Browsing by Subject "grazing"
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(2022)In Finland and in many other European countries, indoor housing of dairy cattle has been increasing at the expense of grazing. According to Finnish legislation, only dairy cows housed in tie-stalls are obligated to graze for 60 days per year between May and September. Pressure to intensify production leads to increase in herd sizes, regional concentration, lack of suitable pastureland near large barns, and automation of milking. Conversely, grazing is regarded as important for animal welfare, maintenance of biodiversity and cultural landscapes. Farmer perceptions towards grazing have not been studied in Finland comprehensively, which need to be understood better in order to provide adequate support for sustainable management of grazing. The research aims at gaining understanding of the external and internal factors driv- ing the farm-level decision making related to grazing regimes. Concept of good farming ideal is used to examine farmers’ decision-making. The data was collected from 26 cattle farms with a gradient of grazing from zero to maximum. Firstly, an online questionnaire was sent out to farmers and secondly, semi-structured inter- views were conducted with 7 dairy producers, to further explore farmer views about grazing, biodiversity, and animal welfare. The results show farmers who practice grazing to perceive it more positively than the farmers who do not graze. Some of the farmers who grazed seemed to consider it almost as an intrinsic value, whereas farmers with no grazing saw it as an inef- ficient production method, which they were afraid would become an obligation. The most im- portant internal factors driving decision-making about grazing based on the questionnaire and interviews, were animal welfare, decreased workload because of grazing, infrastructure of the farm, economic aspects, and benefits of grazing to biodiversity and landscape values. Exter- nal factors found to affect the decision of grazing were incentives, regulations, and consumer expectations. Animal welfare was found to be a basis for production for many and the most important feature valued for good farming, to which grazing was seen to contribute. The re- sults imply subsidies regarding grazing should be higher for grazing to be considered profita- ble and more enjoyable by farmers.
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(2021)The heath vegetation in the Jauristunturit study area is highly affected by the reindeer fence that was built in the mid-1950s between Finland and Norway, to prevent summer grazing in the Norwegian side. In the study area, the Finnish and Norwegian pastures are used during different seasons, causing differences in reindeer grazing history, and with time differences in vegetation. Additionally, local topography also impacts the vegetation composition and structure creating variation in local vegetation patterns. My research questions are: How vegetation patterns differ between summer- and winter- grazed areas, and which plant functional groups have the most significant difference? How local topography affects vegetation patterns, and does the effect of topography differ between summer and winter pastures? The data was collected from five 400 m long transects that crossed the fence and had vegetation plots with 10-m intervals. The %-cover and height of each vascular plant, bryophyte, and lichen species were estimated from 0.25 m2 plots. Later, species data was grouped into functional groups and general linear models were used to analyze differences in cover, height, species number, biomass, and leaf-area indices between countries. Topography indices were calculated in GIS for each plot and analyzed with random forest models to find out the most important topography indices explaining vegetation patterns. The vegetation data was collected by four teams, and therefore, the comparability in the collected data between teams was analyzed. Significant vegetation differences were found in the ground layer, with higher cover and biomass of bryophytes on the Finnish side (mean biomass 168.2 vs. 65.2 g m-2). Reindeer lichens were more abundant on the Norwegian side (mean biomass 197.0 vs. 2.9 g m-2) which is visible in aerial and satellite images and in the field. Among vascular plants, evergreen dwarf shrubs had higher biomass and leaf area index on the Finnish side and dwarf birch had higher cover and height on the Norwegian side. Topography indices had a higher level of variance explained on the Norwegian side, and higher at the ground layer compared to vascular plants. Elevation had the greatest impact on vegetation, and after that, topography protection index for 50 m and depth to water stream network for 2 and 10 ha. The differences between data collectors were not considered to have a major impact on the results. The results indicate that there are significant differences in vegetation between summer- and winter-grazed areas, mainly in the ground layer, and most differences are caused by differences in reindeer grazing history, but also local topography has an impact.
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(2023)Agroforestry is a collective name for land-use systems and technologies where woody perennials are deliberately used on the same land-management units as agricultural crops and/or animals. Silvopasture is a type of agroforestry that integrates trees, livestock, and forage crops on the same piece of land. This topic is specifically interesting because silvopasture is already present in Finland, mostly in the form of traditional biotopes, despite these being endangered habitats. Agroforestry is also recognized by the Kyoto Protocol as an afforestation practice that has several advantages. These include environmental benefits, increased productivity, and animal welfare. However, there has been discussion on detrimental effects of animal presence to the trees as well. This research aims to explore the effects of silvopasture on trees, cattle, and the environment in South-western Finland traditional biotopes. Several individual criteria are assessed in three categories: woodland, animal performance and biodiversity. Data was collected on three farms on four pastures through field surveys and farmer interviews. The data is analyzed through multi criterium decision analysis (MCDA) with normalized values from agriculture and forestry to assess performance of silvopastures on three separate categories. Results from four pastures follow a somewhat similar pattern but variation occurs. High scores of forest indicators are reached in woodland category whereas biodiversity category results are lower. Silvopasture negatively affects forest regeneration but otherwise does not have adverse effects. Cattle performance is positive outcome whereas biodiversity category has room for improvement. To get more accurate and comprehensive results the research should be conducted during growing season and with several farms around Finland. However, silvopasture is a meaningful measure to diversify habitats, contribute to animal wellbeing and strengthen ecosystem services.
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