Ash, A. J.

Cowley, R.

Fisher, A.

Hunt, L. P.

MacDonald, N.

Petty, S. R.

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress Effectiveness of Infrastructure Developments in Achieving Uniform Grazing Distribution on Extensive Cattle Properties in Northern Australia L. P. Hunt CSIRO, Australia S. R. Petty Heytesbury Beef, Australia R. Cowley Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries and Mines, Australia A. Fisher Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts, Australia A. J. Ash CSIRO, Australia 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/21/9-1/32 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 L. P. Hunt, S. R. Petty, R. Cowley, A. Fisher, A. J. Ash, and N. MacDonald This event is available at UKnowledge: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/9-1/32 瞯 ]48　 瞯 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅱ 　Grasslands/Rangelands Production Systems——— Livestock Production SystemsEffectiveness of infrastructure developments in achieving uniform grazing distribution onextensive cattle properties in northern AustraliaL .P H unt1 , .S .Petty 2 ,R .Cow ley 3 A .Fisher 4 ,A .J .A sh5 and N .MacDonald61 CS IRO Sustainable Ecosystems ,PMB 44 ,W innellie N T 0822 A ustralia Leigh . E‐mail : H unt ＠ csiro .au ; 2 HeytesburyBee f ,PO Box 1354 ,How ard S p rings NT 0835 ; 3 Department o f Primary Industry ,Fisheries and Mines ,PO Box 1346 ,K atherine N T 0851 ; 4 Biodiversity Conservation Div ision , Natural Resources ,Env ironment and the A rts , PO Box 496 ,Palmerston NT 0831 ; 5 CS IRO Sustainable Ecosystems ,306 Carmody Rd ,S t L ucia Qld 4067Key words : foraging behaviour ,home range ,patch grazing ,tropical savannasIntroduction Uneven distribution of cattle grazing at patch to landscape scales contributes to poor overall forage utilisation andland degradation in extensive grazing systems in northern Australia .The large paddocks and sparse water points typical of theseenterprises are key factors causing uneven grazing .This paper reports the initial results of a project that tested the effectivenessof installing additional waters or reducing paddock size to improve grazing distribution in the Victoria River District of theNorthern Territory ,Australia .Materials and methods Three paddock configurations were tested : a�small�paddock (９km２ with one water point) ,a�medium�paddock (３４ km２ with two waters) and a �large�paddock (５７ km２ with five waters) .These configurations were established atthe start of the project and contrast with paddocks of １３０ km２ with ２‐３ waters that are typical of the region .Grazing distributionwas quantified over ６‐month periods for four years using global positioning collars fitted to cattle ,and by vegetation surveysalong transects across the paddocks .Generalised linear models were used to test for an effect of soil type ,palatable pastureavailability and distance to water in determining grazing distribution ,with the number of GPS fixes as the dependent variable .Itshould be noted that occupation of a site according to the GPS data does not necessarily indicate grazing at that site .Results and discussion The GPS data indicated that individual cattle used almost all the small paddock ( mean ９０％ ) ,but only７５％ and ５９％ of the medium and large paddocks respectively .By comparison ,individual cows used ～ ４３％ of an undeveloped１４９ km２ paddock with three waters .Installing additional water points does improve the distribution of use in large paddocks ,partly because different patterns of use by individual cattle can result in more even use overall .However ,the manager has lesscontrol over grazing distribution ,and large areas are still avoided by the cattle .Subdividing the land into smaller paddocks wouldtherefore appear the better option for obtaining more effective use of pasture resources across the landscape .Despite smallerpaddocks improving use over the landscape as a whole ,uneven grazing within these smaller paddocks remains a problem .Distance to water ,soil type and pasture availability were all influential ( P ＜ ０ .００１ ) in determining grazing distribution .Preference for minor soil types ( e .g .red and �intermediate�black‐red ) and riparian areas was reflected in higher pasturedefoliation in these areas than on the dominant black soil ( Figure １) .However ,this trend was somewhat variable and appears tohave weakened markedly later in the study .Cattle spent more time in areas with low to moderate pasture biomass dominated byannual grasses and forbs than areas where perennial grasses remained and biomass was higher .This is attributed to the higherforage quality of annual species .Figure 1 Pasture de f oliation ( mean ± SE) on di f f erentsoil / land types during the ２００４ dry season .　Figure 2 Cost f or f encing f or di f f erent paddocksizes when subdiv iding a large paddock .Conclusions In view of these results and the disproportionate cost of fencing for paddocks below about ４０ km２ （Figure ２ ) ,apaddock size of ３０‐４０ km２ with two well‐spaced water points is recommended for the study region as a compromise betweenachieving more uniform grazing use and the cost .To further improve grazing distribution ,the strategic use of fire and mineralsupplements should be adopted .Potential effects of even use on biodiversity must also be considered .

Effectiveness of Infrastructure Developments in Achieving Uniform Grazing Distribution on Extensive Cattle Properties in Northern Australia

https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3013&amp;context=igc

Effectiveness of Infrastructure Developments in Achieving Uniform Grazing Distribution on Extensive Cattle Properties in Northern Australia

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