Gierus, M.

Glindemann, T.

Lin, L.

Müller, K.

Schiborra, Anne

Schönbach, P.

Susenbeth, A.

Tas, B. M.

Taube, Friedhelm

Wan, H. W.

Wang, C.

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress Impact of Grazing Intensity on Feed Intake, Herbage Mass, and Animal Productivity in the Steppe of Inner Mongolia, China K. Müller Christian‐Albrechts‐University of Kiel, Germany L. Lin Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany T. Glindemann Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany C. Wang Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany A. Schiborra Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/3-1/30 The 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. Presenter Information K. Müller, L. Lin, T. Glindemann, C. Wang, A. Schiborra, P. Schönbach, H. W. Wan, B. M. Tas, M. Gierus, Friedhelm Taube, and A. Susenbeth This event is available at UKnowledge: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/3-1/30 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅰ 　 瞯 ]463　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands Resources and Ecology ——— Soil‐Plant‐Animal InterrelationshipsImpact of grazing intensity on feed intake , herbage mass , and animal productivity in the steppeof Inner Mongolia , ChinaK .Müller 1 , L . L in1 , T . G lindemann1 , C . W ang1 , A . Schiborra2 , P . Sch迸nbach2 , H . W . W an2 , B .M . Tas1 , M .Gierus 2 , F . Taube2 , A . Susenbeth11 Institute o f A nimal Nutrition and Physiology , 2 Institute o f Crop Science and Plant Breeding , Christian‐A lbrechts‐University o f K iel , 24098 K iel , Germany . E‐mail :Susenbeth＠ aninut .uni‐kiel .deKey words : sheep , grazing intensity , semi‐arid grasslandIntroduction In Inner Mongolia in the north‐east of China the grassland steppe is traditionally used for grazing . In the last threedecades overgrazing by sheep led to a sparely cover of vegetation in winter and enables soil erosion and hence degradation of thegrassland . The aim of this study , which is part of a Sino‐German DFG research project ,is to evaluate the effect of grazingintensity ( GI , sheep/ ha) on grassland and animal performance and to determine an optimal grazing intensity , which realizes ahigh animal and grassland performance in a sustainable way .Materials and methods Grazing experiments were conducted from July to September in the Inner Mongolia steppe in ２００５ and２００６ with six different stocking rates (１ .５ , ３ .０ , ４ .５ , ６ .０ , ７ .５ , and ９ .０ sheep/ ha) and two replications . Six sheep per plotwere given titanium dioxide ( TiO２ ) as marker in the first ten days of each month and faecal grab samples were obtained fromday ６ to １０ . Faeces were analysed for crude protein to estimate the organic matter digestibility ( dOM ) with a regressionequation (１) , and for TiO２ （２） to estimate the total faecal output and hence the organic matter intake ( OMI) . Af ter eachsampling period , daily live weight gain ( LWG) of all sheep was determined . Herbage mass ( HM ) was determined by cuttingthe sward at １ cm above ground level on three representative areas in each plot .Results and discussion The HM decreased with increasing GI ( P ＝ ０ .０３３ ) as shown in Table １ . The dOM , OMI , and DOMIwere not different between the GI摧s . However , OMI and DOMI per ha increased with increasing GI ( P ＜ ０ .００１ ) . The LWGper sheep was not influenced by GI ( P ＝ ０ .１５５) . However , LWG per ha increased with increasing GI ( P ＝ ０ .０３９) .The LWG per sheep was highest on the lowest GI摧s and tended to decrease with increasing GI , whereas LWG per ha washighest on the GI with ９ .０ sheep per ha . Accordingly , the highest OMI and DOMI per sheep were obtained on the lowest GI摧sand tended to decrease with increasing GI whereas the maximum OMI and DOMI per ha were found on the highest GI摧s . Allparameters were significantly influenced by year and period . The influence by year may due to the great variability inprecipitation between the years , which affects the herbage quality like dOM ( ５５ .３％ in ２００５ and ５８ .５％ in ２００６) , CP (９ .５％in ２００５ and １３ .８％ in ２００６) and NDF (７２ .１％ in ２００５ and ６７ .７％ in ２００６) .Conclusions The results show the strong impact on GI on grassland productivity . On the short term , heavy grazing lead to highOMI , DOMI , and LWG per ha . However , on the long term negative effects of high GI摧s on the grassland productivity areexpected and , therefore , this study should be continued for further years to show the long term effect of GI and to determinethe optimum for a sustainable use .Table 1 E f f ects o f graz ing intensity on herbage mass , digestibility o f organic matter , f eed intake , and live weight gain bysheep and by ha .Grazing Intensity Level of significance１ 览.５ ３  .０ ４ }.５ ６ 苘.０ ７ :.５ ９ 櫃.０ SEM GI P GI x P YeardOM ( ％ ) ５７ 栽.９ ５６ 3.９ ５６ 憫.９ ５６ 痧.４ ５６ O.４ ５５ �.９ ０ 沣.６３ ０ -.３６８ ＜ ０ 创.００１ ０ 觋.９８９ ＜ ０ 缮.００１OMI ( g / sheep/ d) １２７１ &１２７１ 厖１２５８ 沣１１９１ B１０１７ 　１２１４ �６１ 5０ -.１５７ ０ 媼.００８ ０ 觋.１９０ ０ 牋.０３６DOMI ( g / sheep/ d) ７３６  ７２７ p７１９ 舷６７６ .５７６ 寣６８２ 腚３７ 5０ -.１５３ ＜ ０ 创.００１ ０ 觋.４１０ ０ 牋.００８LWG ( g / sheep/ day ) ９６ �１０４ p８３ 汉７２  ６７ x６９ 种９ 鼢.４ ０ -.１５５ ０ 媼.０４２ ０ 觋.０８７ ＜ ０ 缮.００１HM ( kgDM / ha) １２３２a １００１ab ５２６ab ６０６ab ４２３ab ３７０b １４３ I０ -.０３５ ＜ ０ 创.００１ ０ 觋.０４５ ＜ ０ 缮.００１IOM ha ( kg / ha) １ 洓.９１a ３ �.８１b ５ Y.６６c ７ 父.１５c ７  .５２c １０ 噰.８９d ０ 沣.３２ ＜ ０ V.００１ ０ 媼.００６ ０ 觋.４６８ ０ 牋.０３５IDOMha ( kg / ha) １ 洓.１０a ２ 祆.１８ab ３ K.２３bc ４ 父.０６c ４  .２６cd ６ s.１１d ０ 沣.２１ ＜ ０ V.００１ ＜ ０ 创.００１ ０ 觋.４０１ ０ 牋.００７LWG ( g / ha) １６４a ３１９ab ３７９ab ４３２ab ４９５ab ６２３b ６５  .５ ０ -.０３９ ＜ ０ 创.００１ ０ 觋.００３ ＜ ０ 缮.００１abcd Means of grazing intensity with different superscript differ ( P ＜ ０ .０５)GI ＝ Grazing intensity ; P ＝ period ; GI x P ＝ interaction between grazing intensity and periodReferencesWANG , C . (２００７) . PhD Thesis , University of Kiel , Germany .GLINDEMANN , T . (２００７) . PhD Thesis , University of Kiel , Germany .

Impact of Grazing Intensity on Feed Intake, Herbage Mass, and Animal Productivity in the Steppe of Inner Mongolia, China

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Impact of Grazing Intensity on Feed Intake, Herbage Mass, and Animal Productivity in the Steppe of Inner Mongolia, China

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