Grazing animals enjoy an ambiguous reputation in the field of nature conservation. Livestock are often treated as a scourge, yet native large herbivores form the prime attraction of many a reserve. This book gives the first comprehensive overview of the use of grazing as a tool in conservation management. Considering in turn the ecological and historical background, the impact of grazing on community structure, management applications and future prospects, this book examines issues such as the role of herbivores as keystone species, the assessment of habitat quality and the function of scientific models in advancing grazing management. Large herbivores are shown to be potentially powerful allies in the management of nature reserves, particularly in the maintenance, enhancement or restoration of biodiversity. Grazing and Conservation Management will appeal to conservation biologists and rangeland managers, providing them with a clearer understanding of grazing and conservation management.

Grassland composition and animal species may modify the grazing efficiency and ingestive behavior at pasture. However, precise knowledge on potential interactions between sward diversity and co-grazing is not available. Thus, a trial was conducted to evaluate the behavior patterns and forage selectivity of cattle and sheep grazing alone or together on grass swards differing in botanical composition. The experiment was carried out on mesotrophic permanent grassland in the Solling Uplands of Lower Saxony, Germany from May to September of 2009 and 2010. Species diversity of paddocks was manipulated by the use of herbicides resulting in grass-dominated swards (7 species per 9 m2) in contrast to untreated diverse swards (14 species per 9 m2) with grasses, forbs and legumes. Each sward type was combined with three grazing treatments: C= cattle mono-grazing; S= sheep mono-grazing and CS= cattle and sheep cograzing. The six treatments were set up on paddocks of 0.5 ha each, replicated three times in blocks that were grazed rotationally. The main behavior patterns (grazing, walking, and ruminating) were recorded by conducting scan sampling every ten minutes from six a.m. to ten p.m. Secondary patterns (bites per minute, steps per minute, and bites per step) were obtained per core animal and observation day. Intake choices of Dactylis glomerata, Festuca pratensis, Lolium perenne, Phleum pratense, Taraxacum officinale, and Trifolium repens were obtained as follows: species were visually assessed in five 0.5 m2 subplots per plot immediately before and after a period of three days grazing on a plot. Jacobs’ selection index (JSI) was used to quantify the intake preference for single target species in relation to their proportion in the sward. JSI = ci – ai / ci + ai - 2ciai; where ci= % forage in the diet and ai = % forage in the pasture. Here, ai was evaluated by the difference between the percentage mass of each species before and after three days of grazing. For behavior patterns, there were important differences between sheep and cattle. Cattle varied their time budget and grazing behavior depending on the presence of sheep. However, plant diversity had no effect on cattle behavior. For sheep behavior, plant diversity rather than mono or co-grazing management was the determinant factor. Cattle mono-grazing on diverse swards spent more time grazing at lower ingestive rates. P. pratense was the most preferred forage species (JSI=0.62). L. perenne, T. officinale and T. repens were also highly preferred regardless of sward composition or type of grazer (JSI = 0.47, 0.32 and 0.27, respetively). Co-grazing facilitated a more homogeneous consumption of the main forage species. Co-grazing might have the potential to better maintain grassland biodiversity.

An ecological perspective; Range animal nutrition; Foraging behavior; Developmental morphology and physiology of grasses; Ecosystem-level processes; Hydrology and erosion; Livestock production; Wildlife; Social and economic influences on grazing management; The decision-making environment and planning paradigm.

One of the main objectives of nature conservation in Europe is to protect valuable cultural landscapes characterized by a mixture of open habitats and hedges, trees and patchy woodland (semi-open landscapes).The development of these landscapes during the past decades has been characterized by an ongoing intensification of land use on the one hand, and an increasing number of former meadows and pastures becoming fallow as a result of changing economic conditions on the other hand. Since species adapted to open and semi-open landscapes contribute to biodiversity in Europe in a major way, this development is of great concern to nature conservation. In several countries largescale, nature-adapted pastoral systems have been recognized as one solution to this problem. These systems could offer an alternative to industrial livestock raising and keep a high biodiversity on the landscape level. Against the background of livestock diseases such as BSE and Foot and Mouth Disease and the efforts to reform the Common Agricultural Policy in the EU by changing the criteria for agricultural subsidies, these concepts gain particular significance.They could also represent an alternative to the established, costly habitat management tools.

Leading authorities from wide geographical regions of the globe will review the most up-to-date information in relation to temperate grasslands. Topics covered are: nutritive value of pasture; plant characteristics conducive to high animal intake and performance; modelling of both grass growth and animal production and intake in grazing systems; optimising financial returns from grazing; decision support systems; optimal animal breeds and traits for grazing systems; challenges and opportunities for animal production in the immediate future .In addition, short papers will present the most recent research on the above mentioned topics. One paper will present a comprehensive overview of animal production from pasture in Ireland This book will be of interest to grassland and ruminant production scientists, mathematical modellers working on grazing systems, extension workers, students of agriculture and animal production and progressive livestock farmers.