Determination of pasture comfort climate index betweenforest and open grassland for livestock grazing

In the summer of 2019, digitally recorded climatic data of shelterbelts and open pastures werecompared to create a database. The aim of study was to clarify the extent to which the herdingneeds of free-range flocks in the pasture meet the climatic conditions of the shelterbelts. It isconsidered important to graze sheep in the grazing forest, as special attention needs to be paidduring the daytime due to their low heat stress tolerance, which can increase the comfort zoneof sheep, thus ensuring grassland sustainability and increasing grassland diversity. Based oninvestigations, it can be concluded that the shelterbelts occupy a key position in the examinedarea in the daily rhythm of the flock’s presence on the pasture. The results showed that the soilsurface temperature measured in the shelterbelt was lower on average 6.44◦C (p-value: 1.36 E−08at 13:00hrs.) and 5.18◦C (p-value: 7.8 E−07at 15:00hrs.) than in the control area. The studiesalso showed that the temperature in the shelterbelt was lower in the early afternoon hours than inthe control area (p-value: 0.001 at 13:00hrs.; and p-value: 0.0007 at 15:00hrs.). Furthermore, theprotective role of the shelterbelt was demonstrated, with a lower wind speed (83% avg.), humidity(13% avg.) and temperature (4% avg.) values.