By Cary Littlejohn
University of Missouri researchers have found an unlikely ally in the effort to restore Missouri's oak woodlands: goats.
Gina Beebe, a Mizzou doctoral student in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, led a three-year study in the Mark Twain National Forest that found carefully timed goat browsing can improve forage for livestock while maintaining the ecological health of native woodlands. The findings offer private landowners a new way to restore forests while creating opportunities for agricultural production.
Goats are natural browsers that prefer woody plants over grasses, making them well-suited for overgrown forests. They readily consume invasive shrubs such as honeysuckle and multiflora rose, helping clear unwanted vegetation while allowing native plants and desirable forage species to recover.
The research, which was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and Mark Twain National Forest, is especially relevant in Missouri, where roughly 83% of forested land is privately owned. Many landowners want healthier woodlands but lack practical ways to offset the costs of restoration. Targeted browsing offers one potential solution. This management approach creates conditions that can support woodland restoration efforts and silvopasture – an agricultural system that integrates trees, forage and livestock.
Among the management approaches tested, spring browsing proved most effective for silvopasture systems. Goats browsing in the spring encouraged nutritious grasses and legumes while reducing competing plants, creating a forage mix well suited for livestock production.
Just as importantly, the researchers found that livestock browsing did not reduce the woodland's overall ecological quality.
"There has been a stigma against putting livestock in the woods, and these results showed that goats didn't destroy the place," Beebe, a research and education specialist at Mizzou’s Center for Agroforestry, said. "I think this notion that livestock browsing in woodlands is bad isn’t always true. This is great news because we, as a state and country, don't have enough boots on the ground to manage all the woodland acreage. This study suggests that we can integrate our livestock into our conservation efforts, and everyone wins."
Source : missouri.edu