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HillPlan Examples
A HEATHER HILLAn example of the output from HillPlan is shown in Figure 2 for a hillside with 70% dry heather (predominantly Calluna) with 20% of Bent/Fescue pasture (Festuca/Agrostis) and an area of blanket bog on the hill top (10%). |
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HillPlan predicts that with year-round stocking with sheep is compatible with retention of heather cover if an appropriate stocking rate (2.6 ewes per hectare or approximately 1 ewe per acre) is used (Figure 2a). | ||||||
Increasing the stocking rate to 3 ewes per hectare year-round, reduces heather cover dramatically after 20 years (Figure 2b). | ||||||
However, retaining 3 ewes per hectare in summer and reducing winter stocking rate to 2.6 ewes per hectare delays the onset of heather loss to around year 27 (Figure 2c). | ||||||
Stocking year-round with the equivalent total biomass of sheep at 3 ewes per hectare using cattle (0.05 ewes per hectare, 10% of total biomass) and sheep (2.6 ewes per hectare, 90% of total biomass) delays the onset of heather loss until around year 25 (Figure 2d). | ||||||
Changing the year-round grazing balance to 20% cattle (0.1 cows per hectare) and 80% sheep (2.4 ewes per hectare) sustains heather cover at its starting level. Heather cover can be extended in the long run by reducing year-round stocking rate to 0.5 ewes per hectare (Figure 2e). In all of these examples, the blanket bog remains unaffected.
Results from a range of options as shown in this example can be used to decide upon the most appropriate grazing scheme for the hillside to achieve the desired vegetation balance. |
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A GRASSY HILL |
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The arthropods form part of a complex food web and will contribute to a generally higher level of biodiversity despite the fact that there will be little change in the botanical composition of these grassy hills. Contact: Jim McLeod A copy of this information has been supplied in Adobe Acrobat format, please ensure that you have the Acrobat reader installed to view this file. Acrobat reader can be downloaded from here. |