Abstract
In low-input grazing systems excrement patches are the main nutrient input. They influence both forage production and intake of grazing animals. Our goals were to determine (1) whether seasons of differing weather conditions and swards of differing botanical composition influence the excrement effect on plant biomass in grazed pasture and (2) if animal species differ in their forage intake at excrement patches. We measured the plant biomass and forage intake responses to dung and urine patches of cattle and sheep in rotationally grazed low-input pastures with either grass-dominated or diverse swards in the stocking periods following excrement deposition in spring and autumn. At urine plots the plant biomass production was 14.7% higher than at the corresponding control plots, accompanied by a 19 and 17% higher biomass nitrogen and potassium concentration, respectively. The effect of excrements on plant biomass production, nutrient parameters and animal forage intake was not affected by animal species, sward type or stocking period. Small-scale sward height measurements showed that cattle avoided vegetation close to dung patches in both stocking periods whereas sheep did so only following the excrement deposition in spring and that cattle preferentially grazed at urine plots on grass-dominated swards. The effect of excrement patches on vegetation biomass parameters was small, which masked potential influences by animal species, sward type and excrement deposition time.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aarons SR, O’Connor CR, Hosseini HM, Gourley CJP (2009) Dung pads increase pasture production, soil nutrients and microbial biomass carbon in grazed dairy systems. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 84(1):81–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-008-9228-5
Auerswald K, Mayer F, Schnyder H (2010) Coupling of spatial and temporal pattern of cattle excreta patches on a low intensity pasture. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 88(2):275–288. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-009-9321-4
Bakker ES, Olff H, Boekhoff M, Gleichman JM, Berendse F (2004) Impact of herbivores on nitrogen cycling: contrasting effects of small and large species. Oecologia 138(1):91–101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1402-5
Bélanger G, Rochette P, Chantigny M, Ziadi N, Angers D, Charbonneau É, Pellerin D, Liang C (2015) Nitrogen availability from dairy cow dung and urine applied to forage grasses in eastern Canada. Can J Plant Sci 95(1):55–65. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjps-2014-039
Cameron KC, Di HJ, Moir JL (2013) Nitrogen losses from the soil/plant system: a review. Ann Appl Biol 162(2):145–173. https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12014
Cuchillo Hilario M, Wrage-Mönnig N, Isselstein J (2017) Behavioral patterns of (co-)grazing cattle and sheep on swards differing in plant diversity. Appl Anim Behav Sci 191:17–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2017.02.009
Day TA, Detling JK (1990) Grassland patch dynamics and herbivore grazing preference following urine deposition. Ecology 71(1):180–188
Decau ML, Simon JC, Jacquet A (2003) Fate of urine nitrogen in three soils throughout a grazing season. J Environ Qual 32(4):1405–1413. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2003.1405
Deenen P, Middelkoop N (1992) Effects of cattle dung and urine on nitrogen uptake and yield of perennial ryegrass. Neth J Agric Sci 1992:469–482
Dennis SJ, Moir JL, Cameron KC, Di HJ, Hennessy D, Richards KG (2011) Urine patch distribution under dairy grazing at three stocking rates in Ireland. Irish J Agric Food Res 50:149–160. https://doi.org/10.2307/41549248
Gillet F, Kohler F, Vandenberghe C, Buttler A (2010) Effect of dung deposition on small-scale patch structure and seasonal vegetation dynamics in mountain pastures. Agr Ecosyst Environ 135(1–2):34–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2009.08.006
Haynes RJ, Williams PH (1993) Nutrient cycling and soil fertility in the grazed pasture ecosystem. Adv Agron 49:119–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2113(08)60794-4
Hirata M, Sugimoto Y, Ueno M (1988) Effects of cattle dung deposition on energy and matter flows in bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Fluegge) pasture. 1. Changes in sward height and consumed herbage as related to rate of dung disappearance. J Jpn Grassl Sci 33(4):371–386
Hoogendoorn CJ, Betteridge K, Costall DA, Ledgard SF (2010) Nitrogen concentration in the urine of cattle, sheep and deer grazing a common ryegrass/cocksfoot/white clover pasture. N Z J Agric Res 53(3):235–243. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288233.2010.499899
Hutchings MR, Kyriazakis I, Anderson DH, Gordon IJ, Coop RL (1998) Behavioural strategies used by parasitized and non-parasitized sheep to avoid ingestion of gastro-intestinal nematodes associated with faeces. Anim Sci 67(01):97–106. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1357729800009838
Janssens F, Peeters A, Tallowin J, Bakker JP, Bekker RM, Fillat F, Oomes M (1998) Relationship between soil chemical factors and grassland diversity. Plant Soil 202(1):69–78. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004389614865
Jaramillo VJ, Detling JK (1992) Small-scale heterogeneity in a semi-arid north american grassland: II. Cattle grazing of simulated urine patches. J Appl Ecol 29(1):9–13
Jouven M, Agabriel J, Baumont R (2008) A model predicting the seasonal dynamics of intake and production for suckler cows and their calves fed indoors or at pasture. Anim Feed Sci Technol 143(1–4):256–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2007.05.014
Kayser M, Müller J, Isselstein J (2007) Potassium leaching from cut grassland and from urine patches. Soil Use Manag 23(4):384–392. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2007.00101.x
Kirwan L, Lüscher A, Sebastià MT, Finn JA, Collins RP, Porqueddu C, Helgadottir A, Baadshaug OH, Brophy C, Coran C, Dalmannsdóttir S, Delgado I, Elgersma A, Fothergill M, Frankow-Lindberg BE, Golinski P, Grieu P, Gustavsson AM, Höglind M, Huguenin-Elie O, Iliadis C, Jørgensen M, Kadziuliene Z, Karyotis T, Lunnan T, Malengier M, Maltoni S, Meyer V, Nyfeller D, Nykanen-Kurki P, Parente J, Smit HJ, Thumm U, Connolly J (2007) Evenness drives consistent diversity effects in intensive grassland systems across 28 European sites. J Ecol 95(3):530–539. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2007.01225.x
Ledgard SF (2001) Nitrogen cycling in low input legume-based agriculture, with emphasis on legume/grass pastures. Plant Soil 228:43–59
Lenth VR, Hervé M (2015) lsmeans: least-squares means, R package version 2.17. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=lsmeans
Ma X, Wang S, Jiang G, Haneklaus S, Schnug E, Nyren P (2007) Short-term effect of targeted placements of sheep excrement on grassland in inner Mongolia on soil and plant parameters. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 38(11–12):1589–1604. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103620701378516
Ma X, Ambus P, Wang S, Wang Y, Wang C (2013) Priming of soil carbon decomposition in two Inner Mongolia grassland soils following sheep dung addition: a study using 13C natural abundance approach. PLoS ONE 8(11):e78578. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078578
Marsden KA, Jones DL, Chadwick DR (2016) Disentangling the effect of sheep urine patch size and nitrogen loading rate on cumulative N2O emissions. Anim Prod Sci 56(3):265. https://doi.org/10.1071/AN15613
Moir JL, Cameron KC, Di HJ, Fertsak U (2011) The spatial coverage of dairy cattle urine patches in an intensively grazed pasture system. J Agric Sci 149(4):473–485. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859610001012
Moir JL, Malcolm BJ, Cameron KC, Di HJ (2012) The effect of dicyandiamide on pasture nitrate concentration, yield and N offtake under high N loading in winter and spring. Grass Forage Sci 67(3):391–402. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2494.2012.00857.x
Moir JL, Edwards GR, Berry LN (2013) Nitrogen uptake and leaching loss of thirteen temperate grass species under high N loading. Grass Forage Sci 68(2):313–325. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2494.2012.00905.x
Moir J, Cameron K, Di H (2016) Potential pasture nitrogen concentrations and uptake from autumn or spring applied cow urine and DCD under field conditions. Plants (Basel, Switzerland) 5(2):26. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants5020026
Nolan T, Connolly J, Wachendorf M (2001) Mixed grazing and climatic determinants of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) content in a permanent pasture. Ann Bot 88(4):713–724. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbo.2001.1493
Orwin KH, Bertram JE, Clough TJ, Condron LM, Sherlock RR, O’Callaghan M (2009) Short-term consequences of spatial heterogeneity in soil nitrogen concentrations caused by urine patches of different sizes. Appl Soil Ecol 42(3):271–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2009.05.002
Pinheiro J, Bates, D, Debroy, S, Sarkar, D, R Core Team (2015) nlme: linear and nonlinear mixed effects models, R package version 3.1-120. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=nlme
R Core Team (2015) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. http://www.R-project.org/
Rotz CA, Taube F, Russelle MP, Oenema J, Sanderson MA, Wachendorf M (2005) Whole-farm perspectives of nutrient flows in grassland agriculture. Crop Sci 45(6):2139–2159. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2004.0523
Saarijärvi K, Virkajärvi P (2009) Nitrogen dynamics of cattle dung and urine patches on intensively managed boreal pasture. J Agric Sci 147(04):479–491. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859609008727
Seither M, Wrage-Mönnig N, Isselstein J (2014) Biomass production of Lolio-Cynosuretum grassland is not increased by plant-species richness. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 177(4):613–623. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201100349
Selbie DR, Buckthought LE, Shepherd MA (2015) The challenge of the urine patch for managing nitrogen in grazed pasture systems. Adv Agron 129:229–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2014.09.004
Smith LA, White PC, Marion G, Hutchings MR (2009) Livestock grazing behavior and inter-versus intraspecific disease risk via the fecal–oral route. Behav Ecol 20(2):426–432. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arn143
Stewart K, Bourn N, Thomas JA (2001) An evaluation of three quick methods commonly used to assess sward height in ecology. J Appl Ecol 38(5):1148–1154. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2664.2001.00658.x
Venables WN, Ripley BD (2002) Modern applied statistics with S-Plus. Springer, New York
Whitehead DC (2000) Nutrient elements in grassland: soil–plant–animal relationships. CAB International, Wallingford
White-Leech R, Liu K, Sollenberger LE, Woodard KR, Interrante SM (2013a) Excreta deposition on grassland patches: I. Forage harvested, nutritive value, and nitrogen recovery. Crop Sci 53(2):688–695. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2012.07.0407
White-Leech R, Liu K, Sollenberger LE, Woodard KR, Interrante SM (2013b) Excreta deposition on grassland patches: II. Spatial pattern and duration of forage responses. Crop Sci 53(2):1–8. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2012.07.0408
Williams PH, Haynes RJ (1994) Comparison of initial wetting pattern, nutrient concentrations in soil solution and the fate of 15N-labelled urine in sheep and cattle urine patch areas of pasture soil. Plant Soil 162(1):49–59
Williams PH, Haynes RJ (1995) Effect of sheep, deer and cattle dung on herbage production and soil nutrient content. Grass Forage Sci 50(3):263–271
Yoshitake S, Soutome H, Koizumi H (2014) Deposition and decomposition of cattle dung and its impact on soil properties and plant growth in a cool-temperate pasture. Ecol Res 29(4):673–684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-014-1153-2
Acknowledgements
This research project was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Reference Number TO 895/1-1). We are grateful to Anne Vor, Philipp Langehenke, David Saal and the technical staff of our department for their help in the field and laboratory. Moreover we would like to thank Arne Oppermann, Knut Salzmann and all employees of the experimental farm of Relliehausen.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Scheile, T., Isselstein, J. & Tonn, B. Herbage biomass and uptake under low-input grazing as affected by cattle and sheep excrement patches. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 112, 277–289 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-018-9945-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-018-9945-3