The use of goats to control scrub in Tentsmuir Point National Nature Reserve, Fife: a pilot study

Abstract

Summary The results of a pilot study using goats to control scrub (Betula and Salix species) in dune slack vegetation in Tentsmuir Point National Nature Reserve, U.K., are described. Botanical composition, biomass and structure were examined in two plots, one in which goats were stocked. In three summer months at a density equivalent to 32 goats/ha, goats reduced the biomass of scrub to nearly half that of the control plot. Similarly, percentage cover and density of scrub were substantially reduced, resulting in large structural differences between the plots. The goats' impact was greatest on the scrub, especially that growing higher than 0.2m above ground level. Grazing impact on ground and herb layer vegetation was relatively small. The results suggest that goats, which browse more than other livestock, may be a suitable species with which to control scrub where the main conservation interest is in the flora and fauna of the ground and herb layers, or where hand removal and herbicidal treatment are unac...