern Patagonian rangelands?Villagra, Edgar SebastianPelliza, AliciaWillems, Priscila MabelSiffredi, Guillermo LorenzoBonvissuto, GriseldaPastizalesPasturesPastizal NaturalNatural PasturesNutrición AnimalAnimal NutritionLivestockGanadoRegión PatagónicaThe Patagonian rangelands are dominated by steppes interspersed with meadows (locally called mallines), which are small but permanently humid areas, characterised by high spring–summer quality and productivity of grasses and grasslikes. The region’s main economic activity is sheep ranching, either alone or mixed with goats and/or cattle, using horses as transportation animals. Overstocking has been signalled as one of the causes of rangeland degradation in this region. Knowledge of botanical composition of livestock diets provides valuable information helping in the design of management strategies to improve or maintain the forage resource. With this objective we studied the dietary botanical composition of domestic livestock on Patagonian ranches with and without mallines, at different seasons. It was found that the differences between diets of the same herbivore species on ranches with and without mallines were greater than the differences among the diets of the different herbivores species grazing in the same type of ranch. Grasses were the forage class most consumed by livestock in 76% of ranches without mallines and in 38% of the diets of ranches with them, with Stipa spp. being the main species consumed. Grass-like species were important in ranches with mallines, specially Juncus spp., and woody plants (Chuquiraga spp. as the most consumed) in ranches without mallines. Forbs hardly exceeded 10% in some spring diets of sheep, at both ranch types. Grasslikes constituted the major component of the spring and summer cattle diets, and constituted one-third of winter diets. For the rest of the herbivores studied, this forage class was important in spring–summer diets, but insignificant in the winter samples. Goats showed a greater use of the shrub in the less productive ranches and they were the most important consumers of shrubs on ranches with mallines during winter, which is the critical season of forage production. We conclude that the presence of mallines strongly condition the diet composition of the studied domestic herbivores. And, since the use of forage classes is different between these animal species, given a ranch type, the replacement of single-species grazing by mixed grazing can achieve the optimal possible use of the Patagonian rangelands.Estación Experimental Agropecuaria BarilocheFil: Villagra, Edgar Sebastián. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Pelliza, Alicia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Willems, Priscila Mabel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Siffredi, Guillermo Lorenzo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Área de Recursos Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Bonvissuto, Griselda. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; ArgentinaCSIRO Publishing2019-04-24T18:27:32Z2019-04-24T18:27:32Z2013-02info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/49711836-0939https://doi.org/10.1071/AN11283Animal Production Science 53(4) : 360-367. (2013)reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariaenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess2025-09-29T13:44:38Zoai:localhost:20.500.12123/4971instacron:INTAInstitucionalhttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/oai/requesttripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:l2025-09-29 13:44:39.032INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv What do domestic livestock eat in northern Patagonian rangelands?
title What do domestic livestock eat in northern Patagonian rangelands?
spellingShingle What do domestic livestock eat in northern Patagonian rangelands?
Villagra, Edgar Sebastian
Pastizales
Pastures
Pastizal Natural
Natural Pastures
Nutrición Animal
Animal Nutrition
Livestock
Ganado
Región Patagónica
title_short What do domestic livestock eat in northern Patagonian rangelands?
title_full What do domestic livestock eat in northern Patagonian rangelands?
title_fullStr What do domestic livestock eat in northern Patagonian rangelands?
title_full_unstemmed What do domestic livestock eat in northern Patagonian rangelands?
title_sort What do domestic livestock eat in northern Patagonian rangelands?
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Villagra, Edgar Sebastian
Pelliza, Alicia
Willems, Priscila Mabel
Siffredi, Guillermo Lorenzo
Bonvissuto, Griselda
author Villagra, Edgar Sebastian
author_facet Villagra, Edgar Sebastian
Pelliza, Alicia
Willems, Priscila Mabel
Siffredi, Guillermo Lorenzo
Bonvissuto, Griselda
author_role author
author2 Pelliza, Alicia
Willems, Priscila Mabel
Siffredi, Guillermo Lorenzo
Bonvissuto, Griselda
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Pastizales
Pastures
Pastizal Natural
Natural Pastures
Nutrición Animal
Animal Nutrition
Livestock
Ganado
Región Patagónica
topic Pastizales
Pastures
Pastizal Natural
Natural Pastures
Nutrición Animal
Animal Nutrition
Livestock
Ganado
Región Patagónica
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv The Patagonian rangelands are dominated by steppes interspersed with meadows (locally called mallines), which are small but permanently humid areas, characterised by high spring–summer quality and productivity of grasses and grasslikes. The region’s main economic activity is sheep ranching, either alone or mixed with goats and/or cattle, using horses as transportation animals. Overstocking has been signalled as one of the causes of rangeland degradation in this region. Knowledge of botanical composition of livestock diets provides valuable information helping in the design of management strategies to improve or maintain the forage resource. With this objective we studied the dietary botanical composition of domestic livestock on Patagonian ranches with and without mallines, at different seasons. It was found that the differences between diets of the same herbivore species on ranches with and without mallines were greater than the differences among the diets of the different herbivores species grazing in the same type of ranch. Grasses were the forage class most consumed by livestock in 76% of ranches without mallines and in 38% of the diets of ranches with them, with Stipa spp. being the main species consumed. Grass-like species were important in ranches with mallines, specially Juncus spp., and woody plants (Chuquiraga spp. as the most consumed) in ranches without mallines. Forbs hardly exceeded 10% in some spring diets of sheep, at both ranch types. Grasslikes constituted the major component of the spring and summer cattle diets, and constituted one-third of winter diets. For the rest of the herbivores studied, this forage class was important in spring–summer diets, but insignificant in the winter samples. Goats showed a greater use of the shrub in the less productive ranches and they were the most important consumers of shrubs on ranches with mallines during winter, which is the critical season of forage production. We conclude that the presence of mallines strongly condition the diet composition of the studied domestic herbivores. And, since the use of forage classes is different between these animal species, given a ranch type, the replacement of single-species grazing by mixed grazing can achieve the optimal possible use of the Patagonian rangelands.
Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche
Fil: Villagra, Edgar Sebastián. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina
Fil: Pelliza, Alicia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina
Fil: Willems, Priscila Mabel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina
Fil: Siffredi, Guillermo Lorenzo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Área de Recursos Naturales; Argentina
Fil: Bonvissuto, Griselda. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina
description The Patagonian rangelands are dominated by steppes interspersed with meadows (locally called mallines), which are small but permanently humid areas, characterised by high spring–summer quality and productivity of grasses and grasslikes. The region’s main economic activity is sheep ranching, either alone or mixed with goats and/or cattle, using horses as transportation animals. Overstocking has been signalled as one of the causes of rangeland degradation in this region. Knowledge of botanical composition of livestock diets provides valuable information helping in the design of management strategies to improve or maintain the forage resource. With this objective we studied the dietary botanical composition of domestic livestock on Patagonian ranches with and without mallines, at different seasons. It was found that the differences between diets of the same herbivore species on ranches with and without mallines were greater than the differences among the diets of the different herbivores species grazing in the same type of ranch. Grasses were the forage class most consumed by livestock in 76% of ranches without mallines and in 38% of the diets of ranches with them, with Stipa spp. being the main species consumed. Grass-like species were important in ranches with mallines, specially Juncus spp., and woody plants (Chuquiraga spp. as the most consumed) in ranches without mallines. Forbs hardly exceeded 10% in some spring diets of sheep, at both ranch types. Grasslikes constituted the major component of the spring and summer cattle diets, and constituted one-third of winter diets. For the rest of the herbivores studied, this forage class was important in spring–summer diets, but insignificant in the winter samples. Goats showed a greater use of the shrub in the less productive ranches and they were the most important consumers of shrubs on ranches with mallines during winter, which is the critical season of forage production. We conclude that the presence of mallines strongly condition the diet composition of the studied domestic herbivores. And, since the use of forage classes is different between these animal species, given a ranch type, the replacement of single-species grazing by mixed grazing can achieve the optimal possible use of the Patagonian rangelands.
publishDate 2013
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2013-02
2019-04-24T18:27:32Z
2019-04-24T18:27:32Z
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/4971
1836-0939
https://doi.org/10.1071/AN11283
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/4971
https://doi.org/10.1071/AN11283
identifier_str_mv 1836-0939
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
eu_rights_str_mv restrictedAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv CSIRO Publishing
publisher.none.fl_str_mv CSIRO Publishing
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Animal Production Science 53(4) : 360-367. (2013)
reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)
instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
reponame_str INTA Digital (INTA)
collection INTA Digital (INTA)
instname_str Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.name.fl_str_mv INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.mail.fl_str_mv tripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.ar
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