Continuous grazing can concentrate livestock pressure on the most palatable species and areas, while leaving other parts of the holding underused. Rational or rotational grazing organises short occupation periods and sufficient rest to encourage regrowth, improve pasture use and adapt management to the needs of each paddock.
Livestock do not use the land uniformly. When animals can move freely throughout the holding for long periods, they tend to return to the areas where they find the most attractive food, water, shade or more comfortable conditions.
This natural selection can cause certain plants to be eaten repeatedly before they have had time to recover, while other areas remain largely unused. Over time, this creates an uneven landscape, with heavily grazed areas alongside others where vegetation becomes coarse and loses quality.
The document “Livestock and scrub management for dehesa regeneration”, produced as part of the LIFE ScrubsNet project, compares continuous grazing with rational or rotational systems and explains how organising occupation and rest periods can improve resource use.
Continuous grazing: treating the whole holding as a single paddock
Under continuous grazing, also known as free or extensive grazing, the holding is managed almost as a single paddock. Animals remain in the same area and choose where and what to graze at any given time.
This system requires relatively little infrastructure and less immediate work to move the herd. However, the lack of planned rotation makes it difficult for the most palatable species to receive an adequate rest period.
When new growth appears, animals may graze it again before the plant has restored the reserves needed for recovery. If this happens repeatedly, the plant’s vigour, growth capacity and persistence decline.
The protocol notes that, in arid or semi-arid Mediterranean regions, this lack of rest could only be offset by maintaining very low stocking rates. Even then, grazing would continue to be uneven.
Overgrazed areas and underused areas
Animals develop preferences for certain parts of a holding. Access to water, food quality, topography, shade and protection from the weather all influence their movements.
Under continuous grazing, these preferences can create overgrazed areas, where consumption and trampling are constant, alongside areas that receive very little use.
The document describes the process by which underused pasture becomes coarse and loses quality, while the most palatable species disappear or weaken in the most frequently grazed areas.
Where stocking rates are high, pressure may spread across the whole holding and encourage unpalatable herbaceous species or even certain toxic plants, while reducing pasture diversity and quality.
Rational grazing: occupy, graze and allow recovery
Rational or rotational grazing involves dividing the holding into a sufficient number of paddocks and moving livestock from one area to another.
The aim is not simply to move animals. Each paddock should be occupied for a short period and then remain livestock-free for long enough to allow plants to regrow and restore their reserves before being grazed again.
This system makes it possible to:
- graze intensively for a few days without exhausting the pasture;
- keep several paddocks growing and free from grazing pressure;
- set aside areas for hay or silage production;
- allow certain pasture species to complete seed production;
- protect enclosures or patches intended for scrub and tree regeneration.
Rest therefore ceases to be an unproductive period and becomes an essential management tool.
Rotation does not always mean rational grazing
Moving livestock between two or more paddocks may improve management slightly, but it does not necessarily mean that a genuine rational grazing system is being applied.
If animals remain in a paddock for too long, they may first consume the most palatable plants and then graze the new shoots again before leaving. In this case, one of the main problems associated with continuous grazing remains.
The protocol indicates that rational grazing requires a sufficient number of paddocks to combine short occupation periods with adequate recovery times. The duration of both should be adapted to vegetation growth rather than fixed through a rigid calendar.
Rotations must respond to weather conditions, moisture, pasture production and the actual state of each paddock.
Four principles for organising grazing
The document presents several principles associated with rational grazing:
Sufficient recovery time. Enough time must pass between two grazing periods for plants to rebuild their reserves and produce vigorous new growth.
Short occupation periods. Livestock should not remain long enough to graze the same plant twice during a single visit.
Access to the highest-quality pasture. Animals with greater nutritional requirements should enter paddocks when vegetation is at its optimum stage for grazing.
Consistency in production. Occupation should be brief enough to maintain forage quality and prevent repeated grazing of new shoots.
These principles seek to balance livestock requirements with the recovery capacity of the pasture.
More uniform use of each paddock
According to the comparison included in the protocol, continuous grazing produces uneven use, greater losses through trampling and an irregular distribution of manure.
Rotational grazing improves these aspects by temporarily concentrating the animals and directing grazing towards selected areas. This can result in more even pasture use, a better distribution of dung and improved conditions for subsequent grass growth.
More controlled approaches, such as strip grazing, can further improve uniformity and reduce trampling losses. However, they also require more fencing, water points, planning and labour.
Supporting regeneration
Dividing a holding into paddocks also makes it possible to reserve certain areas or protect specific patches so that vegetation can develop without continuous grazing pressure.
These areas can be used for the natural regeneration of scrub, holm oaks and cork oaks. While one part of the holding continues to be grazed, another can remain in active growth or be temporarily excluded from livestock.
Rational grazing therefore becomes a tool not only for producing forage but also for creating biodiversity islands, restoring woody species and supporting tree renewal.
A system that requires planning
Rational grazing offers benefits, but it requires more organisation than continuous grazing.
Its design must consider herd size and requirements, pasture production, topography, access to water, areas of shade and shelter, and the number of days needed to graze each paddock.
Fencing and water points can require significant investment. The protocol therefore recommends initially considering temporary layouts or mobile solutions that can be adjusted as experience is gained.
Rotations cannot be programmed in an entirely fixed manner. Rainfall, temperatures and plant growth rates require each paddock to be observed and decisions to be adapted to actual conditions.
Resting vegetation to maintain productivity
Continuous grazing may appear simple, but the lack of control over which areas and species are grazed can reduce pasture quality and increase inequalities across the holding.
Rational grazing requires more planning and infrastructure, but it allows livestock pressure to be organised, new shoots to be protected and each paddock to receive the recovery time it needs.
The LIFE ScrubsNet message is clear: grazing management is not simply about moving livestock, but about coordinating the timing of grazing with the vegetation’s capacity to recover.
A short grazing period at the appropriate time, followed by sufficient rest, can help maintain more productive pastures, create a more balanced use of the land and improve conditions for dehesa regeneration.
The LIFE ScrubsNet project is co-funded by the European Union through the LIFE programme, LIFE20 NAT/ES/000978.