Feed selection on dry rangelands in southwestern Madagascar: Implications for ruminant nutrition in view of ecological and social challenge

摘要

Locally appropriate strategies to improve livestock feeding in situations of feed scarcity are needed when external factors such as increasing climate variability and conflicts constrain traditional pastoral management. To identify such strategies, we analyzed the use of natural forage by cattle and goats in southwestern Madagascar against seasonal variability and spatial disparity in feed quality and quantity. The feeding behavior of 12 herds of each species was observed and the animals' preference for specific plants recorded. Samples of forage plants and of livestock feces were analyzed for nutrient concentration; diet digestibility was derived from fecal nitrogen concentration.