A case study of beef-cattle grazing in a Mediterranean-type woodland

Abstract

A grazing trial was conducted over 10 years to determine the feasibility of using beef cattle to graze a Mediterranean oak scrub forest that for millennia had been grazed by mixed herds of domestic ruminants dominated by goats. After initial thinning of the woody vegetation, two large paddocks were stocked with cross-bred beef cows, one at a relatively heavy stocking rate (0.67 cows ha−1) and the other at a lighter rate (0.48 cows ha−1). During the summer and autumn, the herds were given free access to supplementary feed composed mainly of poultry litter. Despite the higher grazing pressure, mean weaning weight per cow in the heavily grazed paddock was similar to that in the moderately grazed paddock and required a similar investment of supplementary feed per kg of weaned liveweight. Consequently, weaned calf weight production per unit area was higher under the heavier grazing regimen. A shift in calving season from autumn to spring improved herd performance. In comparison with beef cattle husbandry on herbaceous range in the region, animal performance with autumn calving was inferior even though supplementation levels were similar; with spring calving, animal performance was similar on both range types, but much less supplementation was required on the herbaceous range. An open park-like landscape was maintained especially under heavy grazing where, after the initial thinning, the regrowth from the bases of the oak trees was browsed down to ∼0.5 m. Herbaceous cover increased steadily over the years under both heavy and moderate stocking rates, but more so in the heavily grazed paddock. Whereas a large degree of control of the woody scrub was attained by heavy cattle grazing, maintaining performance of moderately heavy cross-bred cows involved relatively intensive supplementary feeding. In addition, for sustained management of such systems, recurrent technological intervention was necessary to prevent excessive encroachment of the dwarf-shrub vegetation. However, it is evident that with further improvement in herd management, especially by development of hardier, better adapted animals, it is possible to improve feasibility of beef cattle husbandry under such Mediterranean woodland conditions.