Effects of traditional salt placement and strategically placed mineral mix supplements on cattle distribution in the Western Italian Alps

Pittarello, Marco; Probo, Massimiliano; Lonati, Michele; Bailey, Derek W.; Lombardi, Giampiero

doi:10.1111/gfs.12196

Cited by 28 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The role of grazing in preserving and improving grassland ecosystems has been widely studied (Adler, Raff, & Laurenroth, ; Collins, Knapp, Briggs, Blair, & Steinauer, ; Li et al., ; Sebastià, De Bello, Puig, & Taull, ). Livestock management influences plant species composition (Olff & Ritchie, ), nutrient redistribution (Dai, ; Gaujour, Amiaud, Mignolet, & Plantureux, ; Lonati, Probo, Gorlier, & Lombardi, ; Malo & Suarez, ), biomass removal (Borer et al., ) and soil and plant species cover through grazing, trampling, excreta deposition and seed transportation (Pittarello, Probo, Lonati, Bailey, & Lombardi, ; Pittarello, Probo, Lonati, & Lombardi, ; Probo, Pittarello, Lonati, & Lombardi, ). Hence, it can modify intra‐specific and inter‐specific competition dynamics among plant species, often favouring meso‐eutrophic species dominance within regularly grazed grasslands (Nervo et al., ; Niu, He, & Lechowicz, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 5‐year rotational grazing changes the botanical composition of sub‐alpine and alpine grasslands

Perotti

Probo

Pittarello

et al. 2018

Applied Vegetation Science

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Aim:The implementation of Grazing Management Plans (GMP), a specific policy and management tool, aimed at enhancing farm productivity while preserving plant diversity, soil and landscape. The GMP are based on rotational grazing systems (RGS) with animal stocking rate adjusted to balance grassland carrying capacity. The aim was to test the 5-year effects produced by GMP implementation on botanical composition, plant diversity and soil nutrient content on sub-alpine and alpine pastures. Location: Val Troncea Natural Park, western Italian Alps. Methods: A total of 199 vegetation transects was carried out in summer 2011 and repeated in summer 2016. The botanical composition was recorded and plant diversity indices, i.e. species richness and Shannon diversity (H′ index), were computed. Mean soil nutrient content was indirectly estimated through computation of Landolt N indicator value (N index) for each transect. Pair-sample statistical tests and PERMANOVA were perfomed at different levels: on the whole vegetation dataset, on vegetation communities (i.e. vegetation types and ecological groups) and considering functional pools of species. Results: Considering the whole vegetation dataset, species richness, H′ index and N index significantly increased from 2011 to 2016. Moreover, species richness significantly increased in almost all vegetation ecological groups, with the highest increase within the mesotrophic group. The H′ index significantly increased in eutrophic, preforest and thermic groups, while the N index increased in all vegetation groups, except in the eutrophic and snow-bed groups. A significant difference in botanical composition was detected within oligotrophic, mesotrophic and thermic groups. The number and cover of N-poor high-elevation species increased in all groups and this result might be related to effects produced by livestock, which promoted seed transport and increased connectivity amongst different communities. The meso-eutrophic species number and cover significantly increased within thermic, mesotrophic and pre-forest groups, suggesting greater use of such areas by livestock under RGS than under continuous grazing. Conclusions:The implementation of RGS with stocking rate adjustments proved to be an effective and a sustainable management tool to enhance botanical composition and plant diversity of sub-alpine and alpine grasslands over a 5-year span. | Applied Vegetation SciencePEROTTI ET al.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 5‐year rotational grazing changes the botanical composition of sub‐alpine and alpine grasslands

Perotti

Probo

Pittarello

et al. 2018

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…Within permanent mountain pastures, optimal livestock pressure for biodiversity conservation can be achieved by using specific pastoral practices (Pittarello et al, 2016a;Pittarello et al, 2016b) and/or by adjusting the number of grazing animals, the area available for grazing, the grazing schedule and system (e.g. rotational or continuous grazing; Farruggia et al, 2014;Probo et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A biodiversity-friendly rotational grazing system enhancing flower-visiting insect assemblages while maintaining animal and grassland productivity

Enri

Probo

Farruggia

et al. 2017

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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Highlights1. Biodiversity-friendly rotational grazing (BR) was applied using cattle and sheep 2. The BR increased the flower cover of the vegetation community 3. Butterfly and bumblebee abundance and diversity increased under BR as did cattle 4. Ground beetles were not affected by grazer species or BR 5. Herbage mass and animal performances were comparable with continuous grazing AbstractGrazing management is an important tool to preserve insect biodiversity. Although literature has discussed the importance of grazing pressure adjustment to support grassland insect communities for the ecosystem services they provide, little has been published on the economic sustainability of such management adjustments to date. This study compared continuous grazing (CG) to an innovative rotational grazing system (the biodiversity-friendly rotation -BR), where a subplot was excluded from grazing for two months during the main flowering period. The effects of grazing two different species (cattle and sheep) within both systems were also evaluated. The aims were to assess the effects on butterfly, bumblebee, and ground beetle assemblages, along with the impact on herbage mass and animal performance. The BR enhanced both the abundance and species richness of flower-visiting insect assemblages and it was observed that cattle provided better results than sheep grazing. A multivariate redundancy analysis highlighted that most of the flower-visiting species (including almost all the endangered and locally rare species) were favoured by BR-cattle treatment, mainly due to the high percentage of flower cover and sward heterogeneity involved in this treatment. However, grazing Page 3 of 29 system and grazer species did not affect ground beetle species richness or abundance. Moreover, herbage mass and animal performance (live weight and body condition score) were comparable between CG and BR throughout the grazing season. The BR could be a useful management system to enhance grassland flower-visiting insect assemblages whilst meeting farm production objectives, especially in protected environments where insect conservation is a major target.

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“…Moreover, Grazing Management Plan can account for the integration of RGS with supplementary pastoral practices (i.e. strategic placement of drinking troughs and mineral mix supplements, arrangement of temporary night camp areas, etc..), which can additionally improve grazing distribution, botanical composition, vegetation structure, and forage quality (Probo et al 2013;Pittarello et al 2016a;Probo et al 2016). A research conducted in the same study area (Perotti et al 2018) demonstrated that RGS increased the average soil nutrient content of the whole pasture over a five-year span.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing Management Plans improve pasture selection by cattle and forage quality in sub-alpine and alpine grasslands

et al. 2019

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Over the last decades, the reduction of manpower for herd management has led to an increase of continuous grazing systems (CGS) in the Italian Alps, which allow cattle to roam freely. Under CGS, due to high selectivity, livestock exploit grasslands unevenly, over-and under-using specific areas at the same time with negative effects on their conservation. To counteract these effects, a specific policy and management tool (i.e. Grazing Management Plan) has been implemented by Piedmont Region since 2010. The Grazing Management Plans are based on the implementation of rotational grazing systems (RGS), with animal stocking rate adjusted to balance it with grassland carrying capacity. A case study was conducted on alpine summer pastures to test the 5-year effects produced by the implementation of a Grazing Management Plan in grasslands formerly managed under several years of CGS on 1) the selection for different vegetation communities by cattle, 2) the abundance of oligo-, meso-, and eutrophic plant species (defined according to Landolt N indicator value), and 3) forage yield, quality, and palatability. A total of 193 vegetation surveys were carried out in 2011 and repeated in 2016. Cows were tracked yearly with Global Positioning System collars to assess their grazing selectivity, and forage Pastoral Value (PV) was computed to evaluate forage yield, quality, and palatability. Five years after RGS implementation, cow selectivity significantly decreased and the preference for the different vegetation communities was more balanced than under CGS. The abundance of meso-and eutrophic species increased, whereas oligotrophic ones decreased. Moreover, the abundance of moderately to highly palatable plant species increased, whereas non-palatable plant species decreased, with a consequent significant enhancement of the PV. Our findings indicate that the implementation of Grazing Management Plans can be considered a sustainable and effective management tool for improving pasture selection by cattle and forage quality in mountain pastures.

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Effects of traditional salt placement and strategically placed mineral mix supplements on cattle distribution in the Western Italian Alps

Cited by 28 publications

References 37 publications

A 5‐year rotational grazing changes the botanical composition of sub‐alpine and alpine grasslands

A 5‐year rotational grazing changes the botanical composition of sub‐alpine and alpine grasslands

A biodiversity-friendly rotational grazing system enhancing flower-visiting insect assemblages while maintaining animal and grassland productivity

Grazing Management Plans improve pasture selection by cattle and forage quality in sub-alpine and alpine grasslands

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