Incorporating farmed goats into sustainable rangeland grazing systems in southern Australia: a review

摘要: The recent trend to farming or re-domestication of feral goats poses serious questions for the ecological sustainability semiarid and arid rangelands southern Australia. This paper reviews aspects biology grazing habits goats, Australian goat industry, relevant their sustainable management in livestock enterprises. Key factors identified include high fertility fecundity even under low seasonal rainfall conditions a generalist feeding strategy. Adverse consequences rangeland condition can be expected if market result an imbalance between population growth turnoff, resulting pressures. Given limited control reproductive process at current stage development farming, strategies aimed ensuring continuity sale (e.g. on-property feed lots supply chain development) will important that imbalances are avoided. Conservative stocking rates use risk tools also particularly relevant. major research needs by this review, from resource perspective, concern appropriate dry sheep equivalent rating classes based on age, sex status, extent heterogeneity space, time, across forage species, means establishing all available sources, including browse.