Table 2 Overview of included articles/studies concerning the effects of co-enclosing semi-natural pasture(s) with an improved pasture
Article | Setup (relevant for this review) | Q | Results (relevant for this review) | Risk of bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Andrée 2011* [28] | Four-year study of cattle grazing, resting and urination/defaecation behaviour in 2–9 semi-natural Nordic pastures in Uppsala, Sweden, including improved areas of grassland (median: 30% of the area) | 3 | In general, cattle had a relative preference (1) for both grazing and urination/defaecation in more nutrient rich areas of the pastures, and the highest preference was for the previously improved areas. Preference for improved areas were statistically significantly (2) different from dry areas all years concerning all behaviours (with resting behaviour varying across years), whereas other differences were not consistently statistically significant | MEDIUM |
Benavides 2009* [55] | Six-year study of cattle, sheep and goat alone, and mixed herds with cattle or sheep with goats, grazing behaviour in eight cleared heathland pastures in Asturias, Spain, including improved areas of grassland (one third of the area sown with ryegrass and white clover). Four years of data on behaviour | 3 | Data indicate (3) that cattle and sheep had a relative preference (1) for improved pasture areas, both alone and when in the same paddock as goats. Goats also preferred the improved areas when alone but, in contrast, they showed a relative preference for the cleared heathland when together with either cattle or sheep during three out of 4 years | MEDIUM |
Celaya 2007*a [60] | Two-day study of cattle, sheep and goat grazing behaviour, grazing as a mixed herd on a highland heather-gorse pasture with improved areas (21% of the area sown with ryegrass and white clover) in Asturias, Spain. Study design and study area as in Celaya 2008 except for the exact proportion of improved area | 3 | Data indicate (3) that all grazer species had a relative preference (1) for improved pasture areas, but goats had a less pronounced relative preference compared to cattle and sheep | MEDIUM |
Celaya 2008*a [61] | Six-month study of cattle, sheep and goat grazing behaviour, grazing as a mixed herd on a highland heather-gorse pasture with improved areas (24% of the area sown with ryegrass and white clover) in Asturias, Spain. Study design and study area as in Celaya 2007 except for the exact proportion of improved area | 3 | Data indicate (3) that all grazer species had a relative preference (1) for improved pasture areas, but goats had a less pronounced relative preference compared to cattle and sheep | MEDIUM |
Clarke 1995* [58] | One-year study of sheep (and deer) grazing preference in six partly improved upland heathland pastures (one sixth of the area being fertilised and sown with a Agrostis sp. and Festuca sp. mix) in north-east Scotland. Improvements were made in three different spatial pattern arrangements within each pasture | 3 | Data indicate (3) that sheep had a relative preference (1) for the improved areas in all pastures and periods of the study | MEDIUM |
Ferreira 2012* [62] | Four-month study of horse grazing behaviour, grazing a highland heather-gorse pasture with improved areas (24% of the area sown with ryegrass and white clover) in Asturias, Spain | 3 | Data indicate (3) that horses had a relative preference (1) for the improved pasture areas but showed relatively less preference for improved areas in September compared to June | MEDIUM |
Ferreira 2013*b [63] | One-year study of cattle, horse, sheep and goat grazing behaviour, grazing as a mixed herd on a highland heather-gorse pasture with improved areas (24% of the area sown with ryegrass and white clover) in Asturias, Spain. Study design seems to be identical to Osoro 2005, but months with presented data partly differ | 3 | Data indicate (3) that cattle, horses and sheep had a relative preference (1) for grazing in improved areas of the pasture. In contrast, goats grazed in general less on those areas, and showed a relative preference for non-improved areas in two out of six months of the study | MEDIUM |
Ferreira 2017* [56] | Three-month study of cattle and goat grazing behaviour, grazing a highland heather-gorse pasture with improved areas in Asturias, Spain. Study included one paddock with only cattle (69% improved) and one with both cattle and goat (25% improved). Improved pasture areas were sown with ryegrass and white clover | 3 | Data indicate (3) that cattle had a relative preference (1) for the improved pasture areas, but this was less pronounced when grazing alone in the paddock with 69% of improved pasture area compared with grazing together with goats in the paddock with 25% of improved pasture area. Goats had in general less relative preference for improved areas compared to cattle, which was negatively associated with the preference values for cattle (comparing the two months) | MEDIUM |
Hester 1996* [59] | One-year study of sheep grazing behaviour, alone or in a mixed herd with deer, on a partly improved upland heather moorland pasture in three pastures in Glensaugh, Scotland (50% of the area reseeded with mainly Lolium perenne and Agrostis capillaris) | 3 | Data indicate (3) that sheep had a relative grazing preference (1) for the improved areas, both alone and together with deer | MEDIUM |
Kaufmann 2013* [57] | Two-year study on general occupancy behaviour of cattle on three mixed woodland-grassland highland pastures (single herd, moved between pastures) in Alberta, Canada, including modified lowland grassland (average: 3% of the area) | 3 | Cattle had a statistically significant (2) relative occupancy preference (1) for the improved areas, which was also statistically significantly (2) higher compared to the other habitats within the pasture | MEDIUM |
López-López 2015 [64] | Two-year study of two sites, but data on grazing behaviour of a mixed herd of cattle and horses from one of the partly improved (25% of the area sown with ryegrass and white clover) highland heather-gorse pastures in Asturias, Spain. Redundant data (cf. López-López 2019) | 3 | Data indicate (3) that cattle and horses had a relative preference (1) for grazing in the improved areas in all studied seasons of the year | HIGH |
López-López 2019* [42] | Two-year study of two sites, but data on grazing behaviour of a mixed herd of cattle and horses from one of the partly improved (25% of the area sown with ryegrass and white clover) highland heather-gorse pastures in Asturias, Spain. Study design seems to be identical to López-López 2015, but more clearly explained here | 3 | Data indicate (3) that cattle and horses had a relative preference (1) for grazing in the improved areas in all studied seasons of the year. The relative preference was more pronounced in June 2012 compared to September 2012 and August 2013 | MEDIUM |
Osoro 2005*b [65] | One-year study of cattle, horse, sheep and goat grazing behaviour, grazing as a mixed herd on a highland heather-gorse pasture with improved areas (24% of the area sown with ryegrass and white clover) in Asturias, Spain. Partly redundant data (cf. Ferreira 2013) | 3 | Data indicate (3) that cattle, horses and sheep had a relative preference (1) for grazing in improved areas of the pasture. In contrast, goats grazed in general less on those areas, and showed a relative preference for non-improved areas in one out of six months of the study | MEDIUM |
Pelve 2007 [66] | One-year study of cattle grazing behaviour in 3 semi-natural Nordic pastures in Uppsala, Sweden, including improved areas of grassland (average: 34% of the area). Redundant data (cf. Andrée 2011) | 3 | Data indicate (4) that cattle had a relative preference (1) for grazing in improved areas | MEDIUM |
Pelve 2008 [67] | One-year study of cattle grazing behaviour in 3 semi-natural Nordic pastures in Uppsala, Sweden, including improved areas of grassland (average: 34% of the area). Redundant data (cf. Andrée 2011) | 3 | Data indicate (4) that cattle had a relative preference (1) for grazing in improved areas | MEDIUM |
Pelve 2010 [68] | One-year study of cattle grazing behaviour in 9 semi-natural Nordic pastures in eastern-central Sweden, including improved areas of grassland. Redundant data (cf. Andrée 2011) | 3 | Cattle had a statistically significantly (2) higher relative preference for grazing and urination/defaecation in the improved areas compared to the non-improved areas of the pastures | MEDIUM |
Pelve 2020 [69] | Two-year study of cattle grazing, resting and urination/defaecation behaviour in 2/9 (first/second year) semi-natural Nordic pastures in Uppsala, Sweden, including improved areas of grassland (median: 30% of the area). Redundant data (cf. Andrée 2011) | 3 | Data show a general tendency for cattle to have a relative preference (1) for grazing, resting and urination/defaecation in more nutrient rich areas of the pastures. The preference index for improved areas was statistically significantly (2) different from all but the mesic areas both years and for all behaviours, except for grazing wet areas the first year, but not statistically significantly (2) different from mesic areas in all cases except urination behaviour the second year | MEDIUM |
Takala 2015 [24] | Two-year study on biodiversity in cattle grazed pastures, comparing 18 semi-natural forest pastures connected to fertilised grassland areas with 7 semi-natural forest pastures without such connection, in Karelia, Finland | 1 | Pastures connected to improved areas had lower plant and bryophyte species richness as well as plant diversity, but higher cover of bryophytes, but differences were statistically significant (2) only for the plant species richness and diversity measures. Note: data are from 1 year for each pasture category, but different years (covering a period of 3 years) | LOW |
Uytvanck 2010* [29] | One-year study on cattle occupancy and grazing behaviour on one mixed habitat semi-natural pasture including 60% former agricultural land in northern Belgium | 3 | Data indicate (3) that cattle had a relative preference (1) for the former agricultural land, both concerning general occupancy and grazing specifically. This preference tended to be higher compared to other habitats except for wooded pasture areas in summer (similar) and winter (wooded pasture more often used for foraging). Nitrogen intake in grassland and wooded pasture was comparable, but negligible in forest. Nitrogen excretion was on average 92.5% of the intake, and the redistribution was related to the intake pattern | HIGH |