Intake by goats browsing kermes oak alone or choices of different browse combinations: implications for Mediterranean grazing systems
Thomas G. Papachristou A B and Panayiotis D. Platis A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Forest Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Foundation, 57006 Vassilika, Thessaloniki, Greece.
B Corresponding author. Email: tpapachr@fri.gr
The Rangeland Journal 33(3) 221-227 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ11005
Submitted: 7 February 2011 Accepted: 26 July 2011 Published: 9 September 2011
Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine if (1) intake by goats of kermes oak (Quercus coccifera L.), the main forage in Mediterranean kermes oak shrublands, was affected by availability of white mulberry (Morus alba L.) and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), two nutritious woody plants projected for introduction to Mediterranean grazing systems and (2) how a combination of the three species might influence the total intake by goats. The experiment consisted of a 9-day adaptation period, and 7 days of testing. Twenty-eight goats were used in four browse treatments (7 goats/treatment). In treatment 1, goats had kermes oak available during the entire feeding period, which lasted from 0800 to 1600 hours. In the other three treatments, goats had available kermes oak from 0800 to 1400 hours but from 1400 to 1600 hours had three different browse choices: kermes oak and black locust (treatment 2), kermes oak and white mulberry (treatment 3), and kermes oak, black locust and white mulberry (treatment 4). When goats were fed only kermes oak, their daily intake was lower (685 g/day DM; P ≤ 0.001) than when kermes oak was fed in combination with the other fodder browse (882, 811, and 1029 g/day for treatments 2, 3, and 4, respectively). Goats fed with browse combinations gained weight while those fed only kermes oak lost weight. In both feeding periods, goats in all treatments ingested similar amounts of kermes oak. However, the total intake in the second feeding period (kermes oak plus fodder browse) differed (P ≤ 0.001) among treatments, goats ate kermes oak + black locust + white mulberry (650 g DM) > kermes oak + black locust (530 g DM) > kermes oak + white mulberry (441 g DM) > kermes oak (287 g DM). These results indicate that the presence of nutritious fodder browse does not affect the consumption of kermes oak and suggest that goats browsing a variety of woody species will have a higher intake than goats browsing only kermes oak, and that the combination of all three browse species is best in terms of total intake.
Additional keywords: black locust, complementarities, forage mixing, rangeland management, shrublands, white mulberry.
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