Dynamics of the Horizontal Distribution of Herbage Mass in a Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) Pasture with Grazing by Cattle

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  • HIRATA Masahiko
    Grassland and Animal Production Division, Faculty of Agriculture, Miyazaki University
  • FUKUYAMA Kiichi
    Sumiyoshi Livestock Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Miyazaki University

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  • バヒアグラス(Paspalum notatum Flugge)草地における草量の水平分布の牛放牧に伴う動態
  • Dynamics of the Horizontal Distribution

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Abstract

As a first step toward clarifying "How much herbage and from what herbage mass places in a pasture do grazing animals consume?", the dynamics of the horizontal distribution of herbage mass with grazing was analyzed in terms of (a) the relationship between the pre- and post-grazing herbage masses, and (b) the relationship between the change in herbage mass with grazing and the pre-grazing herbage mass. The distribution of herbage mass was measured with an electronic capacitance probe along fixed transects in a bahiagrass pasture, before and after grazing with beef cattle. It was inferred that the cattle grazed the pasture on a basic principle, with some modification of the manner in response to the mean pre-grazing herbage mass. The basic principle was that the cattle consumed more herbage from places with greater pre-grazing herbage mass to an extent that the places still maintained greater herbage mass after grazing. The modification of the manner was that the cattle selected the places with high herbage mass more strongly as the mean pre-grazing herbage mass of the pasture decreased.

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