Understory-Vegetation Biomass in Woodlands Increased by Cutting Non-Timber Plants

Strategically cutting the non-pine (non-timber) plants to maintain their canopy within the reach of small ruminants increased both photosynthetically-active radiation (PAR) influx to the woodland floor (360-2223%) and the understory vegetation biomass significantly (36-107%) (p<0.0001). The control area, which was highly dense with woody plants, received the least PAR reaching to the floor (37-47 μmol m^-2 s^-1) and produced the least understory biomass (940 kg/ha). These results suggest that cutting of non-pine plants and maintaining their canopy within the comfortable reach of small ruminants significantly promote the understory vegetation biomass production and utilization, which ultimately increases the carrying capacity of the woodland grazing system. Greater growth and better utilization of understory vegetation by small ruminants, as found in the current study, present a great potential of using woodland resources for supporting small ruminant production. Defoliation of understory vegetation by grazing animals may also enhance the growth of timber present in the system because of the reduced competition from non-timber species. More information about this study is available at this link: https://doi.org/10.35251/gjaas.2020.003 

Understory vegetation in woodland, Tuskegee, AL, USA.