In spite of overwhelming experimental evidence to the contrary, rotational grazing continues to be promoted and implemented as the only viable grazing strategy. The goals of this synthesis are to 1) reevaluate the complexity, underlying assumptions, and ecological processes of grazed ecosystems, 2) summarize plant and animal production responses to rotational and continuous grazing, 3) characte...

Rotational grazing management strategies have been promoted as a way to improve the sustainability of native grass-based pasture systems. From disturbance ecology theory, rotational grazing relative to continuous grazing can increase pasture productivity by allowing vegetation to recover after short intense grazing periods. This project sought to assess whether soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks ...

Rangelands cover approximately 85% of Kenya’s land mass and is a major resource for livestock farming with a considerable potential to mitigate climate change, yet these lands are stressed differently by various management. Our study aimed at determining the influence of grazing management systems (rotational, continuous and ungrazed) on soil organic carbon stocks in Yoani ranch located in the ...

Heifer performance, diet composition, and forage composition were compared during rotational and continuous grazing of mixed pasture (alfalfa, tall fescue, orchardgrass). One hundred eighteen yearling heifers were used to compare the three grazing systems during 2 yr. Treatments included continuous (CONT), 6-paddock rotational (6-PADD), and 11-paddock rotational grazing (11-PADD). Rotational pa...

root morphological and distribution responses of signal grass (brachiaria decumbens) to long-term cattle grazing were examined in a tropical pasture in malaysia. the treatments were no grazing by cattle and grazing at a moderate stocking density (2.7 animal unit/ha) under rotational grazing for 33 years. the method consists of taking soil core using a soil corer to a depth of 30 cm and extracti...

Dairy systems predominantly based on rotational grazing are notoriously hard to manage. In order to ensure profitability, this type of production requires quite good organisation, planning, and operating capability on the part of the farmer. A simulation-based decision support system, called SEPATOU, has been developed for this purpose. At the core of the decision support approach lies an expli...

Global food demand is growing rapidly. Livestock grazing can provide a valuable source of protein, but conventional grazing is often unsustainable. We studied an 800,000-ha section of a threatened ecoregion in southeastern Australia. Conventional management in the region involves continuous livestock grazing with few rest periods and regular fertilizer application. By using remotely sensed data...

Grazing and haying effects on runoff and erosion from a former Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) site near Streeter, North Dakota, were determined. Treatments included undisturbed CRP, twice-over rotational grazing, season-long grazing, haying, and burning. Runoff and erosion were measured from simulated rainfall which was applied to 3.7 x 10.7 m (12.0 X 35.1 ft) plots. Following an initial st...

In grazing systems, heterogeneous distributions of forage resources and faeces result in localised accumulations of nutrients and parasites (both macroparasites and microparasites), creating trade-offs between the costs of exposure to infestation or infection and the benefits of nutrient intake. Each contact between livestock and faeces in the environment is a potential parasite/pathogen transm...