Grazing facilitation or delayed competition between reindeer and sheep. : an experimental study of reindeer feeding preference.
There is considerable controversy regarding the effect of sheep grazing on reindeer populations in Norway. Sheep grazing during summer may affect the critical fall, winter and spring range conditions for reindeer either through negative (delayed competition) or positive (grazing facilitation) intera...
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| Format: | Master Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2005
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10852/11700 http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-10633 |
| Summary: | There is considerable controversy regarding the effect of sheep grazing on reindeer populations in Norway. Sheep grazing during summer may affect the critical fall, winter and spring range conditions for reindeer either through negative (delayed competition) or positive (grazing facilitation) interactions. An important first step is to study the aversion or preference of sheep summer feeding sites by reindeer during spring and fall. The aim of this study was to experimentally test the feeding preference of reindeer in fall and spring towards summer sheep grazed (high and low grazing pressure, respectively), human cut or untreated control plots. Reindeer feeding preference was recorded during three seasons (autumn 2003, spring 2004, and autumn 2004) on two separate agricultural pastures representative of surrounding coastal areas in northern Norway. Reindeer showed a preference for the cut and sheep grazed plots during fall 2003 and spring 2004, whereas low concentration sheep grazed plots were preferred during fall 2004. The control plots were grazed less than the other plots during the first two seasons. In general, reindeer grazed more intensively during spring than fall. There were no measurable indications of negative effects from the sheep grazing, such as faeces aversion or trampling. Interestingly, a 3 - 4 day cycle in feeding preference may have represented a form of self induced, short time scale (3 - 4 day cycles) grazing facilitation produced by the reindeer themselves. The implications of this work show that the worst thing for reindeer (in terms of their feeding preference) along the coastal pastures of Finmark is not to use the pastures for more than sporadic, low intensity reindeer grazing. Importantly, grazing facilitation between sheep and reindeer was clearly supported by this experiment and should be considered as an important aspect for sustainable and productive management of coastal pastures where these two species co-exists. |
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