Pasture rewetting in the context of nature conservation shows no long-term impact on endoparasite infections in sheep and cattle.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Nature conservation with reduced drainage of pastures has been increasingly promoted in agriculture in recent years. However, moisture on pastures is a crucial factor for the development of free-living stages of many parasite species in ruminants. Hence, for the first time, we conducted a field study between 2015 and 2017 at the German North Sea coast to investigate the long-term effect of pasture rewetting (since 2004) on endoparasite infections in sheep and cattle.

Methods

We examined faecal samples of 474 sheep and 646 cattle from five farms in spring, summer and autumn each year for the presence of endoparasite infections. Animals were kept on conventionally drained, undrained and rewetted pastures. The association between pasture rewetting and endoparasite in

SUBMITTER: May K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8780295 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature