Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Diet selection by sheep and goats on Mediterranean heath-woodland range
Author
Bartolomé, J.
Franch, J.
Plaixats, J.
Seligman, N. G.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
1998-07-01
Body

The study determined the species components of the diets of small ruminants grazing mountain ranges of the Montseny Biosphere Reserve (Catalunya, NE Spain). Three mixed flocks of sheep and goats, led by shepherds, were monitored for a year. Animals grazed a mountain rangeland composed of Quercus ilex woodland and Calluna-Erica heathland during the day and were returned to their corrals every night. Diet selection was estimated using fecal analysis. Of the 111 species that were identified, 71 were common to both sheep and goat. Of these, 23 were represented in proportions of more than 1% of the annual diet. Even though goats and sheep grazed together, their diets were significantly different (p < 0.0001), the animal factor accounting for 18% to 60% of the total variation among the main diet components. Variation between seasons was also a major (5% to 56%) highly significant factor, while differences between flocks accounted for a significant, but relatively small part (3 % to 10% ) of the total variation in diet. The outstanding difference was the avoidance of the tree, Quercus ilex, by the sheep while the goats selected it throughout the year. Sheep selected graminoids throughout the year while goats tended to avoid them. For the rest there was substantial overlap in species composition between the diet of sheep and goats, especially when analysed over an entire cycle. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2307/4003322
Additional Information
Bartolomé, J., Franch, J., Plaixats, J., & Seligman, N. G. (1998). Diet selection by sheep and goats on Mediterranean heath-woodland range. Journal of Range Management, 51(4), 383-391.
IISN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/644077
Journal Volume
51
Journal Number
4
Journal Pages
383-391
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
montane forests
Erica arborea
Calluna vulgaris
Quercus ilex
heathlands
mixed grazing
Festuca
Spain
foraging
feces composition
selective grazing
species differences
forbs
shrubs
diets
sheep
goats
rangelands
grasses