Activity budget and movement patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine Grey lactating cows during summer grazing in alpine pastures
We used GPS tracking to monitor the grazing patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine grey lactating cows on an alpine summer pasture (2038 m a.s.l.; SD = 146) in the Dolomites. The pasture (171 ha) was managed with a continuous grazing system (0.52 LU/ha) with morning and evening milking in the barn, guid...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Italian Journal of Animal Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2023.2255620 |
| _version_ | 1797198462567055360 |
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| author | S. Raniolo E. Sturaro S. Bovolenta D. Gianelle M. Ramanzin |
| author_facet | S. Raniolo E. Sturaro S. Bovolenta D. Gianelle M. Ramanzin |
| author_sort | S. Raniolo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We used GPS tracking to monitor the grazing patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine grey lactating cows on an alpine summer pasture (2038 m a.s.l.; SD = 146) in the Dolomites. The pasture (171 ha) was managed with a continuous grazing system (0.52 LU/ha) with morning and evening milking in the barn, guided grazing during the ‘day’, and free grazing at ‘night’. GPS positions were collected from 8 Brown Swiss multiparous and 9 Alpine Grey (4 primiparous and 5 multiparous) cows every two minutes. We inferred behaviours (grazing, resting, walking) from movement metrics, activity sensors and direct behavioural observations. After excluding milking periods, the cows grazed for 8 h/d, rested 10–11 h/d, and walked for 1.5/d. Grazing extended into late evening after milking, and resting prevailed throughout the ‘night’ until the morning milking. When grazing and resting, cows mainly used grasslands as the preferred habitat, but forest and sparse shrub were also used remarkably without consistent negative or positive selection. The pasture use was highly heterogeneous, with higher animal loads close to the barn, especially at night, and in areas with gentler slopes. Alpine Grey primiparous cows were less limited by slope and distance from the barn in their movement but were more selective in habitat use than multiparous cows. Differences between multiparous cows of the two breeds were less marked. Further studies should help understand the internal and external drivers of cattle grazing patterns to devise management practices combining animals’ productivity and welfare with the conservation of the grassland ecosystem services. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T16:59:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d57710c61320404f84cad88dd8eaddef |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1594-4077 1828-051X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:00:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Italian Journal of Animal Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-d57710c61320404f84cad88dd8eaddef2024-04-22T08:52:28ZengTaylor & Francis GroupItalian Journal of Animal Science1594-40771828-051X2023-12-012211171118510.1080/1828051X.2023.22556202255620Activity budget and movement patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine Grey lactating cows during summer grazing in alpine pasturesS. Raniolo0E. Sturaro1S. Bovolenta2D. Gianelle3M. Ramanzin4Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of PadovaDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of PadovaDepartment of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of UdineDepartment of Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund MachDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of PadovaWe used GPS tracking to monitor the grazing patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine grey lactating cows on an alpine summer pasture (2038 m a.s.l.; SD = 146) in the Dolomites. The pasture (171 ha) was managed with a continuous grazing system (0.52 LU/ha) with morning and evening milking in the barn, guided grazing during the ‘day’, and free grazing at ‘night’. GPS positions were collected from 8 Brown Swiss multiparous and 9 Alpine Grey (4 primiparous and 5 multiparous) cows every two minutes. We inferred behaviours (grazing, resting, walking) from movement metrics, activity sensors and direct behavioural observations. After excluding milking periods, the cows grazed for 8 h/d, rested 10–11 h/d, and walked for 1.5/d. Grazing extended into late evening after milking, and resting prevailed throughout the ‘night’ until the morning milking. When grazing and resting, cows mainly used grasslands as the preferred habitat, but forest and sparse shrub were also used remarkably without consistent negative or positive selection. The pasture use was highly heterogeneous, with higher animal loads close to the barn, especially at night, and in areas with gentler slopes. Alpine Grey primiparous cows were less limited by slope and distance from the barn in their movement but were more selective in habitat use than multiparous cows. Differences between multiparous cows of the two breeds were less marked. Further studies should help understand the internal and external drivers of cattle grazing patterns to devise management practices combining animals’ productivity and welfare with the conservation of the grassland ecosystem services.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2023.2255620dairy cattlemountain pasturegps trackinganimal behaviour |
| spellingShingle | S. Raniolo E. Sturaro S. Bovolenta D. Gianelle M. Ramanzin Activity budget and movement patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine Grey lactating cows during summer grazing in alpine pastures Italian Journal of Animal Science dairy cattle mountain pasture gps tracking animal behaviour |
| title | Activity budget and movement patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine Grey lactating cows during summer grazing in alpine pastures |
| title_full | Activity budget and movement patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine Grey lactating cows during summer grazing in alpine pastures |
| title_fullStr | Activity budget and movement patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine Grey lactating cows during summer grazing in alpine pastures |
| title_full_unstemmed | Activity budget and movement patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine Grey lactating cows during summer grazing in alpine pastures |
| title_short | Activity budget and movement patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine Grey lactating cows during summer grazing in alpine pastures |
| title_sort | activity budget and movement patterns of brown swiss and alpine grey lactating cows during summer grazing in alpine pastures |
| topic | dairy cattle mountain pasture gps tracking animal behaviour |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2023.2255620 |
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