Utilization of nitrogen- and mineral-rich vascular forage plants by reindeer in winter
The marginal winter pastures of reindeer and caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) in Arctic and sub-Arctic areas are assumed to be nitrogen- and mineral-poor. Reindeer eat a mixed diet consisting of nitrogen-deficient lichens and a wide variety of vascular plants in winter. Some reindeer populations manage...
Published in: | The Journal of Agricultural Science |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021859602002344 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0021859602002344 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0021859602002344 2024-03-03T08:41:53+00:00 Utilization of nitrogen- and mineral-rich vascular forage plants by reindeer in winter STOREHEIER, P. V. MATHIESEN, S. D. TYLER, N. J. C. SCHJELDERUP, I. OLSEN, M. A. 2002 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021859602002344 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0021859602002344 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms The Journal of Agricultural Science volume 139, issue 2, page 151-160 ISSN 0021-8596 1469-5146 Genetics Agronomy and Crop Science Animal Science and Zoology journal-article 2002 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021859602002344 2024-02-08T08:29:47Z The marginal winter pastures of reindeer and caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) in Arctic and sub-Arctic areas are assumed to be nitrogen- and mineral-poor. Reindeer eat a mixed diet consisting of nitrogen-deficient lichens and a wide variety of vascular plants in winter. Some reindeer populations manage to maintain carcass mass outside the growing season and very little is known about the ability of reindeer to utilize vascular plants in this season. The chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of 17 species of vascular forage plants and one species of moss collected mid-winter from beneath the snow at an inland winter pasture in northern Norway were determined. Wintergreen parts of graminoids had a high content of crude protein (0.072–0.108 g/kg dry matter (DM)) and water-soluble carbohydrates (0.098–0.167 g/kg DM) and were highly digestible (50–65% IVDMD) compared with the withered parts of the plants (27–53% IVDMD). The digestibility of both shrubs and graminoids was inversely related to content of cellulose and lignin, but positively correlated with increasing contents of water-soluble carbohydrates. Shrubs were relatively calcium-rich (3.6–6.1 g/kg DM) while wintergreen graminoids contained up to 10.0 g/kg DM of potassium, 1.5 g/kg DM magnesium and 2.1 g/kg DM phosphorus. The present study demonstrates that the wintergreen parts of several species of vascular plants are nutritious, containing high levels of nitrogen and minerals, and that they are highly digestible to reindeer in winter. Vascular plants may, therefore, be more important to reindeer and caribou in winter than previously realized. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic caribou Northern Norway Rangifer tarandus Cambridge University Press Arctic Norway The Journal of Agricultural Science 139 2 151 160 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Genetics Agronomy and Crop Science Animal Science and Zoology |
spellingShingle |
Genetics Agronomy and Crop Science Animal Science and Zoology STOREHEIER, P. V. MATHIESEN, S. D. TYLER, N. J. C. SCHJELDERUP, I. OLSEN, M. A. Utilization of nitrogen- and mineral-rich vascular forage plants by reindeer in winter |
topic_facet |
Genetics Agronomy and Crop Science Animal Science and Zoology |
description |
The marginal winter pastures of reindeer and caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) in Arctic and sub-Arctic areas are assumed to be nitrogen- and mineral-poor. Reindeer eat a mixed diet consisting of nitrogen-deficient lichens and a wide variety of vascular plants in winter. Some reindeer populations manage to maintain carcass mass outside the growing season and very little is known about the ability of reindeer to utilize vascular plants in this season. The chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of 17 species of vascular forage plants and one species of moss collected mid-winter from beneath the snow at an inland winter pasture in northern Norway were determined. Wintergreen parts of graminoids had a high content of crude protein (0.072–0.108 g/kg dry matter (DM)) and water-soluble carbohydrates (0.098–0.167 g/kg DM) and were highly digestible (50–65% IVDMD) compared with the withered parts of the plants (27–53% IVDMD). The digestibility of both shrubs and graminoids was inversely related to content of cellulose and lignin, but positively correlated with increasing contents of water-soluble carbohydrates. Shrubs were relatively calcium-rich (3.6–6.1 g/kg DM) while wintergreen graminoids contained up to 10.0 g/kg DM of potassium, 1.5 g/kg DM magnesium and 2.1 g/kg DM phosphorus. The present study demonstrates that the wintergreen parts of several species of vascular plants are nutritious, containing high levels of nitrogen and minerals, and that they are highly digestible to reindeer in winter. Vascular plants may, therefore, be more important to reindeer and caribou in winter than previously realized. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
STOREHEIER, P. V. MATHIESEN, S. D. TYLER, N. J. C. SCHJELDERUP, I. OLSEN, M. A. |
author_facet |
STOREHEIER, P. V. MATHIESEN, S. D. TYLER, N. J. C. SCHJELDERUP, I. OLSEN, M. A. |
author_sort |
STOREHEIER, P. V. |
title |
Utilization of nitrogen- and mineral-rich vascular forage plants by reindeer in winter |
title_short |
Utilization of nitrogen- and mineral-rich vascular forage plants by reindeer in winter |
title_full |
Utilization of nitrogen- and mineral-rich vascular forage plants by reindeer in winter |
title_fullStr |
Utilization of nitrogen- and mineral-rich vascular forage plants by reindeer in winter |
title_full_unstemmed |
Utilization of nitrogen- and mineral-rich vascular forage plants by reindeer in winter |
title_sort |
utilization of nitrogen- and mineral-rich vascular forage plants by reindeer in winter |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021859602002344 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0021859602002344 |
geographic |
Arctic Norway |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Norway |
genre |
Arctic caribou Northern Norway Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Arctic caribou Northern Norway Rangifer tarandus |
op_source |
The Journal of Agricultural Science volume 139, issue 2, page 151-160 ISSN 0021-8596 1469-5146 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021859602002344 |
container_title |
The Journal of Agricultural Science |
container_volume |
139 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
151 |
op_container_end_page |
160 |
_version_ |
1792497440292601856 |