Effects of Diet Selection by Goats Grazing on the Vegetation of a Protected Pine Forest in Doñana Natural Park (SW Spain)

Juan Manuel Mancilla-Leytón, Rocío Fernández-Alés and Ángel Martín Vicente
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Juan Manuel Mancilla-Leytón: Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Apdo 1095, 41080 Sevilla, Spain
Rocío Fernández-Alés: Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Apdo 1095, 41080 Sevilla, Spain
Ángel Martín Vicente: Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Apdo 1095, 41080 Sevilla, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-10

Abstract: We investigated the relationship between feeding selection by goats and changes in plant species abundance in the shrubland of a pine forest in Doñana Natural Park along three years. The abundance of the shrub species was measured using the point-intercept method. Goat preferences for shrub species were determined through direct observation. Goats showed selective feeding, since their browsing behavior was not related to species abundance. Myrtus communis was the overall preferred species (almost half of the bites belonged to this species, despite its low abundance) throughout the monitored years and seasons. Half of the species were selected some years while discarded others; two species were never grazed ( Daphne gnidium and Thymus mastichina ) and nine others were always ingested below their abundance. Within a year, species were consumed in certain seasons but not in others. The detected changes in species abundance were not related to the feeding preferences of the goats. The influence that grazing selectivity exerts on vegetation composition and abundance has long been recognized, but our study suggests that the mechanical effect of grazing herbivores on vegetation (pawing, scratching, and lying) may portrait a more important role than attributed to date.

Keywords: shrub; Pinus pinea; Payoya; direct observation; Ivlev’s selectivity index (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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