Patch depression in grazers: the roles of biomass distribution and residual stems

Abstract

1. In this paper the results are presented of two experiments designed to examine the relationship between sward structure variables and the nature of patch depression experienced by a large grazing herbivore, Bos taurus, grazing from small patches of forage. In experiment 1 the spatial distribution of leaves within patches was varied. In experiment 2 the role of reproductive stems of different lengths as potential intake rate inhibitors was examined. 2. Both experiments were conducted by offering cattle hand‐constructed swards of Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata) leaves attached to plywood boards. Each of three experimental animals was allowed to take 10, 20, 30, 45 or 60 bites from a patch and intake was estimated on the basis of pregrazing and postgrazing dry‐matter. All trials were videotaped and the trial length in seconds was determined from playback of the tapes. 3. In both experiments patch depression (reduction in instantaneous intake rate) was due to decreases in bite mass concomitant with patch depletion. Handling time per bite was unaffected by depletion level. In experiment 1, different spatial configurations resulted in markedly different gain functions ranging from linear to sigmoid. In experiment 2, the presence in the sward of long (15 cm) reproductive stems slowed cumulative gains by restricting bite mass and by increasing the per‐bite handling time relative to patches with shorter (5 cm) or no stems. 4. The study of patch depression mechanisms now needs to be generalized over a range of herbivore body sizes and feeding styles.