Cattle treading effects on plant growth and soil stability in the mountain grassland of Japan

✍ Scribed by T. N. Pande; H. Yamamoto

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 252 KB
• Volume: 17
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1085-3278
• DOI: 10.1002/ldr.747

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in two types of Japanese mountain pastures to quantify the effects of cattle treading on plant growth, and on soil loss with runoff water. Duplicate plots (10 m × 10 m) were trodden with zero, three, or six cows of approximately 300 kg body weight for 15 minutes on moderately‐sloping and steep pastures on 8 July and 27 September, 2003. A similar treatment was repeated on the steep pasture only on 14 June and 30 September 2004. Measurements included herbage growth, tiller density, soil loss in runoff water, hydraulic conductivity, soil hardness and soil surface roughness.

Trampling damage to pasture resulted in a significant decrease in herbage growth, greater soil loss with runoff water, decreased hydraulic conductivity, and increased soil hardness and soil surface runoff. The reduction in the herbage growth rate was mainly due to decreased tiller density. Increased soil loss with runoff water mainly resulted from soil disturbance caused by the animals' hooves. There was a strong negative relationship between tiller density and soil surface roughness. The effect of treading on plants and soils increased with treading intensity. Moderately‐sloping pasture was less seriously affected than steep pastures for soil loss, indicating that steep terrains are more susceptible to treading impacts. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.