Long-term effects of extensive grazing on pasture productivity

Context. In grazed grassland, the per area output of animal-source products usually declines with decreasing stocking rates because of lower herbage utilisation efficiency. Consequently, nutrient export is larger with increased stocking intensity, which should decrease the productivity in the long term. However, little information is available on long-term productivity of extensive grasslands under varied stocking intensities receiving no input. Aims. The effect of stocking intensity was investigated in a long-term grazing trial over 16 years of production. We hypothesised that, despite minimal nutrient export under grazing, no reduction in productivity occurs over long-term periods, but expected an interaction between stocking intensity and year. Method. The net pasture productivity was determined in terms of animal performance assessed from Fleckvieh cows grazing in a randomised block design with three replicates in three different stocking intensities (moderate, lenient, and very lenient, corresponding to stocking rates of 1.1, 0.7, and 0.5 livestock unit/ha.year respectively), recorded from 2005 to 2020. Metabolisable energy in GJ/ha.year (MEtotal) provided by the pasture and the livestock unit grazing days/ha.year (LUGD, 1LU = 500 kg) were calculated on the basis of liveweight measurements. Key results. The interaction of year and treatment significantly affected LUGD (F = 16.85, d.f. = 30, P < 0.0001) and MEtotal (F = 12.81, d.f. = 30, P < 0.0001) and indicated a cyclic trajectory with increases and decreases in performance over the study years. Overall, the moderate stocking intensity led to and maintained significantly higher performance than did very lenient grazing of up to 60% and 55% in LUGD and MEtotal respectively. However, structural equation modelling indicated a negative temporal trend irrespective of stocking intensity. Conclusions. On the basis of existing data of herbage quality and botanical composition from the same experiment, this trend was likely to be a result of nutrient redistribution within pastures that probably changed the botanical composition and grass sward productivity in conjunction with drier years towards the end of this study period. Implications. This study showed that productivity in lowinput grassland under continuous grazing declines over time irrespective of stocking intensity. Productivity decline in all treatments implies tradeoffs for farmers grazing at lower stocking intensities.