THE DEVELOPMENT OF VEGETATION PATTERNS BY CATTLE GRAZING AT LOW STOCKING DENSITY IN THE NETHERLANDS

This article discusses tthe establishment of a vegetation pattern in a cattle-grazed (0·7 Charolais heifers ha-1 in the period from May until November) former arable field on acidic humic podsol which was reclaimed from heathland in the early 1930s and was to be incorporated into a nature reserve. The structural patterns of the vegetation were quantified as a measure of foraging intensity by estimating the relative area (percentage) of short turf in each stand in both August and October 1987. A pattern of different foraging intensities had developed after four years. It consisted of stands containing over 75% coverage of short turf and stands with hardly any short turf. This pattern was significantly correlated with the patterns of terrain use. from the number of dung patches. The distribution of dung patches was significantly similar for the major part of the grazing season between 1986 and 1987 and for 1987 and 1988. The pattern of terrain use within the grazing season seeme to reach relative stability within four years. It was concluded that the pattern of different vegetation structures had also become relatively stable. © 1990.