Herbivore diet in a semi-arid Eucalyptus populnea woodland. 1. Merino sheep

Harrington, GN

doi:10.1071/ea9860413

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Information is particularly lacking for cattle grazing the unimproved rangelands of northern Australia. Studies on diet selection by sheep (Wilson 1976;Lorimer 1978;Graetz and Wilson 1980;Harrington 1986;McMeniman et al 1986;Orr et al 1988) can provide additional information but extrapolation of diet selection from measurements with sheep to cattle may be misleading (Dudzinski and Arnold 1973;Wilson 1976;Squires 1980;Graetz and Wilson 1980).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faecal near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (F.NIRS) measurements of non-grass proportions in the diet of cattle grazing tropical rangelands

Coates¹,

Dixon²

2007

Rangel. J.

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Frequent faecal near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (F.NIRS) analyses of faeces from cattle grazing a range of tropical pastures were used to measure the non-grass component, and other aspects, of their diets. Seasonal profiles of non-grass and crude protein in the diet are presented for nine sites from the speargrass, Aristida–Bothriochloa, and Mitchell grass dominated pasture regions, and for three shrubland sites where browse was plentiful. In grass-dominated native pastures of the speargrass and Aristida–Bothriochloa pasture regions of Queensland where little browse was available, non-grass was usually only 5–15% of the diet. Diet non-grass was even lower for a buffel grass pasture. In uncleared eucalypt woodland in the speargrass region, browse may have contributed up to 20% of the diet in the late dry season when grasses were senesced. In regions with abundant browse (e.g. mulga lands and desert upland systems) cattle preferentially selected actively growing grasses and forbs when they were available. With diminishing availability or declining quality of the forbs and grass due to grazing selection and dry conditions, browse increasingly contributed to intake. In Mitchell grass dominated pastures forbs often comprised more than 50% of the diet, and there appeared to be strong selection for forbs during the dry season. Where browse was available in association with Mitchell grass dominated pastures, it appeared to contribute to intake only in the late dry season. Dry season sampling in monsoonal tallgrass and Mitchell grass dominated pastures indicated dietary crude protein to be linearly correlated with diet non-grass, demonstrating the importance of non-grass in the prevention or alleviation of dry season protein deficiency in cattle. Changes in diet selected by cattle in relation to season and rainfall were generally in accord with the previous limited information, largely with sheep, in comparable vegetation systems. The results demonstrate the value of F.NIRS technology to assist understanding of diet selection by grazing cattle in northern Australia.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faecal near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (F.NIRS) measurements of non-grass proportions in the diet of cattle grazing tropical rangelands

Coates¹,

Dixon²

2007

Rangel. J.

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“…1986), usually in dry, more or less open habitats (Tutin et al 1980). These grasses have low palatability when flowering (Harrington 1986), but nevertheless, may provide useful fodder in arid regions (Beadle 1981;Vickery etal. 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ingress ofStipa neesianaTrin. … Rupr. into swards ofLolium perenneL.,Dactylis glomerataL. andPhalaris aquaticaL., on a dry, low-fertility soil in Marlborough as affected by fertiliser and 2,2-DPA

Bourdôt

Hurrell

1989

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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& Rupe.). In the absence of fertiliser or 2,2-DPA, S. neesiana increased to dominance in the ryegrass sward over the three years, remained constant in the cocksfoot, and declined as a proportion of the phalaris sward. The cocksfoot contribution remained constant, but the contributions of both ryegrass and phalaris declined in theirrespecti ve swards. Fertiliser induced temporal stability in the swards in respect of the proportional contributions of S. neesiana and sown grasses, and overall, reduced the growth and seeding of S. neesiana. Annual doses of 2,2-DPA reduced the growth and seeding of S. neesiana by a greater amount than fertiliser, but also reduced the growth of the cocks foot. The results suggest that the invasion of perennial ryegrass pastures near Lake Grassmere by S. neesiana can be attributed to the interaction of low soil fertility and the divergent adaptive strategies of the two species. Improvement of soil fertility or selective control of invading seedlings with low doses of 2,2-DPA are possible solutions in new perennial ryegrass pastures.

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“…The most preferred forages of Merino sheep are fresh and green annual grasses and ephemeral forbs. When these are available, they are eaten in large quantities Mulham 1966a, 1966b;Leigh and Mulham 1967;Robards et al 1967;Leigh et al 1968;McMeniman et al 1986;Wilson et al 1969;Dawson et al 1975;Ellis et al 1977;Loremer 1978;Wilson 1979;Graetz and Wilson 1980;Downing 1986;Harrington 1986a;Wilson 1991aWilson , 1991bDawson and Ellis 1994;Edwards et al 1995).…”

Section: Sheepmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When annual grasses and ephemeral forbs are dry or unavailable, sheep consume large amounts of perennial grasses if these are green (Leigh and Mulham 1966b;Robards et al 1967;Leigh et al 1968;McMeniman et al 1986;Storr 1968;Ellis 1976;Ellis et al 1977;Loremer 1978;Wilson 1979;Graetz and Wilson 1980;Squires 1980Squires , 1982Harrington 1986a;Ellis 1994, 1996;Edwards et al 1995).…”

Section: Sheepmentioning

confidence: 99%

Macropods, feral goats, sheep and cattle. 2. Equivalency in what and where they eat

Pahl¹

2019

Rangel. J.

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The extent to which sheep, cattle, feral goats, red kangaroos, western grey kangaroos, euros and eastern grey kangaroos are equivalent in their use of the Australian southern rangelands is partly dependent on the extent to which their diets and foraging areas overlap. These herbivores all eat large amounts of green annual grasses, ephemeral forbs and the green leaf of perennial grasses when they are available. Overlap in use of these forages by all seven herbivores is concurrent and high. As the abundance of these preferred forages declines, sheep, cattle and feral goats consume increasing amounts of mature perennial grasses and chenopod and non-chenopod perennial forbs. Red kangaroos and western grey kangaroos continue to graze mature perennial grasses longer than sheep, cattle and feral goats, and only switch to perennial forbs when the quantity and quality of perennial grasses are poor. Consequently, overlap in use of perennial forbs by sheep, cattle, feral goats, red kangaroos and western grey kangaroos is sequential and moderately high. When palatable perennial forbs are eaten out, the diets of all herbivores except feral goats comprise predominantly dry perennial grass, and overlap is again concurrent and high. In comparison, feral goats have higher preferences for the browse of a wide range of shrubs and trees, and switch to these much earlier than the other herbivores. When perennial grasses and perennial forbs become scarce, sheep, feral goats and cattle browse large shrubs and trees, and overlap is sequential and high. If climatic conditions remain dry, then red and western grey kangaroos will also browse large shrubs and trees, but overlap between them, sheep, cattle and goats is sequential and low. In contrast to the other herbivores, the diets of euros and eastern grey kangaroos are comprised predominantly of perennial grasses, regardless of climatic conditions. As for diet composition, concurrent overlap in foraging distributions of sheep, cattle, feral goats and the four species of macropods is often low. However, over periods of several months to two or three years, as climatic conditions change, overlap in foraging distributions is sequential and high. While equivalency in what and where these herbivores eat is not quantifiable, it appears to be high overall. This is particularly so for perennial grass, which is the dominant forage for herbivores in the southern rangelands.

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Herbivore diet in a semi-arid Eucalyptus populnea woodland. 1. Merino sheep

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

Faecal near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (F.NIRS) measurements of non-grass proportions in the diet of cattle grazing tropical rangelands

Faecal near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (F.NIRS) measurements of non-grass proportions in the diet of cattle grazing tropical rangelands

Ingress ofStipa neesianaTrin. … Rupr. into swards ofLolium perenneL.,Dactylis glomerataL. andPhalaris aquaticaL., on a dry, low-fertility soil in Marlborough as affected by fertiliser and 2,2-DPA

Macropods, feral goats, sheep and cattle. 2. Equivalency in what and where they eat

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