Conservation Grazing Management: A Novel Approach to Livestock Management and Biodiversity Conservation on the Canary Islands

Abstract

The relationship between agricultural practices and biodiversity has become an important topic in European and American research and policies. Although most of the research has been on row-crop agriculture, grazing has recently received attention. We consider bird population responses to grazing intensity as an example of the potential of conservation grazing. We use North American Great Plains bird populations as an example and explore research and management possibilities of conservation grazing for the Canary Islands as they are a hot spot of biodiversity in Europe and have an important and growing goat population.