Livestock feed and fodder scarcity has been one of the major limiting factors for grazing animals in the hilly regions. Shrinkage of grazing land, degradation of pastures, increasing grazing pressure, and problems in cultivating fodder crops at variable heights due to adverse climatic conditions have resulted in huge gap between demand and supply of fodder in most Himalayan countries, especially in north-western Indian Himalayan states. The shortage of green and dry fodder in these states has been estimated to the extent of 36.5 and 50.8%, respectively. During summer, the animals thrive by grazing on alpine pastures and alpine tree fodder and leaves and for the remaining part of the year on, orchards, agroforestry, road side grasses, lower hill tree leaves, and crop residues. The current chapter lists the common species of Himalayan grasses, fodder trees, and crops and crop residues which comprise the main feed resources for grazing small ruminants. We also critically provide an in-depth analysis of nutritional and mineral profile of most common alpine grasses and tree foliage and present their salient characteristics including how altitude seems to affect the nutritional contents. It was observed that the mineral content as well as proximate profiles of grasses changed with the altitude. Samples collected from higher hills were characterized by substantially higher concentrations of iron, manganese, molybdenum, and potassium as compared to the grasses from mid and lower hills. Due to their interference in copper uptake from the soil, higher concentrations of iron and molybdenum in high altitude grasses could be a dominating factor in causing copper deficiency in farm animals. Some grasses from Lahaul and Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh, besides minerals, were found to be very rich in essential amino acids. Another salient feature was higher level of crude protein in alpine grasses and tree leaves as compared to the grasses grown at lower hills. Crude protein showed a rising trend with increase in elevation. Furthermore, as the climate changed from subtropical to alpine, the levels of nutritionally desired components in the grasses (crude protein and certain minerals) increased, whereas the levels of incriminating components (dry matter and total ash) decreased. Most crops and crop residues collected from the foot hill regions were severely deficient in sodium causing sodium deficiency in animals. Copper levels in straws and roughages were found to be below the critical level of the ruminant requirement. In neighboring Pakistan, many grasses from hilly regions were found to have sodium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, and cobalt below the critical levels of the requirement of small ruminants. In China, several sheep producing hilly regions had herbage that was found severely deficient in sodium, copper, phosphorus, and selenium having levels below the critical limits of ruminant requirement.

Nutritional Status of Common Himalayan Pastures and Tree Foliages

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发表日期：

2025年

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S. P. Singh,
J. K. Malik

摘要

Livestock feed and fodder scarcity has been one of the major limiting factors for grazing animals in the hilly regions. Shrinkage of grazing land, degradation of pastures, increasing grazing pressure, and problems in cultivating fodder crops at variable heights due to adverse climatic conditions have resulted in huge gap between demand and supply of fodder in most Himalayan countries, especially in north-western Indian Himalayan states. The shortage of green and dry fodder in these states has been estimated to the extent of 36.5 and 50.8%, respectively. During summer, the animals thrive by grazing on alpine pastures and alpine tree fodder and leaves and for the remaining part of the year on, orchards, agroforestry, road side grasses, lower hill tree leaves, and crop residues. The current chapter lists the common species of Himalayan grasses, fodder trees, and crops and crop residues which comprise the main feed resources for grazing small ruminants. We also critically provide an in-depth analysis of nutritional and mineral profile of most common alpine grasses and tree foliage and present their salient characteristics including how altitude seems to affect the nutritional contents. It was observed that the mineral content as well as proximate profiles of grasses changed with the altitude. Samples collected from higher hills were characterized by substantially higher concentrations of iron, manganese, molybdenum, and potassium as compared to the grasses from mid and lower hills. Due to their interference in copper uptake from the soil, higher concentrations of iron and molybdenum in high altitude grasses could be a dominating factor in causing copper deficiency in farm animals. Some grasses from Lahaul and Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh, besides minerals, were found to be very rich in essential amino acids. Another salient feature was higher level of crude protein in alpine grasses and tree leaves as compared to the grasses grown at lower hills. Crude protein showed a rising trend with increase in elevation. Furthermore, as the climate changed from subtropical to alpine, the levels of nutritionally desired components in the grasses (crude protein and certain minerals) increased, whereas the levels of incriminating components (dry matter and total ash) decreased. Most crops and crop residues collected from the foot hill regions were severely deficient in sodium causing sodium deficiency in animals. Copper levels in straws and roughages were found to be below the critical level of the ruminant requirement. In neighboring Pakistan, many grasses from hilly regions were found to have sodium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, and cobalt below the critical levels of the requirement of small ruminants. In China, several sheep producing hilly regions had herbage that was found severely deficient in sodium, copper, phosphorus, and selenium having levels below the critical limits of ruminant requirement.