Published in Scientific Papers. Series E. Land Reclamation, Earth Observation & Surveying, Environmental Engineering, Vol. VII
Written by Mehmet Kerim GULLAP, Halil İbrahim ERKOVAN, Ali KOC
The effect of grazers on vegetation and soil properties changes depending on their foraging behaviour and hoof pressure. In general, cattle prefer grasses while sheep prefer considerably forbs and goat skilfully browse during feeding. These differences in feeding preferences herbivore effects species composition and consequently alter vegetation structure on the area. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of single cattle herd and cattle+sheep herds grazing on vegetation composition and soil properties in highlands rangelands. For this aim, four rangeland sites in two locations were selected two site in each location grazed with single cattle herds and the other sites have been grazed with cattle + sheep mixing herds for least 20 years. To compare the effect of grazer differences on vegetation and soil properties, redundancy analysis (RDA) was chosen as the most appropriate constrained ordination technique. Species data were transformed to provide have normality of data. Statistical tests of the significance of the relationship soil properties used Monte Carlo permutation test within CANOCO. Species distribution in the vegetation and some soil properties such clay, silt, sand, organic matter, pH, P, CaCO3, showed a significant correlation related to herd type. These results indicated that animal types have an important role on distribution of plant species and soil properties in the highland short grass steppe rangelands. It can be suggested that cattle and sheep are grazed together to enhance biological diversity and sustainable use of highland short grass steppe rangelands.
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