Sustainable Agriculture Sciences, Rothamsted Research North Wyke, Okehampton EX20 2SB, Devon, UK.
Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford BS40 5DU, Somerset, UK.
Sensors (Basel). 2021 Apr 11;21(8):2696. doi: 10.3390/s21082696.
Understanding the behaviour of grazing animals at pasture is crucial in order to develop management strategies that will increase the potential productivity of grazing systems and simultaneously decrease the negative impact on the environment. The objective of this review was to summarize and analyse the scientific literature that has addressed the site use preference of grazing cattle using global positioning systems (GPS) collars in the past 21 years (2000-2020) to aid the development of more sustainable grazing livestock systems. The 84 studies identified were undertaken in several regions of the world, in diverse production systems, under different climate conditions and with varied methodologies and animal types. This work presents the information in categories according to the main findings reviewed, covering management, external and animal factors driving animal movement patterns. The results showed that some variables, such as stocking rate, water and shade location, weather conditions and pasture (terrain and vegetation) characteristics, have a significant impact on the behaviour of grazing cattle. Other types of bio-loggers can be deployed in grazing ruminants to gain insights into their metabolism and its relationship with the landscape they utilise. Changing management practices based on these findings could improve the use of grasslands towards more sustainable and productive livestock systems.
了解放牧动物在牧场上的行为对于制定管理策略至关重要，这些策略将提高放牧系统的潜在生产力，同时减少对环境的负面影响。本综述的目的是总结和分析过去 21 年（2000-2020 年）使用全球定位系统（GPS）项圈研究放牧牛场所使用偏好的科学文献，以帮助开发更可持续的放牧牲畜系统。确定的 84 项研究是在世界不同地区、不同生产系统、不同气候条件下，采用不同方法和动物类型进行的。这项工作根据审查的主要发现进行分类，涵盖了管理、外部和动物因素对动物运动模式的影响。结果表明，一些变量，如放养率、水和阴凉处的位置、天气条件和牧场（地形和植被）特征，对放牧牛的行为有重大影响。其他类型的生物记录器可以部署在放牧反刍动物中，以深入了解它们的新陈代谢及其与它们所利用的景观的关系。根据这些发现改变管理实践可以提高草原的利用效率，促进更可持续和高效的牲畜系统。
