Assessment of grazing preference value of Koh Panj rangeland's grasses, in Kerman province, by the methods of Grazing minutes, Intake percentage and Grazing preference index

One of the key factors in managing a rangeland is to determine the relative preference of its major plant species by the grazing livestock. Preference value of plant species might change during grazing season and from one year to the next. The knowledge of animal grazing behavior and indigenous grazing systems are very important in range management, specially, in arid and semi arid rangelands. Different methods are introduced to determine the preference value of range plant species. In this study, feeding minutes and intake percentage efficiency were used to measure preference value of species in grazing season (April to September) of 2007 to 2009. The study area was located in semi step rangelands, Koh Panj, west part of Kerman province, Iran. A randomized complete block experimental design with a combined analysis in time was used to perform analytical analysis on obtained data. The results of feeding minutes showed that the annual grasses were the most preferred species as they were grazed in 45.5 percent of total grazing time. The maximum Intake Percentage of species refer to Agropyon desertorum by 53.6 percent, and minimum refer to Secale montanum by 32.8 percent. The maximum annual preferences value was occurred in 2008.