A comparison of the welfare of free-ranging native pony herds on common land with those used for conservation grazing in the UK.

Free-ranging native Dartmoor and Exmoor ponies have not only held strong cultural and environmental significance for thousands of years within their respective national parks, but their environmental benefits and naturally selected characteristics have also been acknowledged and harnessed for conservation grazing and rewilding programmes. Despite a wealth of literature regarding the welfare of sports, leisure and working horses, there is little information concerning the welfare of free-ranging and extensively grazing ponies. The present study compared the welfare of native Exmoor and Dartmoor ponies grazing on the moors in their respective national parks (n = 47) with those that have been translocated to other areas of the UK for use in conservation grazing and rewilding programmes (n = 29) using a specifically designed observational welfare assessment protocol for free-ranging ponies. The results showed a significant difference between common land and conservation grazing ponies in the scores for Body Condition Score, Water Quality and Availability, Environmental Hazards, Human Disturbance, Skin and Coat Condition and the Human Approach Test. Despite no evidence of significant welfare compromise being identified, this study emphasises the importance of year-round monitoring of welfare and the feasibility of the observational welfare protocol to be used by pony keepers and grazing managers in the future.

Dairy goat performance in two grazing regimes: silvopastoral rangeland or abandoned agricultural land, and two supplementation treatments in central Mexico.

Twenty Saanen third parturition dairy goats were used in an on-farm 2 × 2 factorial arrangement that ran for 12 weeks, with two grazing regimes and two concentrate types. The grazing regimes evaluated were an extensive silvopastoral native rangeland (SPR) and grazing in an abandoned agricultural land (AAL). Grazing happened between 9:00 and 17:00 h. The two types of concentrate supplement were a high protein concentrate (HP = 180 g CP/kg DM and 13 MJ ME/kg DM) or high energy concentrate (HE = 110  g CP/kg DM and 14.3 MJ ME/kg DM). Goats were milked once a day, providing 250 g of concentrate supplement per goat and day. Animal variables were fat and protein corrected milk yield recorded every day, and milk composition determined for two consecutive days at the end of each experimental week. Flora in the experimental paddocks was characerised and sampled, including grasses, shrubs, trees, legumes and cacti. The data was analysed with the R software using a mixed model with day nested in period as random effect and goat as repeated measure. The SPR had greater (P = 0.002) fat and protein corrected milk yield than AAL, with no differences between concentrate type and no interaction (P > 0.05). There was an interaction (P < 0.01) between grazing regime and concentrate type for fat content in milk, where a reduction in fat content was notorious in the SPR regime. Protein content of milk was greater (P < 0.01) in SPR with no significant effects of concentrate type or the interaction. The number of plant species in SPR was greater. The native silvopastoral system supplemented with the high energy concentrate was the strategy with higher milk yield, and protein and milk fat content, although the interaction between grazing regime and supplement was significant only for milk fat content.

Use of Fecal Indices as a Non-Invasive Tool for Ruminal Activity Evaluation in Extensive Grazing Sheep.

For a simple, non-invasive evaluation of nutritional status of sheep kept under extensive grazing conditions on annual rangeland, fecal indices (2,6 diaminopimelic acid, nitrogen, and phosphorus) obtained during the vegetative, reproductive, and dry grassland phenological stages, were correlated with ruminal physiological biomarkers (volatile fatty acids and ruminal ammonia). Through correlation analysis and linear regressions, the degree of association between the variables studied was established. The fecal indices that presented the highest degree of association with ruminal variables were FN and FP, being highly correlated with the production of branched-chain volatile fatty acids (isobutyrate and isovalerate) and with ruminal ammonia (r ≥ 0.65), establishing simple linear regression equations of high significance (p ≤ 0.05). Therefore, fecal indices, especially fecal concentrations of N and P, could reflect the metabolism at the ruminal level and with it the availability of compounds for microbial growth, which would help to establish the nutritional status of sheep herds under extensive grazing conditions.

Extensive sheep grazing is associated with trends in steppe birds in Spain: recommendations for the Common Agricultural Policy.

Iberian natural steppes have traditionally been used for extensive sheep grazing, which has been noted to be positively associated with steppe bird abundance and diversity. Sheep numbers in Spain, which harbors the largest European populations of many steppe bird species, decreased by 9.2 million (37.3%) between 1992 and 2020. Steppe birds in Spain have faced dramatic declines during the same period, but there is a lack of knowledge about the potential association between sheep and open-habitat bird declines. We used sheep data from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and bird data (1998-2018) from the Spanish Common Bird Monitoring Program to assess the association at the Spanish scale between sheep decline and the Farmland Bird Index (FBI) and the Natural Shrub-steppe Bird Index (SBI). We also used an independent dataset on population trends of the Dupont's Lark (Chersophilus duponti) to assess the relationship between sheep numbers and the decline of this threatened steppe specialist passerine in Spain, whose European population is restricted to Iberian natural steppes. To test for a spurious relationship between temporal series, variables were tested for cointegration. After confirming cointegration, we found a strong positive relationship between sheep abundance and the trends of the FBI and SBI indices during the period 1998-2018. The association between sheep abundance and trends of the Dupont's Lark (2004-2015) was positive although it was not statistically significant. Although the main causes of decline of farmland and steppe birds are mainly related to agricultural intensification and land use changes, the correlation found, using two independent cointegrated datasets, between the reduction in farmland and shrub-steppe birds and sheep numbers at the country scale suggests that the decline of steppe birds in Spain may be also associated with the decline in sheep numbers. This agrees with previous studies that found a positive relationship between intermediate levels of sheep grazing and steppe bird abundance in Iberian steppes. Further research (e.g. experimental studies) is needed to corroborate our study and identify the most appropriate level of grazing intensity for protecting the most farmland and shrub-steppe birds. Our results suggest that the promotion of extensive grazing should be considered as a key factor in future Common Agricultural Policy reforms and conservation programmes to protect steppe birds.

Short communication: To what extent do environmental or technological conditions affect the sensory differentiation of raw ewe milk cheeses produced in valley or mountain farms?

This work discusses the extent to which differences in technological or environmental conditions affect the sensory properties of cheeses made in mountain or valley farms. The work is focused on Idiazabal cheese, frequently made with lamb rennet paste and with milk from sheep flocks managed under extensive grazing systems. Fourteen sensory attributes were assessed, and free fatty acid content and rennet lipase activity were analyzed in cheeses from mountain and valley farms. Sensory differences between cheeses were mainly dependent on the type and amount of rennet used for cheesemaking, particularly on the level of rennet lipase activity. The sensory attributes did not appear to be influenced by pasture type, grazing practices, or environmental conditions associated with farm location. Rennet lipase activity was responsible for the high scores of strong sensory attributes such as pungent mouthfeel, and these attributes masked the potential sensory differences that could be found due to farm location.

Enteric methane emissions of grazing short-horn zebu weaner bulls vary with estimation method and level of crude protein supplementation.

Low nutrient intake of short-horn zebu (SHZ) cattle raised under extensive grazing systems results in delayed attainment of mature market weights and consequently increased methane production over time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of providing grazing SHZ weaner bulls with a supplement varying in crude protein on methane emission using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 2 and a modified Tier 3 approaches. Weaner bulls were allocated to four treatments: grazing only (GZ), grazing plus a supplement containing either 90 (GZS_90), 110 (GZS_110), or 130 g CP/kg DM (GZS_130). Across treatments, monthly CH4 emissions increased with time. Based on the IPCC Tier 2 method, the highest CH4 production from cattle was estimated from weaner bulls on GZ, while the Tier 3 estimated the highest CH4 production to be from cattle on GZS_130. Although the Tier 2 approach showed no significant difference between treatments, the Tier 3 showed that weaner bulls raised under GZS_130 had the highest production of methane as percentage of gross energy intake. Irrespective of method, weaner bulls on GZ produced more (P < 0.001) CH4 per kilogram live weight gain than supplemented cattle. Compared with Tier 3, the Tier 2 estimated 22.9% higher CH4 per kilogram live weight gain for weaner bulls on GZ. These data suggest that supplementing SHZ weaner bulls with a supplement containing110 g CP/kg DM reduces methane emission per kilogram of live weight gain by 30.7%.

Use of Fecal Indices as a Non-Invasive Tool for Nutritional Evaluation in Extensive-Grazing Sheep.

The aim of the present study was to assess the reliability of fecal indices as predictors of nutrient intake in sheep under extensive grazing conditions. Fecal concentrations of 2,6-diaminopimelic acid (DAPAf), nitrogen (FN) and phosphorous (FP) were determined in four sheep kept in an extensive grazing system on annual Mediterranean grassland in the vegetative, reproductive and dry phenological stages. Metabolizable energy (MEI), crude protein (CPI) and phosphorus (PI) intake were calculated using the botanical composition, metabolizable energy, crude protein and phosphorus concentrations in each vegetal species making up the animal's diet. Significant differences were observed in the nutrient intake for each phenological stage (p < 0.0001). The highest MEI, CPI and PI were observed during the vegetative stage (p < 0.0001). FN and FP were different in each phenological stage (p < 0.0001), with significant correlations observed between these variables (r = 0.916; p < 0.0001). Regressions among nutrient intake and fecal indices were significant, except in the cases of DAPAf and MEI, and DAPAf and CPI. Based on these results, fecal indices could be used to estimate nutrient intake in sheep under extensive grazing on annual Mediterranean grassland.

The truth is in the isotopes: Authenticating regionally unique South African lamb.

Stable isotope ratios (13C/12C and 15N/14N) of South African lambs from different regions were measured by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Homogenised and defatted meat of the Longissimus lumborum muscle was assessed. The Rûens and Hantam Karoo regions had the lowest (P≤0.05) δ13C values related to the presence of C3 plants (lucerne and Karoo bushes, respectively). The Northern Karoo, Namibia and Bushmanland had the highest δ13C values likely due to a high proportion of dietary C4 grass species. The δ15N values were highest for Central Karoo, Semi-extensive, Namibia and Hantam Karoo, while Rûens and Feedlot had the lowest nitrogen isotope values (P≤0.05). Classification of origin (Karoo vs. Non-Karoo) using discriminant analysis allowed 95% and 90% correct classification of the samples for the estimation model and validation models, respectively. The results confirm that IRMS provides sufficient discriminative power to classify lamb meat of varying origin.

The effect of animal grazing on vegetation and soil and element cycling in nature.

Appropriate level of bio-components in blood plasma of animals is associated with their concentration in soil and in green fodder. Cycling of elements in nature and their adequate level in animal organisms result in proper functioning of an organism as a whole (Khan et al. 68:279-284, 2007). Therefore, it is important to analyse soil and green fodder for these components. If some deficits are found, it is important to supplement components responsible for e.g. proper growth and development of a young organism, proper reproduction and, consequently, good quality of obtained product, which may affect human health (Minzanova et al. 134:524-533, 2015). The aim of the presented study was to demonstrate the effect of extensive grazing by sheep on vegetation and soil and to analyse the cycling of some elements important for animal health. The effects of vegetation season on the concentration of potassium in soil and differences in the concentration of some elements in soil, green fodder and animal blood were demonstrated.

Proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) for the authentication of regionally unique South African lamb.

The volatile fingerprints of South African lamb meat and fat were measured by proton-transfer mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) to evaluate it as an authentication tool. Meat and fat of the Longissimus lumborum (LL) of lambs from six different regions were assessed. Analysis showed that the volatile fingerprints were affected by the origin of the meat. The classification of the origin of the lamb was achieved by examining the calculated and recorded fingerprints in combination with chemometrics. Four different partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models were fitted to the data to classify lamb meat and fat samples into "region of origin" (six different regions) and "origin" (Karoo vs. Non-Karoo). The estimation models classified samples 100% correctly. Validation of the first two models gave 42% (fat) and 58% (meat) correct classification of region, while the second two models performed better with 92% (fat) and 83% (meat) correct classification of origin.

High Stocking Density Controls Phillyrea Angustifolia in Mediterranean Grasslands.

Extensive grazing applied in the form of low instantaneous pressure over a long period is a widespread management practice in protected areas. However this kind of stocking method does not always achieve the expected results, in particular because it fails to limit colonization by woody plants.This is the case in the relict xero-halophytic grasslands of the northern Mediterranean coastal region, subjected to widespread colonization by the shrub Phillyrea angustifolia despite the presence of extensive grazing. In this study, we investigated, for an equal annual stocking rate, the respective impact of high stocking density applied over a short period (mob grazing) and low stocking density applied over a long period on both P. angustifolia and herbaceous cover, using an in situ experimental design run for 7 years. Only mob grazing was effective both in controlling the establishment and increasing the mortality of P. angustifolia individuals. We did not find any difference after the 7 years of experimentation between the two stocking methods with regard to the herbaceous community parameters tested: species richness, diversity, evenness, contribution of annual characteristic species. By contrast, the exclusion of domestic grazing led to a strong reduction of these values.The use of mob grazing may be well suited for meeting conservation goals such as maintaining open habitats in these grasslands.

Pastoralism in Europe: characteristics and challenges of highland-lowland transhumance.

Transhumant pastoralism remains a prevalent form of land use across Europe, especially in mountain areas. Besides generating food and other products, it provides a range of public goods and services that are often highly valued by broader society. But transhumance faces structural challenges associated with life in remote mountain areas, including economic pressures, lack of services, low prestige, and ageing populations. These threaten its future. The decline of transhumant systems leads to ecological, economic, and socio-cultural losses, e.g. the loss of biodiversity, of shared cultural heritage based on pastoral practices, and of common property institutions. There are a number of activities that will help to ensure the future of European transhumance, including: i) raising awareness of the public services it provides, ii) better integrating pastoral issues into national agricultural policies, and iii) increasing support for so-called high nature value (HNV) farmlands, which often feature extensive grazing.

Le pastoralisme transhumant constitue encore aujourd'hui une modalité courante d'utilisation des terres en Europe, particulièrement dans les régions montagneuses. Outre les denrées alimentaires et autres produits directs, le pastoralisme est créateur d'une panoplie de services et de biens publics auxquels la société accorde souvent une grande valeur. Mais la transhumance est également confrontée aux difficultés structurelles inhérentes à la vie dans les régions montagneuses isolées, en particulier la pression économique, la pénurie de services, le manque d'attractivité et le vieillissement de la population. L'avenir du pastoralisme s'en trouve menacé. Le déclin des systèmes de transhumance entraîne des pertes écologiques, économiques et socioculturelles, notamment en termes de biodiversité, de patrimoine culturel commun fondé sur les pratiques pastorales et d'institutions collectives. Quelques mesures pourraient contribuer à préserver l'avenir de la transhumance en Europe : i) faire prendre conscience des services que la transhumance rend à la société ; ii) intégrer davantage les problématiques du pastoralisme dans les politiques agricoles nationales ; iii) renforcer le soutien accordé aux systèmes agricoles dits à haute valeur naturelle, dont le pâturage extensif fait partie.

El pastoreo trashumante sigue siendo una forma común de utilización de la tierra en toda Europa, especialmente en las zonas montañosas. Además de generar productos alimentarios y de otra índole, la trashumancia aporta una serie de bienes y servicios públicos a los que la sociedad en general suele conceder gran valor. La trashumancia, sin embargo, afronta problemas estructurales ligados a la vida en zonas montañosas aisladas, tales como las presiones económicas, la falta de servicios, el escaso prestigio de esta actividad o el envejecimiento de las poblaciones que la ejercen. Todo ello amenaza su futuro. El declive de los sistemas trashumantes trae consigo pérdidas ecológicas, económicas y socioculturales, por ejemplo el empobrecimiento de la diversidad biológica, el de un patrimonio cultural común basado en los usos pastorales y el de las instituciones de propiedad colectiva. Entre las diversas actividades que ayudarán a asegurar un porvenir a la trashumancia europea, los autores destacan las siguientes: i) sensibilización con respecto a los servicios públicos que presta; ii) mayor integración de los asuntos relativos al pastoreo en las políticas agrícolas nacionales; y iii) mayor apoyo a las llamadas tierras agrícolas de gran valor natural (high nature value: HNV), que a menudo albergan pastizales extensivos.

Using Different Grazing Practices for Increasing Plant Biodiversity in the Dykes and Embankments Along the Rhône River (Southern France).

Extensive grazing by domestic herbivores is a widespread management practice used since the 80s in many European agro-ecosystems such as semi-natural grasslands to maintain open habitats and to enhance biodiversity. Such grazing systems have principally been tested in cultural ecosystems of high nature value threatened by grazing abandonment. However, there have been few case studies of grazing management in very anthropized ecosystems, such as the new ecosystems created by urban or industrial conversions. In Southern France, the Rhône channeling for navigation and electricity production generated in the 1950s the construction of thousands of hectares of dams and dykes which were colonized naturally by diverse plant communities. Yet shrub encroachment and the consequent recourse to mechanical cutting to facilitate control and maintenance, raise the question of how best to maintain and manage these new habitats. Consequently, since 1999, different low-intensity grazing management systems using rustic breeds of cattle, horses and goats have been tested on a protected reserve of 1454 ha located in the lower part of the Rhône river. Extensive grazing, more than cutting or no management, positively modified vegetation heterogeneity (beta-diversity), the target open grassland species, but not plant species richness (alpha-diversity). However, the current monitoring shows that these benefits of grazing will be confirmed only if low-intensity grazing systems are sustained and if new adaptations can be also made, such as the use of mixed stocking and the establishment of multiyear contracts with breeders.

Effects of climate change on the delivery of soil-mediated ecosystem services within the primary sector in temperate ecosystems: a review and New Zealand case study.

Future human well-being under climate change depends on the ongoing delivery of food, fibre and wood from the land-based primary sector. The ability to deliver these provisioning services depends on soil-based ecosystem services (e.g. carbon, nutrient and water cycling and storage), yet we lack an in-depth understanding of the likely response of soil-based ecosystem services to climate change. We review the current knowledge on this topic for temperate ecosystems, focusing on mechanisms that are likely to underpin differences in climate change responses between four primary sector systems: cropping, intensive grazing, extensive grazing and plantation forestry. We then illustrate how our findings can be applied to assess service delivery under climate change in a specific region, using New Zealand as an example system. Differences in the climate change responses of carbon and nutrient-related services between systems will largely be driven by whether they are reliant on externally added or internally cycled nutrients, the extent to which plant communities could influence responses, and variation in vulnerability to erosion. The ability of soils to regulate water under climate change will mostly be driven by changes in rainfall, but can be influenced by different primary sector systems' vulnerability to soil water repellency and differences in evapotranspiration rates. These changes in regulating services resulted in different potentials for increased biomass production across systems, with intensively managed systems being the most likely to benefit from climate change. Quantitative prediction of net effects of climate change on soil ecosystem services remains a challenge, in part due to knowledge gaps, but also due to the complex interactions between different aspects of climate change. Despite this challenge, it is critical to gain the information required to make such predictions as robust as possible given the fundamental role of soils in supporting human well-being.

Assessing optimal configurations of multi-paddock grazing strategies in tallgrass prairie using a simulation model.

Maintaining or enhancing the productive capacity and resilience of rangeland ecosystems is critical for the continued support of livelihoods and the ecosystem services that benefit society at large. While the benefits of multi-paddock grazing management have been evident for many years in many countries, it is extremely difficult if not impossible to adequately assess the consequences of the different combinations of management options possible when using multi-paddock management under constantly varying conditions on rangelands. To investigate grazing scenarios that would be impractical to conduct in the field we developed a simulation model to focus on addressing the impacts of different cattle grazing management options with multi-paddock management on ecological condition (EC) and profitability. Cattle ranching options are simulated over 25 years periods under varying levels of multi-paddock grazing management complexity at low to moderate stocking levels and fixed or variable stocking rates. We examine the likely ecological and economic effects of shortening grazing periods, lengthening recovery periods, using fixed versus adaptive operational decisions and increasing the number of paddocks in the grazing configuration. At initial stocking levels of up to at 70% of forage standing crop, both EC and profitability are increased with increasing number of paddocks. Shorter periods of grazing increase both EC and profitability while increasing recovery periods increases both EC and profitability initially but profitability decreases if recovery periods are too long. Both EC and profitability are positively related to number of paddocks used.

Nutrient sufficiency in beef cows grazing on a dwarf bamboo-dominated forestland pasture in Japan.

The nutritional status of cows grazing on a 120-ha public alpine forestland pasture dominated by the dwarf bamboo Sasa senanensis located in central Japan was evaluated over the course of 2 years. Data were collected during grazing seasons in three periods: early (June), mid- (August) and late (late September-early October) periods. During these periods, the number of experimental Japanese Black cows varied between three and six. With the exception of the dry matter (DM) intake in 2005 and the crude protein (CP) digestibility in 2006, the DM and CP intake and digestibility were lower in the mid- and late periods than in the early period for both years (P < 0.05). Metabolizable energy intake was slightly insufficient for the requirement of the cows in the late period of 2005; in the mid- and late periods of 2006, the metabolizable energy intake was 0.4 to 0.5 times the requirement. These results suggest that the energy intake of cows grazing on forestland pasture dominated by S. senanensis would not satisfy their requirements starting in the mid-period (August) grazing, even though the pasture had abundant herbage resources during these periods.