Abstract
Submitted 2020-06-14 | Accepted 2020-07-25 | Available 2020-12-01 https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2020.23.mi-fpap.15-22 The first results on the impact of hen grazing on ground cover composition and biodiversity of two hazelnut orchards (sites A and B) in the southern Italy are presented. The selected sites were characterized by different size and environmental conditions that were, respectively for A and B: area, 4 and 5 ha; altitude, 525 and 660 m a.s.l.; annual mean temperature, +12°C and +13°C; annual precipitation: 730 and 780 mm. Besides, ground covers of the sites were different for plant species presence and distribution. In each site three 120 m2 areas were considered, each of which was provided with a mobile coop (5 hens/m2) to house during the night ten 25-week-old commercial egg-laying chickens. The trial started the first decade of May 2019. The use of hen grazing affected quantitatively and qualitatively the herbaceous stratum of the study sites, as the number of taxa composing the ground cover decreased in both sites, whereas the relative frequencies varied (increased or decreased) according to the taxon. By computing different indices of alpha diversity, we observed significant differences in species richness and diversity after hen grazing only in one site. However, the value of the qualitative Sørensen index showed a high overlap in the assemblage of ground cover before and after hen grazing in both sites. By comparing the sites, we found that, at the beginning of the trial, the ground cover of one site was richer and more diverse compared to the other site; however, the reverse situation occurred after hen grazing. Overall, our results indicate that integrating fruit trees with poultry may play a positive role in an agroforestry context, mainly in terms of control of vegetation growth. Keywords: agroforestry; grazing; poultry; ground-cover; biodiversity
Highlights
It is well recognized that Europe’s biodiversity is to a large part inextricably linked to agroforestry practices (Torralba et al, 2016): the mosaic of habitats featuring several European landscapes favoured a diversity of plant and animal species thanks to the millennial transformation process operated by humans on ecosystems by cutting, fire and grazing
Other taxa were instead observed at higher percentages: for instance, the following ten taxa accounted for 57.6% of the all observed species composing the herbaceous stratum: Anthemis arvensis (7.9%), Lolium perenne (7.5%), Avena sterilis (6.9%), Phalaris minor (6.4%), Cirsium creticum ssp. triumfettii (6.1%), Rumex crispus (5.6%), Anagallis arvensis (5.4%), Trifolium alessandrinum (4.2%), Cichorium intybus (3.8%) and Vicia sativa (3.8%)
More than half (50.4%) of the identified species was represented by the eight following taxa: Picris echioides (12.8%), Picris hieracioides (10.4%), Senecio vulgaris (5.87%), Soncus oleraceus (5.9%), Equisetum arvense (4.3%) and, with the same incidence (3.7%), Medicago truncatula, Poa pratense and Trifolium repens
Summary
It is well recognized that Europe’s biodiversity is to a large part inextricably linked to agroforestry practices (Torralba et al, 2016): the mosaic of habitats featuring several European landscapes favoured a diversity of plant and animal species thanks to the millennial transformation process operated by humans on ecosystems by cutting, fire and grazing These agro-silvo-pastoral activities play, today more than ever, a fundamental role in the conservation of biodiversity, as long as they are carried out in a sustainable way (Freschi et al, 2015 b). Compared to conventional intensive systems, raising poultry on free-range offers a potential to enhance animal welfare, as it provides birds with sunlight, fresh air, ample space and nutrients, and allows them to express natural behaviours (Berg, 2002; Sossidou et al, 2011; Mohammed et al, 2013) It offers many advantages in terms of farm soil fertility, disease prevention, weed control, farm diversity, environmental sustainability and farm profitability (Sossidou et al, 2011; Liu et al, 2013). The present study was designed to investigate the impact of hen grazing integrated into hazelnut orchards on the ground cover composition and biodiversity
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