234 Woodlands for Expanding the Grazing Opportunity for Small Ruminants in the Southeast: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Abstract Woodlands account for around 60 percent of the land cover in the Southeast and offer a great potential for expanding the grazing opportunity for small ruminants. However, such opportunities and challenges associated with woodland grazing have not been documented well. The objectives of this study were to 1) develop strategies for increasing understory-vegetation biomass and its utilization by small ruminants and 2) identify challenges associated with the use of small ruminants in woodland plots. The study was initiated in 2017 using six woodland plots (0.4-ha each) that consisted of southern pines, as the main timber species, and numerous non-pine species. Each plot was virtually divided into four sections, and each section was randomly allocated to one of the cutting treatments or control. Treatments included the cutting of non-pine species into one of the three heights from the ground surface: 0 m, 0.9 m, or 1.5 m, and the control section did not receive any cut. Samples of understory vegetation were collected during the production period of 2018 and 2019, dried, and weighed. Small ruminants were rotationally stocked in the plots and their behavior (feeding: grazing, browsing; non-feeding: loafing, lying, and debarking) and landscape-use pattern (time spent by animals in different treatments or control in performing various behaviors) monitored. The understory-vegetation biomass increased tremendously in treatments compared to the control (33%-160%), with maximum increment (100%-160%) occurring in the section that received 0-m cut. Animals spent much of their feeding time in sections that received 0-m and 0.9-m cut consuming much of the vegetation available within their reach (goats or goats-sheep mixed: 0–1.5 m; sheep: 0–1.1 m from the ground). They selected dry and less vegetated areas containing shelters and tree shade for resting, visited the least to the control, and did not impose any damage to timber trees.