6. Conclusion
- Beef cattle on hill country in New Zealand defecate in the riparian zone at a rate of 0.2 faeces per cow per day. Half of the faeces were deposited in the water and the other half were deposited within the 2m stream bank (demarcated as the riparian zone in this study).
- There was an indication that the number of faeces deposited by a cow in the riparian zone is related to the amount of time the individual spends in that area.
- Beef cattle in this study spent on average 4 percent of the day in the riparian zone and cows voided about 4 percent of the expected number of faeces in this time. Despite the relatively low number of faeces deposited in the riparian area, the impact may be high on water quality.
- The numbers of defecations in the riparian zone were not affected by season, the presence of a trough, other resources next to the stream, field size, or pasture availability.
- If management rather than exclusion techniques are to be used to prevent cattle from defecating in streams then we need to understand how to control animals by manipulating resources in the environment.
- Previous study by Bagshaw (2001) investigated the relative importance of resources in the riparian zone. The stream was found to be used daily and all the resources investigated were used (water to drink, water to cool, shade, and forage specific to the riparian area). The relative importance of these resources to cattle is still unclear.
- Amelioration methods to reduce the amount of faeces deposited in riparian zones could include: 1) the manipulation of the availability of the factors near the stream (such as shade, water for cooling, water to drink or forage specific to the riparian area); 2) reducing the availability of resting sites; 3) presenting combinations of attractive resources distant from the stream.
- Further studies are required to determine behavioural techniques to reduce the amount of faecal material deposited directly in riparian zones.
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