Grazing-induced cattle behaviour modulates the secondary production in a Eurasian steppe ecosystem
Hou L. Xin X. Sun H. Tao Y. Chen J. Yan R. Zhang X. Shen B. Altome A.I.A. Hamed Y.M.Z. Wang X. Nurlan S. Adilbek N. Balzhan A. Kussainova M. Amarjargal A. Fang W. Pulatov A.
1 September 2023Elsevier B.V.
Science of the Total Environment
2023#889
Livestock-grassland interactions are among the most important relationships in grazed grassland ecosystems, where herbivores play a crucial role in plant community and ecosystem functions. However, previous studies primarily have focused on the responses of grasslands to grazing, with few focussing on the effects of livestock behaviour that in turn would influence livestock intake and primary and secondary productivity. Through a 2-year grazing intensity experiment with cattle in Eurasian steppe ecosystem, global positioning system (GPS) collars were used to monitor animal movements, where animal locations were recorded at 10-min intervals during the growing season. We used a random forest model and the K-means method to classify animal behaviour and quantified the spatiotemporal movements of the animals. Grazing intensity appeared to be the predominant driver for cattle behaviour. Foraging time, distance travelled, and utilization area ratio (UAR) all increased with grazing intensity. The distance travelled was positively correlated with foraging time, yielding a decreased daily liveweight gain (LWG) except at light grazing. Cattle UAR showed a seasonal pattern and reached the maximum value in August. In addition, the canopy height, above-ground biomass, carbon content, crude protein, and energy content of plants all affected cattle behaviour. Grazing intensity and the resulting change in above-ground biomass and forage quality jointly determined the spatiotemporal characteristics of livestock behaviour. Increased grazing intensity limited forage resources and promoted intraspecific competition of livestock, which induced longer travelling distance and foraging time, and more even spatial distribution when seeking habitat, which ultimately led to a reduction in LWG. In contrast, under light grazing where there were sufficient forage resources, livestock exhibited higher LWG with less foraging time, shorter travelling distance, and more specialized habitat occupation. These findings support the Optimal Foraging Theory and the Ideal Free Distribution model, which may have important implications for grassland ecosystem management and sustainability.
Behaviour , Cattle , Grassland , Grazing intensity , Optimal foraging theory , Spatiotemporal pattern
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National Hulunbuir Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China
Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Centre for Computational Biology and Evolution, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824, MI, United States
College of Geographical Sciences, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot, China
Agricultural Research Corporation, Wad Madani, Sudan
S. Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical University, Astana, Kazakhstan
LLP “Scientific and Production Center of Grain Farming Named after A.I. Barayev”, Kazakhstan
Sustainable Agriculture Center, Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
University of the Humanities, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Department of Biology, Pace University, New York, 10038, NY, United States
EcoGIS Center, National Research University “Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers” (NRU-TIIAME), Tashkent, 100000, Uzbekistan
National Hulunbuir Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station
Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology
Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology
Department of Geography
College of Geographical Sciences
Agricultural Research Corporation
S. Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical University
LLP “Scientific and Production Center of Grain Farming Named after A.I. Barayev”
Sustainable Agriculture Center
University of the Humanities
Department of Biology
EcoGIS Center
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