The Influence Of Stocking Rate On Grazing Behavior And Diet Of Sheep In Stipa Breviflora Desert Steppe

The experiment was conducted in Stipa breviflora desert steppe in Siziwang Banner of Inner Mongolia.Three different stocking rates were set up with sheep in order to study the influence of stocking rate on the grazing behavior and diet of sheep in the experiment in different seasons. The results showed that: The biting time in light grazing significantly. The ruminating time both in day time ans night decreased with stocking rate increase.The sheep diet was composed of 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 allowance of plant community decreased with the stocking rate increase. Sheep has a higher preference to Cleistogenes songorica than any other plant species, the preference index declined as the stocking rate increased. There were higher selective in light gazing because of the sufficient food supply and less selective in heavy grazing due to less plant species. The live weight gain of sheep per head decreased and the live weight gain per area increased at first then decreased as the stocking rate increased.