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Transhumance of dairy cows on alpine summer pastures: relationships between milk production, pasture management, and insect biodiversity
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Ramanzin, Maurizio Bittante, Giovanni Marini, Lorenzo Sturaro, Enrico |
| Copyright Year | 2016 |
| Abstract | In the Alps, centuries of coexistence of human activities and harsh climatic and topographic conditions generated the alpine summer pastures agroecosystems, rich in biodiversity and cultural values. The maintenance of species-rich summer pastures and their ecosystem services is linked to the low-intensity livestock grazing. In this study, the interactions between dairy livestock category/productivity, weed encroachment and butterfly biodiversity in 21 summer farms, 16 with lactating cows and 5 with heifers were assessed in the Trento province (Eastern Italian Alps). During transhumance, a seasonal movement of livestock to upland mountain pastures, data on milk production from May to October and Body Condition Score (BCS) at the beginning and at the end of the summer season for 799 lactating cows of different breeds (classified as local, dual purpose or specialised) were collected. A subjective index from 1 (good conditions) to 4 (bad conditions) to different pastures sections based on the level of weed encroachment was assigned. Three plots per summer farm were surveyed three times for data on butterfly diversity. The interaction between month and breed on milk yield and BCS was analysed. Relationships between butterfly biodiversity, weed encroachment and other traits were investigated. Local and dual-purpose breeds performed better during the transhumance than specialized breeds. The category/productivity of livestock and stocking rate were non-related with pasture conditions index and lower stocking rates favoured butterflies species abundance. The ability of local and dual purpose breeds to adapt to summer pastures conditions should be used to devise grazing management programmes to maximize the trade-off between pasture productivity and biodiversity. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://networks.iamz.ciheam.org/mountpast2016/pdfs/Presentations/S-3/S3-O-12%20Faccioni.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://om.ciheam.org/om/pdf/a116/00007454.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
