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- Andrée O´ Hara, Elisabeth, et al.
(author)
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Naturbetets näringsinnehåll och avkastning i relation till nötkreaturens val av plats vid bete, vila, gödsling och urinering
- 2011
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Det som har redovisats i denna rapport är en grundläggande kartläggning av nötkreaturens betesbeteende på naturbetesmarker i Svealand samt omfattande data rörande näringsinnehåll och avkastning på olika vegetationstyper i naturbetesmarker. Följande vegetationstyper identifierades och kartlades i beteshagarna: torr (T), frisk (F), blöt/fuktig (B), skuggpåverkad (S) samt vegetation som växte på näringsrik (N) gödselpåverkad mark. Syftet med studien var: • att få en karakterisering av de olika vegetationstypernas avkastning och näringsinnehåll • att studera nötkreaturens preferens för olika vegetationstyper i naturbetesmarker • att se om det fanns indikationer på att nötkreatur bidrog till näringstransport inom beteshagen genom att de betade på vissa ytor och gödslade och urinerade på andra Studier från fyra olika betessäsonger finns sammanfattade i rapporten. År 1 och 2 gjordes studier och mätningar tre gånger per säsong (juni, juli och augusti) på två betesmarker. Inga stora skillnader i betesbeteende mellan månader kunde observeras och år tre utvidgades studien till att omfatta nio olika hagar men mätningar gjordes detta år endast en gång per säsong och hage. Sista året gjordes en kompletterande studie i september i tre hagar för att studera betesbeteendet även under sensommaren/hösten. Djurens beteende registrerades under 24 timmarsperioder under studiens år 2-4. Registreringar gjordes på vilken vegetationstyp som djuren föredrog att beta, vila, urinera och gödsla. Samtidigt togs betesprover såväl från de olika vegetationstyperna som från den vegetation som djuren betade för att bestämma näringsinnehåll. Mätningar av tillgänglig mängd bete vid beteendeobservationerna och av den totala säsongsavkastningen i olika vegetationstyper gjordes även. Den relativa preferensen (RP) för att beta, vila, gödsla och urinera på varje vegetationstyp beräknades genom att beräkna hur ofta beteendet ägde rum på varje typ av vegetation och samtidigt ta hänsyn till andelen av hagens totala yta som utgjordes av denna vegetationstyp (se avsnittet om beräkning av relativ preferens under rubriken statistisk bearbetning i Material och Metoder). Resultaten visade att djuren föredrog att vistas på den näringsrika vegetationstypen (N) när de betade och avgav urin och gödsel samtliga försöksår (Tabell 4). I de flesta fall var den relativa preferensen för vila även högt på de näringsrika områdena men år två och tre erhölls också en hög relativ preferens för att vila på den torra vegetationstypen. Under september tycks det vara mindre skillnaderna mellan den relativa preferensen för olika vegetationstyper men RP för vegetationstyp N och F var ändå signifikant högre än för T. Den vegetation som växte på de gödselpåverkade ytorna (N) och i viss mån de friska (F) ytorna hade i de flesta fall högre innehåll av omsättbar energi jämfört med det som växte på B, T och S (Tabell 6) och det är troligen den viktigaste orsaken till att djuren föredrog den typen av vegetation. Vegetationstyp N hade även en förhållandevis hög säsongsavkastning (Tabell 8) vilket också kan bidragit till att djuren hade en hög relativ preferens för denna vegetationstyp. Beteendet gödsla och urinera följde väl betesbeteendet och i de flesta fall tycks djuren ha gödslat och urinerat i samma utsträckning som de betade på de olika vegetationstyperna. De gödslade och urinerade alltså oftare på näringsrik och frisk vegetationstyp än på torr. Resultatet i studien tyder på att det ej tycks finnas något omfattande problem med näringstransport från näringsrika vegetationstyper (N) till mer näringsfattiga områden med hög biologisk mångfald (T) i denna typ av marker
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| 2. |
- Pelve, Maja Elisabeth
(author)
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Cattle grazing on semi-natural pastures : animal behaviour and nutrition, vegetation characteristics and environmental aspects
- 2010
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The knowledge of the grazing behaviour of cattle on Swedish semi-natural pastures and how this relates to the nutritional quality and quantity of the vegetation is low. In a situation where farming is being intensified both nationally and globally, it is important to gain more information about semi-natural pastures and how to utilise this resource properly. The aims of this thesis was to: (1) examine the grazing, resting and fouling behaviour of cattle on grazing areas mainly dominated by semi-natural vegetation which also includes portions of grassland affected by fertilisation; (2) determine the nutrient content and seasonal herbage production of different vegetation types within semi-natural pastures; (3) determine the in vivo digestibility of forages from different vegetation types in heterogeneous semi-natural grasslands; (4) study the division of nitrogen between faeces and urine and the enteric methane production from cattle fed these same forages. One field and one indoor study were carried out. The field study covered three grazing seasons and included measurements of both cattle behaviour and of the nutritional properties of semi-natural pasture vegetation. Cattle preferred to graze, rest, urinate and defecate on previously fertilised areas. The vegetation in these areas was characterised by a high energy and crude protein content and a high seasonal herbage production. The indoor study measured in vivo digestibility, methane production and the division of nitrogen between urine and faeces of different forages from semi-natural grasslands fed to non-lactating cows and heifers. Forage digestibilities were lower than what is commonly reported for cultivated forages. Digestibilities did not differ between treatments, with the exception of a lower digestibility in the heifer group when fed of vegetation harvested on shore meadows compared with vegetation from naturalised cultivated grasslands. Methane production did not differ among forages. In conclusion, cattle prefer to graze in previously fertilised areas, but other vegetation types were also utilised by the animals. Furthermore, in vivo digestibility of semi-natural pasture vegetation was similar to in vitro values obtained with the standard Swedish method for estimating the energy value of forages.
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| 3. |
- Pelve, Maja Elisabeth, et al.
(author)
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Grazing and fouling behaviour of cattle on different vegetation types within heterogeneous semi-natural and naturalised pastures
- 2020
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In: Livestock Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 1871-1413 .- 1878-0490. ; 241
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In a two-year study, grazing, resting and fouling behaviour of cattle grazing on heterogeneous semi-natural/naturalised continuously grazed, fenced pasture areas (sites), were examined using two and nine sites in year 1 and 2. Five vegetation types were identified and mapped out on the sites used in the study: four typical species-rich semi-natural vegetation types (dry, mesic, wet, shaded), and one naturalised, grass-dominated type on former fertilised arable land. The two sites used in year 1 and seven sites in year 2 contained all five vegetation types, while one or two vegetation types (dry and wet) were absent on the remaing two sites in year 2. Behaviour was recorded over 24 h on three occasions in year 1, and on one occasion in year 2. During observation hours, animal behaviour (grazing/resting/other) and vegetation type grazed were recorded at 5-minute intervals and time and location of defecation and urination were recorded continuously. Vegetation types were sampled for herbage analysis directly after behaviour observations by cutting the vegetation in three random plots per type. Relative preference for grazing, resting and fouling was calculated for each vegetation type by dividing proportion of behaviour observations spent on a specific vegetation type by proportion of total area occupied by this vegetation type. The results showed that during both years, animals showed the greatest relative preference for the naturalised vegetation type when grazing or fouling (urination and defecation). The naturalised vegetation type also had the greatest content of metabolisable energy (from 9.8 to 10.1 MJ/kg DM) and crude protein (from 131 to 157 g/kg DM) and the least content of neutral detergent fibre (from 453 to 456 g/kg DM).
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| 4. |
- Pelve, Maja Elisabeth, et al.
(author)
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In vivo and in vitro digestibility, nitrogen balance and methane production in non-lactating cows and heifers fed forage harvested from heterogeneous semi-natural pastures
- 2012
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In: Livestock Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 1871-1413 .- 1878-0490. ; 144, s. 48-56
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In vivo digestibility and nitrogen balance were determined in a 3 x 3 Latin square trial with six non-lactating cows and six heifers of the Swedish Red breed fed three forages harvested from semi-natural grasslands. Total faecal collection and urinary spot-sampling were performed on all animals, and enteric methane emissions were measured in the cows by the tracer-gas technique. The forages were harvested from a wet shore meadow (WET), a naturalised cultivated grassland (NL) and a species-rich naturalised cultivated grassland (SNL). Neutral detergent fibre concentrations were similar between the forages. The WET forage had the highest organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) contents (947 and 118 g/kg DM, respectively), but the lowest in vitro digestibility and hence metabolisable energy content (8.1 MJ/kg DM). There was an interaction between forage and animal category with lower digestibility in heifers than in cows of DM (0.51 vs. 0.58), OM (0.54 vs. 0.60) and CP (0.52 vs. 0.60) for the WET forage. The CP digestibility in the cows was higher for the WET forage than for the other forages. The overall OM digestibility was 0.60 in vivo and 0.61 in vitro, respectively. Nitrogen balance in the animals differed between forage treatments (WET = 21.3, NL = 11.8 and SNL = 26.9 g N/day) but not between animal categories. The cows produced on average 53 g methane/kg digested OM, and no significant differences were found between forages. The digestibilities of the three forages studied are similar to those of other European extensively managed grasslands and nitrogen excretion routes in the cattle did not deviate from those of cattle indoor-fed standard rations. The results suggests that it is possible to use the standard Swedish in vitro method for estimation of in vivo digestibility of forages from semi-natural pastures when fed to cattle, even though this method was developed using other types of forages and ewes. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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