Fredrickson et al. measured the effects of sheep mastication and digestion on germination of Lehmann lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana) seed in a series of experiments using cannulated sheep. Sheep mastication damaged 65% of seeds before they entered the rumen, but of the undamaged seeds that enter the rumen, most will pass in the feces within 72 hours and 32-49% of these seeds will germinate. In sacco and in vitro digestion trials indicated that germinability of seeds decreased as time spent in the rumen increased, however, seeds were somewhat resistant to ruminal digestion and seeds that remained in the rumen for 48-72 hours were still viable but had become dormant. These results suggest that sheep are a potential seed dispersal mechanism for Lehmann lovegrass seed, and that sheep may affect long term seedbank composition as well as current species composition. However, germination of seeds in the field after sheep passage is dependent on several factors that were not investigated in this study and require further research.
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