Grazing animals explore different forage resources to satisfy their daily nutrient needs, following specific spatial and temporal patterns throughout the year. In this study four different flocks of ...sheep and goats (two of each species) were selected to record their spatial location with a handheld GPS during spring, summer and winter. At the same time, three animals in each flock were followed to study their grazing activities by direct observation. These data with the time information and a detailed land use map were manipulated in a GIS to assign animal activities to different forage resources. Sheep and goats were travelling long distances (7.5 km and 9.0 km, respectively) to satisfy their nutritional needs throughout the year. They were found to graze in two main forage resources, rangelands (grasslands, shrublands and forest ranges) and agricultural land (fallow land, stubble fields and temporary pastures). Both grazer species spent significantly less time (P≤ 0.05) feeding in rangelands (38.9% & 18.1%) than in agricultural land (63.6% & 53.4%) during spring and summer. It appears that a heterogeneous landscape is necessary for supporting extensive farming systems of small ruminants since rangelands and agricultural land complement each other in providing forage throughout the year.
Pašne živali se hranijo z različnimi krmnimi rastlinami, da zadostijo svojim dnevnim potrebam po hrani, pri tem sledijo različnim prostorskim in časovnim vzorcem skozi leto. V raziskavi smo izbrali štiri različne črede ovac in koz (dve za vsako vrsto) in opazovali njihovo prostorsko razporeditev z ročnim GPS spomladi, poleti in jeseni. Istočasno smo tri živali v vsaki čredi neposredno opazovali pri paši. Podatke o času in natančno karto rabe tal smo obdelali v GIS-u, da smo dobili povezavo med aktivnostmi živali in različnimi krmnimi rastlinami. Ovce in koze so prehodile dolge razdalje (od 7,5 km do 9,0 km), da so v celotnem letu zadovoljile potrebe po hrani. Pasle so se na dveh glavnih tipih krme: pašnikih (travišča, grmišča in gozdni robovi) in kmetijskih površinah (prahe, strnišča in začasni pašniki). Obe vrsti sta se statistično značilno (P≤ 0.05) pasli krajši čas na pašnikih (38,9% in 18,1%) kot na kmetijskih površinah (63,6% in 53,4%) v spomladanskem in poletnem času. Očitno je, da je pestrost krajine nujna za ekstenzivne kmetijske sisteme z drobnico, saj se pašniki in kmetijske površine dopolnjujejo pri celoletni oskrbi s krmo.
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