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

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 mille nnia had been grazed by mixed herds of domestic ruminants dominated by goat s. 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)). Duri ng the summer and autumn, the herds were given free access to supplementary feed composed mainly of poultry litter. Despite the higher grazing pressur e, 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 regime n. A shift in calving season from autumn to spring improved herd performanc e. In comparison with beef cattle husbandry on herbaceous range in the regi on, animal performance with autumn calving was inferior even though supplem entation levels were similar; with spring calving, animal performance was s imilar on both range types, but much less supplementation was required on t he herbaceous range. An open park-like landscape was maintained especially under heavy grazing where, after the initial thinning, the regrowth from th e bases of the oak trees was browsed down to similar to 0.5 m. Herbaceous c over increased steadily over the years under both heavy and moderate stocki ng 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, mainta ining performance of moderately heavy cross-bred cows involved relatively i ntensive supplementary feeding. In addition, for sustained management of su ch systems, recurrent technological intervention was necessary to prevent e xcessive encroachment of the dwarf-shrub vegetation. However, it is evident that with further improvement in herd management, especially by developmen t of hardier, better adapted animals, it is possible to improve feasibility of beef cattle husbandry under such Mediterranean woodland conditions.