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The Grazing Intensity Index: A Novel Approach to Comprehensively Quantify Livestock Grazing Intensity by Jenna M. Likins; Jason E. Sawyer; Urs P. Kreuter is a scholarly article available to read on EtoBox.

What is The Grazing Intensity Index: A Novel Approach to Comprehensively Quantify Livestock Grazing Intensity about?

The capacity of adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing practices to maintain or enhance the production of ecosystem services and ranch profitability compared to continuous or other rotational grazing continues to be vigorously debated. However, the parameters used to differentiate among alternative grazing management strategies are inadequate, and standardized methods for comprehensively characterizing grazing systems are lacking. This paper develops a rigorous weighted composite index to serve as a standardized approach for more accurately classifying the grazing intensity implemented in grazing management systems. The Grazing Intensity Index is comprised of eight total indicators of grazing intensity; six traditional indicators and two novel indicators. To gather data on grazing intensity metrics, 870 ranchers in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas were surveyed during January-March 2022. The eight grazing intensity indicators converge into three factors that describe the effects of rest, grazing, and the animal/land relationship in grazing systems. Together, the factors explain 89% of the variation across grazing systems studied. The Grazing Intensity Index comprehensively accou

Author

Jenna M. Likins; Jason E. Sawyer; Urs P. Kreuter

Publisher

Elsevier BV

Published

2023

Language

EN