Floristic Composition Mediates Change in Forage Nutritive Quality of Atlantic Mountain Grasslands after Experimental Grazing Exclusion

• Published in: Agronomy (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 25
• Main Authors: García-Baquero, Gonzalo, Odriozola, Iñaki, Aldezabal, Arantza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.01.2021
• Subjects: agroecology; agronomy; Animal lactation; Beef cattle; Biodiversity; botanical composition; Calcium; Composition; crude protein; Digestibility; enzymatic reactions; exhibitions; Experiments; Fabaceae; Grasslands; Grazing; Herbivores; Horses; Iberian Peninsula; knowledge; Livestock; mediation analysis; mineral content; mixed modelling; Mountains; neutral detergent fiber; Nutritive value; Phosphorus; phosphorus content; Plant diversity; Precipitation; Proteins; repeated-measures randomized complete block experiment; Sheep; Species composition; Within-subjects design; Iberian Peninsula

Simultaneous reduction of biodiversity and forage nutritive value after grazing abandonment represents a critical agroecological problem observed in temperate mountain grasslands. However, how both processes affect each other after the exclusion of large grazers is not well understood. To address th...