Daily grazing movements of cattle in the Far North Region, Cameroon

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Date
2018-03-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.j682ds56/1
Authors
Citation
Moritz M. 2018. Daily grazing movements of cattle in the Far North Region, Cameroon. Movebank Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.j682ds56/1
Abstract
The discussion about the impact of pastoral systems on ecosystems has been profoundly shaped by Hardin’s “tragedy of the commons” argument that held pastoralists responsible for overgrazing the range. Recent studies have shown that grazing ecosystems are much more complex and dynamic than was previously assumed and that pastoralists adaptively manage these systems. However, we still have little understanding how everyday herding affects ecosystems at the landscape level. We conducted a study of daily herd movements and grazing strategies in a mobile pastoral system in the Logone floodplain, Cameroon. We integrated GPS/GIS technology, video recordings of animal behavior, and ethnographic methods to develop a more accurate measurement of grazing pressure that takes into account both livestock densities and grazing behavior. We used the resulting grazing pressure data to evaluate existing conceptual models of grazing pressure at a landscape level. We found that models that predict that grazing pressure is skewed towards the direction of water most accurately reflect the situation in the Logone floodplain in the dry season. However, we found that the higher grazing pressure is not only the result of a higher density of cattle but also a change in the grazing behavior of animals after watering. Finally, we caution that the models of grazing pressure in the dry season cannot simply be extrapolated to the landscape level because mobile pastoralists do not remain in one central place.
Keywords
Africa,animal movement,animal tracking,Bos taurus,Cameroon,cattle,grazing pressure,livestock,pastoral mobility,pastoral systems,Zebu
Taxa
Sensors
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DOIs of related Publications
URI
https://datarepository.movebank.org/handle/10255/move.730
BibTex
@misc{001/1_j682ds56/1,
  title = {Daily grazing movements of cattle in the Far North Region, Cameroon},
  author = {Moritz, M},
  year = {2018},
  URL = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.j682ds56/1},
  doi = {doi:10.5441/001/1.j682ds56/1},
  publisher = {Movebank data repository}
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
ID  - doi:10.5441/001/1.j682ds56/1
T1  - Daily grazing movements of cattle in the Far North Region, Cameroon
AU  - Moritz, Mark
Y1  - 2018/03/28
KW  - Africa
KW  - animal movement
KW  - animal tracking
KW  - Bos taurus
KW  - Cameroon
KW  - cattle
KW  - grazing pressure
KW  - livestock
KW  - pastoral mobility
KW  - pastoral systems
KW  - Zebu
KW  - Bos taurus
PB  - Movebank data repository
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.j682ds56/1
DO  - doi:10.5441/001/1.j682ds56/1
ER  -
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