Estrutura horizontal de pastos de capim-marandu sob lotação contínua

Abstract

The spatial variability of vegetation or horizontal structure is important because it influences the productive responses of forage plants and grazing animals. However, little scientific information exists on this topic in tropical conditions. It was because of this importance that the objective of this project was to understand how the continuous stocking method influences the spatial variability and horizontal structure in the Brachiaria brizantha (syn. Urochloa brizantha) pasture. This work took place at the Capim Branco Experimental Farm of the Federal University of Uberlândia during the months of October 2021 to March 2022. Tthe experimental treatments were two conditions or pasture heights under continuous stocking: 15 cm and 25 cm average height. The data were analyzed only descriptively. For this, position measurements (arithmetic mean, median and mode) and dispersion (coefficient of variation and range of plant height values) were estimated. Relative frequency graphs were also generated to better visualize the dynamics of spatial variation in pasture height in the paddocks. The height values of plants in the pasture were also subjected to geostatistical analysis, as well as interpolation using ordinary kriging, to prepare Kriging maps. The values of position measurements and dispersion of plant height values in marandu grass pastures were lower in the pasture managed with 15 cm than in the one under 25 cm of average height. Based on the observation of maps of kriging plant height, it was observed that the highest values were concentrated near the front of the paddocks, close to the water trough and the shaded area available for the animals. On the other hand, in general, the lowest values were concentrated near the bottom of the paddocks.