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Wang J, Cao W, Shi H, Li W. Forage plants in grasslands with different topographies affect yak foraging preferences on the eastern Tibetan plateau. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1347576. [PMID: 38617437 PMCID: PMC11010683 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1347576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Diet selection, a core problem of foraging behavior, is a nutritional adaptation strategy formed in the long-term natural selection process by grazing herbivores and is significant for the sustainable management of grassland. Studies have mainly focused on the impacts of the individual and whole community spatial characteristics and herbivore body status on herbivore foraging behavior; thus, the response and mechanism of forage plants in different terrains to the diet selection of grazing herbivores remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, forage plants (gramineae, cyperaceae, legume, forbs, edible shrubs, and community) in different topographies (terrace, riparian zones, shady slope, half shady slope, half sunny slope, sunny slope) on the eastern Tibetan plateau were selected to study changes in nutrient and mineral content characteristics of forage plants, as well as the difference in feeding bias of yaks for forage plants in different terrains by using an indoor cafeteria trial. A structural equation model was used to illustrate the impact of the forage plants in different terrains on the feeding bias of yak. The multi-criterion decision model TOPSIS showed that the nutritional value of gramineae was highest for the shaded slope, and that of cyperaceae and leguminosae was the highest for the terraces. The nutrient value of forbs and the whole community was highest for the sunny slope. Dry matter intake by yaks of leguminosae, forbs, and the whole plant community was significantly higher for terraces than for grasslands with other topographies, and all were significantly lower in riparian zones. Yak forage preference of leguminosae, forbs, and the whole community was the highest for the terrace and the lowest for the riparian zones. Structural equation modeling showed that for functional groups, the interactions between topography and functional groups were the drivers influencing yak forage preferences. Our study highlights the propensity of yaks to forage for plants in areas with different topographies. These results have provided a scientific basis for understanding the relationship between herbivores and plants in grasslands and for formulating scientific grazing management strategies, which are of considerable importance for sustainable grassland livestock husbandry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinlan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining, China
- Grassland Ecosystem Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Sino-U.S. Research Centers for Sustainable Grassland and Livestock Management, College of Grassland Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Development of Forage Germplasm in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of Qinghai Province, Qinghai Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine of Qinghai University, Xining, China
| | - Wenxia Cao
- Grassland Ecosystem Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Sino-U.S. Research Centers for Sustainable Grassland and Livestock Management, College of Grassland Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Hongmei Shi
- Animal Husbandry Station, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Hezuo, China
| | - Wen Li
- Grassland Ecosystem Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Sino-U.S. Research Centers for Sustainable Grassland and Livestock Management, College of Grassland Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Development of Forage Germplasm in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of Qinghai Province, Qinghai Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine of Qinghai University, Xining, China
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Rivera D, Verde A, Fajardo Rodríguez J, Ríos S, Alcaraz F, Cárceles C, Ortíz J, Valdés A, Ruíz-Gallardo JR, García-Flores A, Palazón JA, Obón C. Ethnoveterinary Medicine and Ethnopharmacology in the Main Transhumance Areas of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:866132. [PMID: 35591874 PMCID: PMC9113055 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.866132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we document the practices of ethnoveterinary medicine and ethnopharmacology in the context of traditional transhumance routes that cross Castilla La Mancha from north to south. Transhumance is a type of grazing system that allows advantage to be taken of winter pastures (wintering places) and summer pastures by seasonal movement, twice a year, of cattle and their shepherds. Our study is based on over 200 interviews (from 1994 to 2021) conducted in 86 localities along eight major transhumance routes "cañadas reales" and 25 other minor transhumance routes, and involved 210 informants, 89 single and 121 groups, and 562 individuals, of which the majority were men. Sixty-three recorded pathologies and their treatments are discussed. Two hundred and two species and substances, belonging to 92 different families, have been recorded from the interviews, of which most are plants. Amid the toxic plant species, the most cited in the interviews are Erophaca baetica (L.) Boiss., Lupinus angustifolius L., and Oenanthe crocata L. Some of the species reported as toxic were reservoirs of pathogens or markers for dangerous areas. One of the fields most widely covered in our study is that of prevention, protection, and control of endo- and ectoparasites. This control is carried out mainly by means of aromatic plants. As a polyvalent species, Daphne gnidium L. is outstanding, and it contributes one-tenth of the records of our study. Among the species of fundamentally therapeutic use, Cistus ladanifer L. stands out by far. Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) based on the repertories of ingredients, separates the routes whose most important sections run through siliceous terrain with its characteristic flora, especially in the provinces of Ciudad Real and Toledo, from the routes that run through the limestone terrain of Albacete and Cuenca, and link the Eastern Mancha and the "Serranía de Cuenca" with Andalusia and the Spanish Levant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Rivera
- Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Alonso Verde
- Grupo de Investigación en Botánica, Etnobiología y Educación, Laboratorio de Sistemática y Etnobotánica, Instituto Botánico, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Jardín Botánico de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - José Fajardo Rodríguez
- Grupo de Investigación en Botánica, Etnobiología y Educación, Laboratorio de Sistemática y Etnobotánica, Instituto Botánico, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Jardín Botánico de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Segundo Ríos
- Biological Research Station-Botanical Garden of Torretes, Institute of Biodiversity CIBIO, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Francisco Alcaraz
- Grupo de Investigación en Botánica, Etnobiología y Educación, Laboratorio de Sistemática y Etnobotánica, Instituto Botánico, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Jardín Botánico de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Carlos Cárceles
- Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Juana Ortíz
- Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Arturo Valdés
- Grupo de Investigación en Botánica, Etnobiología y Educación, Laboratorio de Sistemática y Etnobotánica, Instituto Botánico, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Jardín Botánico de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Jose Reyes Ruíz-Gallardo
- Grupo de Investigación en Botánica, Etnobiología y Educación, Laboratorio de Sistemática y Etnobotánica, Instituto Botánico, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Jardín Botánico de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Aida García-Flores
- Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - José Antonio Palazón
- Departamento de Ecología e Hidrología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Concepción Obón
- Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO), Escuela Politécnica Superior de Orihuela (EPSO), Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Orihuela, Spain
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