Prescribed Fire and Cattle Grazing to Manage Invasive Grasses for Cattle and Wildlife

Invasive grasses are in most cases introduced species able to outcompete native species. Buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris), Guineagrass (Urochloa minima), and Old World bluestems (Dichanthium spp.) are typical examples of invasive species in southeastern United States. However, native grasses such as tanglehead (Heteropogon contortus) can become invasive and dominant in absence of cattle grazing just like any invasive species. Tanglehead and Kleberg bluestem (Dichanthium ischaemum) increased (p \u3c 0.05) from 1.4 and 1.8% in 1999 to 2.7 and 3.6% in 2002 and then to 8.1 and 9.4% in 2009, respectively. Monocultures of invasive species have very little value for wildlife, and in the case of mature tanglehead its palatability for cattle is very low. Prescribed fire may be used to improve palatability of tanglehead for cattle, and cattle grazing may be used to improve plant species richness for wildlife. To evaluate the effects of prescribed fire and cattle grazing on cattle preference and the botanical composition of a plant community dominated by tanglehead, we burned 3 patches of approximately 0.5 ha in a pasture of 107 ha in October 2016. Two months before the prescribed burning was executed, 10 mother cows were placed in the pasture to graze continually. We fitted GPS collars on 8 cows and location readings were collected every 10 minutes. GPS recordings indicate that cattle used burned patches 4.5 times more after burning compared to before burning. Percent forage utilization of tanglehead was 52% in the burned patches compared to 6% in the control areas. Plant species richness increased from 2.53 to 8.33 plant species per 0.25 m2, before and after burning, respectively, an increase of 330%. Prescribed fire and cattle grazing are valuable tools to increase tanglehead palatability and utilization by cattle and plant species richness for wildlife

Integrating remote sensing, geographic information system and fuzzy logic: an index to evaluate the natural potential for livestock ranching in the Pantanal.

Abstract: In this study, an index natural potential for livestock ranching (NPLR) at ranch level in the Pantanal wetland was obtained using landscape indicators combined with fuzzy inference process. Four landscape indicators related with livestock production were selected by an expertise group. The application of this approach was illustrated through a pilot ranch located in the Nhecolândia sub-region, Pantanal, MS. Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies were used to map the vegetation types and aquatic habitats (landscapes types) in this ranch. Landscape type?s composition metrics were obtained using the ArcGis 9 and were used to estimate the four indicators selected by expertise: forest cover proportion (FC); landscape productive value (LPV); diversity of aquatic habitats (DAH) and flooding degree (FD). Fuzzy inference process involving definitions of membership functions, fuzzy set operations and inference rule were run and validated with the participation of core stakeholders. Different scenarios also were simulated in batch and validated with the participation of stakeholders. Both procedures were performed by Webfuzzy software. The NPLR index value found in the pilot ranch was as expected by both expertise and stakeholders. Fuzzy logic combined with landscape metric seems to be suitable for the definition of the natural potential of ranches to produce livestock in the Pantanal.Geopantanal 2012

Cattle transhumance and agropastoral nomadic herding practices in central Cameroon

Abstract Background In sub-Saharan Africa, livestock transhumance represents a key adaptation strategy to environmental variability. In this context, seasonal livestock transhumance also plays an important role in driving the dynamics of multiple livestock infectious diseases. In Cameroon, cattle transhumance is a common practice during the dry season across all the main livestock production zones. Currently, the little recorded information of the migratory routes, grazing locations and nomadic herding practices adopted by pastoralists, limits our understanding of pastoral cattle movements in the country. GPS-tracking technology in combination with a questionnaire based-survey were used to study a limited pool of 10 cattle herds from the Adamawa Region of Cameroon during their seasonal migration, between October 2014 and May 2015. The data were used to analyse the trajectories and movement patterns, and to characterize the key animal health aspects related to this seasonal migration in Cameroon. Results Several administrative Regions of the country were visited by the transhumant herds over more than 6 months. Herds travelled between 53 and 170 km to their transhumance grazing areas adopting different strategies, some travelling directly to their destination areas while others having multiple resting periods and grazing areas. Despite their limitations, these are among the first detailed data available on transhumance in Cameroon. These reports highlight key livestock health issues and the potential for multiple types of interactions between transhumant herds and other domestic and wild animals, as well as with the formal livestock trading system. Conclusion Overall, these findings provide useful insights into transhumance patterns and into the related animal health implications recorded in Cameroon. This knowledge could better inform evidence-based approaches for designing infectious diseases surveillance and control measures and help driving further studies to improve the understanding of risks associated with livestock movements in the region