UDC 591.53.036.531.1

Abaturov B.D. HETEROGENEITY OF THE PASTURE FODDER AND ITS FRAGMENTATION WITHIN THE COMPLEX OF HERBIVOROUS MAMMALS DURING JOINT GRAZING // Arid Ecosystems. 2024. Vol. 30. № 2 (99). P. 73-80. | PDF

In this article we discuss that the digestibility of pasture vegetation depends negatively on the amount of grasses (graminoids) in the fodder, which in turn is caused by the limiting effect and the increased amount of silicon compounds in grasses. On the example of 4 herbivorous species (Przewalski’s horse, American bison, Bactrian camel and saiga antelope) with very different digestion habits, we explored their feeding selectivity in relation to 2 differently digested groups of plants, such as grasses and forbs. Saiga antelopes, as well as other picky animals that feed on highly digestible fodder, prefer forbs with a reduced silicon content and increased digestibility. If the poorly digestible grasses are dominant in the pastures, therefore, forcing antelopes to consume them, the antelopes’ population cannot be viable. Przewalski’s horses and American bison, as well as other equines and large ruminants, are specialized in consuming poorly digestible grasses due to their peculiar digestive systems. Meanwhile, they do not eat forbs because of their increased toxicity. Bactrian camels are not picky about different grasses and forbs, preferring fallow lands (former arable lands) dominated with weed plants and ignored by other herbivores. Diverse preferences of forage plants during joint grazing of different animal species allow them to use pasture resources separately and independently, excluding competition and preserving the species diversity of plant species.

Keywords: herbivorous mammals, pasture plants, grasses and forbs, digestibility of feed,
selectivity of nutrition, joint grazing.

Funding. This work was carried out as part of the grant No. 03-04-48024 of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research “Connection between Animal Populations and Habitual Conditions: The Role of Foraging Parameters of Rangeland Vegetation in the Dynamics and Sustainability of Herbivorous Mammal Populations” and the grant No. 15-04-03542 “Forage Quality of Vegetation in Natural Rangeland Ecosystems as a Factor of food Availability and Viability of Herbivorous Mammal Populations”.

DOI: 10.24412/1993-3916-2024-2-73-80
EDN: EOWMRD