Feed Intake of Small Ruminants on Spring and Summer Pastures in the Mongolian Altai Mountains

Munkhnasan Tsevegemed, Togtokhbayar Norovsambuu, Greta Jordan and Eva Schlecht
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Munkhnasan Tsevegemed: Section Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel and University of Göttingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
Togtokhbayar Norovsambuu: Department of Pastoral Studies and Chemistry, Mongolian University of Life Sciences, Khoroo 11, 17024 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Greta Jordan: Section Organic Plant Production and Agroecosystems Research in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel, Steinstrasse 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
Eva Schlecht: Section Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel and University of Göttingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075 Göttingen, Germany

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 20, 1-20

Abstract: Climate variability, rising livestock numbers, decreasing herd mobility, and clustered grazing patterns have incited concern about the sustainable use of Mongolia’s natural pastures as the nutritional backbone of the country’s livestock sector. In 2013 and 2014 we studied daily itineraries, grazing behaviour, and feed and nutrient intake of small ruminants on spring and summer pastures in the southern Mongolian Altai, a remote livestock-dependent region. Offer of herbage dry matter (DM, kg ha −1 ) along the daily itinerary was higher in 2014 than in 2013 (837 versus 711; p > 0.05) but was comparable to previously reported values. Concentration of cell wall constituents in herbage increased from June to August in both years, whereas crude protein and phosphorus concentrations declined ( p < 0.05). Animals grazed most actively at noon and in the afternoon; their daily DM intake amounted to 1151 ± 300.8 g per head, with 60–72% of the ingested feed being digested. Feed intake enabled the animals to cover their nutritional requirements for maintenance, locomotion, and sizeable growth, rebutting the notion of unsustainable use of the regional spring and summer pastures. However, crude protein and phosphorus intake were deficient, pointing to a decline in vegetation quality that has to be counteracted with appropriate herd and pasture management strategies.

Keywords: alpine meadows; climate variability; feed intake; GPS tracking; herbage offer; small ruminants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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