Evaluating the browsing levels of Saanen, Honamli and Turkish Hair goats on saplings in a forest plantation area

Abstract

The study was conducted to comparatively investigate the browsing levels of Honamli, Hair and Saanen goats on saplings in a new forest plantation site for six months. Several treatments (fishing net, shading, food colouring and raffia) were applied to saplings. Thirty two-year-old goats, including 10 animals for each breed were used. There was a statistically significant difference among the breeds in terms of their browsing on untreated saplings (p < 0.05). While the effect of measurement month was statistically significant (p < 0.05) for both all treated saplings and untreated saplings, the observation time did not have a statistically significant effect (p < 0.05), except for saplings treated with shading. The maximum browsing was observed in saplings treated with raffia (89.28%), which was followed by those treated with food colouring (75.79%) and fishing nets (75.39%), respectively. Additionally, the damage rate of the saplings with shading (17.85%), in particular, was significantly lower (p < 0.05) compared to the other treated saplings. It was thought that the results of this study would contribute to the issue of goats, saplings and forests from a different viewpoint. Considering that forests and goats are not alternatives to each other, evaluating goats as a part of the ecosystem will be useful in solving this problem.