Relationship between chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of rangeland vegetation of northern Greece
The relationship between chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of some rangeland species in northern Greece was examined in the present study. Samples of herbaceous and ligneous browse species were collected during middle of June and early October. Nutritive value of the above species was evaluated based on chemical composition: crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL) and the in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD). The herbaceous IVOMD did not significant correlated with any of the cell wall fractions in June. However, a significant negative correlation with NDF and a positive one with CP were found in October. Concerning the browse species IVOMD’s, it was negatively related with NDF, ADF, and ADL, both in June and October. It seems that, cell walls content is a reliable predictor for both summer and autumn in vitro digestibility for browse species but it is not for herbaceous species.
1Laboratory of Range Science (236), Faculty of Forestry and the Natural Environment, AUTh, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece 2Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, DUTh, 193 Pantazidou str., 68200 Orestiada, Greece e-mail: pz@for.auth.gr
Keywords:forage quality, herbage, browse species
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Book:Dry Grasslands of Europe: Grazing and Ecosystem Services, Proceedings of 9th European Dry Grassland Meeting (EDGM) Prespa, Greece, 19-23 May 2012 © 2013 HELLENIC RANGE AND PASTURE SOCIETY (HERPAS) Edited by: Vrahnakis M., A.P. Kyriazopoulos, D. Chouvardas and G. Fotiadis
