Factors influencing the spatial distribution of beef cattle on Mediterranean rangeland

摘要

@@Introduction The rules governing spatial distribution of beef cattle on rangelands are poorly understood.Nevertheless,animal movement patterns are known to often lead to non uniform utilization of the rangeland.For example,cattle prefer to move along trails that incur low costs of energy expenditure that depend on vegetation quality and paddock size (Ganskopp et al.,2000).Their movements are influenced also by the location of watering points ( Ganskopp 2001 ).The spatial differences in forage consumption lead to high grazing pressure on some patches,while in others cattle presence is low.Understanding the rules of cattle movement can provide us with tools for improving the utilization of rangelands,and can enable us to direct cattle utilization to management-targeted areas.