the study of preference values of forage species and grazing behavior of tali goat in chabahar rangelands of iran

In recent years, studying the dietary preferences and livestock grazing behavior has attracted lots of attention due to manage and improve the efficiency of rangelands. so, in this study the foraging behavior and diet selection of tali goat was investigated in the chabahar rangeland during 2008-2010. data were collected and analyzed for speeds of livestock, covered distance, time of grazing, resting, and walking for months of grazing (february to may) as replications over 3 years. to determine the preference value, time recorder method was used. time of grazing of specific plant species by livestock was monthly recorded and analyzed, across february to april. results showed that launaea mucronata species of annual broad-leaved had the highest preference value while two species of sporobolus arabicus and lotononis platycarpos had the lowest ones. all the measured parameters of grazing behavior had no significant differences during the studied years. the resting time rates of various months had significant differences. accordingly, the highest resting time rate could be attributed to may whereas this rate was likely to be reduced during february, march and april. the result of the study will therefore be useful in planning a grazing strategy and determination of carrying capacity for livestock grazing in the studied rangelands. also the findings help us in rehabilitate chabahar rangelands, with palatably species for the tali goats.