If answering this question, answer all parts.(a) Firstly, briefly define “selective grazing”; (1 Mark)(b) In a hill country perennial ryegrass – browntop pasture. Briefly explain: i. how selective grazing may change the botanical composition of the pasture from one competitive species towards one stress tolerator species. Also name one (1) species for each of the two strategies; (2 Marks) ii. using the same two species named in part (i), suggest one (1) grazing management technique that can stimulate the pasture botanical domination by the named competitive species while almost resulting in the disappearance of the chosen stress tolerator species. Briefly explain.
Question
If answering this question, answer all parts.(a) Firstly, briefly define “selective grazing”; (1 Mark)(b) In a hill country perennial ryegrass – browntop pasture. Briefly explain: i. how selective grazing may change the botanical composition of the pasture from one competitive species towards one stress tolerator species. Also name one (1) species for each of the two strategies; (2 Marks) ii. using the same two species named in part (i), suggest one (1) grazing management technique that can stimulate the pasture botanical domination by the named competitive species while almost resulting in the disappearance of the chosen stress tolerator species. Briefly explain.
Solution
(a) Selective grazing refers to the behavior of grazing animals where they preferentially feed on certain plant species or parts of plants over others. This behavior is influenced by factors such as plant palatability, nutritional content, and the physical characteristics of the plant. (1 Mark)
(b) i. Selective grazing can change the botanical composition of a pasture by favoring the growth of certain plant species over others. In a hill country perennial ryegrass – browntop pasture, if animals selectively graze on the ryegrass (a competitive species), it can lead to a decrease in the ryegrass population and an increase in the browntop (a stress tolerator species). This is because the removal of the ryegrass leaves more resources (like sunlight, water, and nutrients) available for the browntop, allowing it to proliferate. (2 Marks)
ii. One grazing management technique that can stimulate the pasture botanical domination by the ryegrass while almost resulting in the disappearance of the browntop is rotational grazing. This involves moving the grazing animals from one pasture area to another on a regular basis. This gives the ryegrass time to recover and regrow after being grazed, while the browntop, which is less palatable and therefore grazed less, does not get this recovery time and may eventually disappear due to competition with the ryegrass.
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