Inventory plan of silvopastoral systems in Greece
Silvopastoral systems cover relatively large areas in Greece and constitute an important vegetation type with great economic and environmental interest. They are mixed systems composed of forest trees with a crown density of no more than 40% and understory vegetation consisted of herbaceous and woody species (shrubs). The overstory species are used for the production of fruits and foliage to be fed to livestock while the understory vegetation is directly used by sheep, goats and cattle with grazing, making silvopastoral systems invaluable areas for livestock production. On the other hand, silvopastoral systems play a significant environmental role because they protect the soil from erosion, ensure an increased biodiversity, regulate the carbon sequestration, and control mountain hydrology. Conservation of silvopastoral systems is necessary for maintaining of good soil condition, increased biodiversity, improved rural landscape, and rural life in mountain areas. Also, the development of new systems that properly combine forest and animal husbandry products is imperative. The first step to this direction is to inventory the existing silvopastoral systems. This inventory will help to learn about their total area and their geographical distribution. It will also help to apply proper management practices and plan national policies for their sustainable use.
Classification and multitemporal monitoring of rangelands in the watershed of torrent Bogdana, prefecture of Thessaloniki
In the framework of the program “Environment-Archimedes ΙΙ”, remote sensing technology and Geographic Information Systems (G.I.S.) were used for monitoring, classification and mapping of changes in the grazing forest lands of the torrent Bogdana basin. As sources of data proportional and digital thematic maps, management plans, rangeland studies and satellite digital pictures were used. The modern technologies were used for the creation of an information bank, which constitutes the source of elements for the continuous follow-up and management of the region. The torrent Bogdana basin belongs to the group of basins of Koronia and Volvi Lakes in Lagadas region and covers a total area of 17.900 ha. The study area was distinguished in different land cover categories. The rangelands constitute the largest category of land cover in the total area of the basin. In this work the diachronic changes of rangelands in period of 1989-2000 are presented. The diachronic study showed a reduction of grasslands to other categories, with more important the increase of evergreen shrublands and of agricultural land. The results indicated that remote sensing is indicated method for producing geographic data for the study of diachronic changes of grazing areas in the basin of torrent Bogdana and its use can help in better management of the environment.
Creep grazing: a new approach on grazing management systems
Several grazing systems have been developed for rational management and utilization of rangelands considering vegetation, the kind of livestock to be grazed, climate and topography. Creep grazing allows young nursing animals’ access through special gates to an adjacent pasture area with high forage quality enhancing their preweaning body weight. In this paper creep grazing system is thoroughly described as well as creep grazing by goats is presented for the first time worldwide in accordance with natural preferences of goats to fodder trees and shrubs.
Theoretical comparisons of energy inputs of farm-animal husbandry systems
The farm-animal husbandry systems are based on energy inputs in order to secure their productivity. The farm systems, which produce concentrates and hay, support the animal husbandry systems but they also need energy inputs. These inputs include the energy for machinery manufacturing and their field operation to produce animal foodstuff. This study investigates the energy inputs of farm systems and animal husbandry systems of different intensification. Based on the energy inputs to produce animal foodstuff and grass from leys and rangelands, four different sheep-raising systems are evaluated (numbers in parenthesis are energy inputs in MJ sheep-1 year-1: stable (1556), semi-stable (1661), pastoral-unimproved range (1391) and pastoral-improved range (1305). These numbers can be used only for comparison purposes and have not absolute value. The energy inputs estimation of these systems has economic and environmental importance (e.g. consumption of nonrenewable energy resources, climatic change). Thus it would be important to be taken into consideration in planning agricultural sector policies.
Rangeland types and traditional management practices in Turkey
Turkey has 21.8 million ha of natural rangelands, but their distribution varies greatly among the regions. From the perspective of ecological structure, seven grazing or browsing land types may be identified in Turkey. The Eastern and Central Anatolia have the most extensive grasslands, while the Mediterranean region has the largest woody rangelands. Rangelands are officially classified in accordance with the Dyksterhuis’s method (climax vegetation), but studies have been initiated to replace this method with the range health method. Turks have a distinguished range management tradition and range management practices. The system of transhumance, involving seasonally movement from the winter range (kışlak) to the summer range (yaylak), is a common practice in the traditional range management.
