The Palatability and Contribution of Native Plant Species to the Forage of Beef Cattle in the Case of Forest Grazing

Abstract

In this paper the author decided quantitatively the palatable and contributive native plant species to the forage of beef cattle (Japanese Black) in the case of forest grazing. As the whole 106 quadrats (2m×2m) were used in the survey for three years in the: young forest which were mainly composed of Cryptomeria japonica. The total plant species which were appeared were 63 families or 185 species, and 37 families or 103 species (55%) of which were grazed. It was considered that the plants. which were grazed preferably by beef cattle were more palatable ones. So, the author proposed following formula to judge the degree of palatability. (1) Palatability Index=Sum of the index of intake degree of each species/The number of quadrats in which each species appeared The intake degree is changed by kinds of factors, so in this formula it was used as. the averaged one. And further, to judge the contributive species to the forage, summed dominance ratio (SDR-2) as the indicator of standing crop was added to the palatability index, and following formula was proposed. (2) Intake index=Ratio of palatability index of each species to the maximum one×Ratio of SDR-2 of each species to the maximum one×1/100 The order of palatability based on the palatability index were as follows ; Carex ligulata, Miscanthus sinensis, Boehmeria tricuspis, Spodiopogon sibiricus, Hosta lancifolia, Eccoilopus cotulifer, Arundinella hirta, Urtica Thunbergiana, Artemisia vulgaris, Codonopsis ussuriensis, Calamagrostis arundinacea, Carex humilis, Osmunda japonica, Morus bombycis f. spontanea. But the following species were not palatable ; Blechnum niponicum, Benzoin umbellatum, Callicarpa mollis, Cleyera ochnacea, Cryptomeria japonica, Chamaecyparis obtusa, Pinus densiflora. These results agreed well with the observations to the grazing conditions. The most contributive species to the forage judged by the intake index was Miscanthus sinensis. And the supplementary species was as follows ; Boehmeria tricuspis, Osmunda japonica, Pteridium aquilinum, Spodiopogon sibiricus, Carex humilis, Calamagrostis arundinacea, Carex conica, Artemisia vulgaris, Cornus Kousa, Lysimachia clethroides, Clematis apiifolia, Astir ageratoides.