Integration of two indigenous small ruminant breeds in a mixed grazing system; ethology, genomics, grassland productivity and biodiversity

J7-60129

Funding: ARiS – Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency

Project type: Basic research project

Duration: 1.1.2025-31.12.2027

Head of the project: Janko Skok (Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor)

Environmental sustainability, which incorporates environmental and climate requirements and emphasises animal welfare (animal-friendly husbandry), is gaining importance in the development of agriculture and animal husbandry today. In the pursuit of sustainability, the transition from monoculture to multi-species farming is becoming increasingly important. A mixed sheep/goat herd represents a potentially suitable multi-species breeding system, but its biological characteristics, interactions and dynamics are almost completely unknown. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to approximate the husbandry conditions to those in natural ecosystems and to gain basic knowledge about the functioning and temporal dynamics of a sympatric community of ecologically compatible domestic animal species. We will establish a mixed herd of autochthonous sheep breeds (Belokrajnska pramenka) and goats (Drežniška koza) on the area in the transition between the former intensive apple orchard and the pasture. The project is divided into three work packages (WPs). WP1 deals with studies on the biology/ethology and genotype-to-phenotype associations of the animals in relation to the basic characteristics and dynamics of spontaneously evolving social structures in a mixed goat/sheep population using basic behavioural observations (ethogram), spatial and temporal dynamics analyses (chronobiology), social network analyses and whole genome sequencing. WP2 deals with the assessment of plant communities, both in terms of productivity, nutritional value and chemical composition of grasslands and in terms of the assessment of floristic and functional diversity trajectories in grazed and ungrazed plots. WP2 also includes analyses of the physical and chemical properties of the soil and GIS analyses. In the last phase of the project, the data will be synthesized and based on this, the final data analysis, modelling and implementation of the results will be carried out. The project combines several ‘hot fields’ of science – e.g. biodiversity, botany, soil science, molecular biology (genotype-to-phenotype associations) and ethology (animal welfare and social networks). Therefore, the results will represent an important and original scientific contribution to domestic animal biology. Given the lack of basic biological knowledge on husbandry systems where several species share the same grazing area at the same time, the present research project could provide additional, more detailed knowledge that is crucial for the effective implementation of multi-species livestock systems and will contribute to the transition from mono-species to multi-species grazing and to the development of diverse and sustainable farming systems, even in otherwise intensive agricultural production systems. Ultimately, the results will be particularly relevant in terms of rehabilitating degraded landscapes (in terms of biodiversity and ecological stability).