The Response Of Foraging Performance Of Sheep And Vegetation Characteristics To Stocking Rate In Stipa Breviflora Desert Steppe

The experiment was conducted in Stipa breviflora desert steppe in Siziwang Banner of Inner Mongolia from June to October in 2006.Three different stocking rates and non-grazing plot (CK) were set up with sheep in order to study the responses about the dietary composition of sheep in different season and plant community to stocking rate in the experiment. The results showed that: Coverage and density of plant community declined in all stocking rate plots. As the time passed, the heights of plants decreased in all stocking rate plots. The diet of sheep was composed of a limited number of palatable plant species. The composition of diet had no difference among the stocking rates in the same season, but the number of plant species of diet declined with growth season. The selective ingestion of herbage had a positive correlation with herbage relative biomass and coverage, but it had no obvious correlation with height. With the different season, the daily intake of sheep was also different, as the stocking rate increased the daily intake declined significantly. Sheep has a higher preference to Cleistogenes songorica and Convolvulus ammannii than any other plant species in August, as the stocking rate increased the preference ratios declined. Sheep has a higher preference to Cleistogenes songorica and Convolvulus ammannii than any other plant species in August, as the stocking rate increased the preference ratio declined.