What is it about?
Herbovores' diet change across seasons. We have shown that herbaceous vegetation (graminoids, legumes, and forbs) participated in buffaloes’ diet in all seasons, while trees and shrubs were less preferred. Ten species were consumed in all seasons but the most diverse diet, in terms of plant species, was observed in spring. The most frequently consumed species were Cynodon dactylon (graminoids), Trifolium repens (legumes), Cichorium intybus (forbs), Rubus sp. (shrubs), and Populus sp. (trees).
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Why is it important?
Our findings show that water buffaloes face several challenges in terms of consuming both herbaceous and woody species and adapt their dietary selection according to forage availability. Also, they develop specific foraging strategies to confront plants' anti-quality characteristics, as they only test the majority of the plant species in their diet, meaning that they consume them in very low proportions , while they do not sample at all many other herbaceous species.
Perspectives
I think that the article adds knowledge to the dietary habits of water buffaloes, which is a less known herbivore animal. I, also, hope that it will prove to be helpful to buffalo breeders.
Eleni T. Tsiobani
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
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This page is a summary of: Seasonal variation in water buffaloes’ diet grazing in wet grasslands in Northern Greece, Hacquetia, December 2019, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.2478/hacq-2019-0004.
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