Goats and sheep grazing on cereal stubble after harvesting
Cereal stubble after harvesting is an important feeding resource for small ruminants in Greece during summer. At that period forage in rangelands is dry and of low nutritive value. Hence, shepherds are forced to lead their flocks for grazing to barley and wheat stubble. At the low elevation zone of northern Greece, such grazing takes place from middle June till end of September. In this paper, the diet selection, nutritive value and grazing activities of goats and sheep grazing on cereal stubble after harvesting were investigated. Forbs were the main component of diet selected by goats and sheep (63.6% and 72.4 % respectively) while cereal stubble contribution was significantly (p0.05) higher for sheep (21.3%) than for goats (11.9%). Goats selected significantly (p0.05) higher amounts of woody species than sheep (23.7% and 0.4% respectively), which preferred greater amounts of grasses than goats (5.9% and 0.8% respectively). Nutritive value of diet selected by sheep was better than goats probably due to the greater contribution of forbs. Feeding was the main activity of both animal species followed by moving and standing. Ruminating and lying were not observed for both animal species probably due to the time spent resting between the two grazing bouts.
Grazing capacity of littoral meadows and reedbeds at Lake Mikri Prespa
Contrary to the various range types in terrestrial ecosystems, the grazing capacity of wet meadows and reedbeds has not been studied extensively in our country. Its estimation constitutes an important parameter for the proper management of littoral meadows with grazing, especially in wetlands where grazing is used or can be used to the benefit of both livestock-farming and the conservation of threatened habitats and wildlife species. This issue is particularly important for the aquatic fauna of Lake Mikri Prespa, where the surfaces of wet meadows have considerably decreased because of the expansion of dense reedbeds at their expense. The present work includes results of an experiment that took place at the western lakeshore from 1997 to 2000. In the end of each season, samplings were conducted in paired plots (grazed / ungrazed above-ground or emergent biomass) in four vegetation zones that are influenced in different ways by the fluctuating lake water level. The grazing capacity and percent used by the buffaloes presented major differences between the seasons and the vegetation zones. In the lower zones, these two parameters were considerably influenced by the extent of the seasonal fluctuation of the water level. The mean annual grazing capacity of the littoral meadow types (including reedbeds) was calculated to 2.2 buffalo units per ha (BU/ha). In the framework of a subsequent experiment at another littoral site, the stocking density used was 4.5 BU/ha. This grazing pressure led to the creation of a wet meadow type on a reed-dominated surface, while the grazing pressure of 2.2 BU/ha is considered suitable for its maintenance.
Collection and evaluation of genetic material of Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) Stirton from various regions of Greece – Preliminary results
Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) Stirton, formerly known as Psoralea bituminaria, is a perennial legume, hemicryptophyte, indigenous in South Europe, West Asia and North Africa. It is found all over Greece in dry and open sites, and characterized by the presence of secondary chemical compounds in its mature leaves. It is used as forage or hay by domestic animals and as a pharmaceutical plant. In this paper, the pod character variation is presented in the framework of a project aiming at collecting and evaluating the genetic material of this species in Greece. Fruits of 14 populations growing in several areas in mainland and in the islands were collected in the summer of 2003. In each population, pod weight and seed and beak length were measured. Differences were statistically significant in these three characters among populations but not within them. The heaviest pods and longest seeds were found in a provenance from Crete followed by a provenance from Drama, northern Greece, while the less heavy pods and the shortest seeds were found in Pelion, Central Greece. The longest beak was measured also in Crete, while the shortest one in Vermion, northern Greece. In general, no specific geographical or altitudinal patterns in the distribution of pod characters measured were detected.
A study on the effect of grazing to microarthropod composition on an alpine pasture
The effect of grazing in qualitative and quantitative composition of acari-fauna was studied on an alpine pasture in County Ioannina, Epirus, Greece for the period April 1997-November 1999. The number of species was found to be similar and comprised approximately 114 and 119 taxa for the grazed and ungrazed pasture respectively. The dominant species were: a) for the grazed pasture: Scheloribates spp., Lorryia sp. and immatures stages of Cryptostigmata which was found dominant and contant, Oribatella sp. dominant and accesory, Tarsonemus lacustris, Peloptulus sp. and Microtydeus bellus influent and accesory; b) for the ungrazed pasture: Scheloribates spp., Tarsonemus lacustris and immatures stages of Cryptostigmata which was found dominant and constant, Oribatella sp., Lorryia sp. and Steneotarsonemus konoi dominant and accesory, Tarsonemus spp. influent and constant, Mycobatidae, Siteroptes avenae, Siteroptes cerealium, Tydeus kochi influent and accesoty. The total acari population densities on ungrazed pasture was significantly higher. Significantly higher was the population densities of Prostigmata and Mesostigmata on ungrazed pasture while there was no significant difference between the populations of Astigmata and Cryptostigmata.
Evaluation of temporal changes of the landscape of Kolchicos basin of lake Koronia with the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
Semi-mountainous landscapes of Greece have been significantly changed over the last 50 years. These changes have the form of structural and diversity modification of land cover/use patterns. The area of Kolchicos basin, north of Lake Koronia, was chosen as a study area. The landscape of the study area supports several agricultural and pastoral activities and represents a typical semimountainous landscape of Greece. Demographic and socioeconomic changes as long as the changes in the traditional management practices modify the landscape of the study area. The general trend of landscape change together with the temporal transformation of the landscape were evaluated by the mean of Geographical Information Systems and the digital process of two sets of Aerial photographs (1960 and 1993). Digital processing of the aerial photographs resulted in the creation of a diagram of temporal transformation of the landscape. Demographic and socioeconomic inventory data was collected from diachronic census reports of the National Statistical Service of Greece and were correlated with the results derived from the diagrammatic model.
