Influence of vegetation and weather on livestock distribution in an arid environment

Understanding the movement patterns of free-foraging livestock is essential for the sustainable management of arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Therefore, this study employed a goat and a cow fitted with GPS collars, satellite images, and climatic variables to explore the daily walk distance and home range of livestock, as well as their relationships with environmental variables in a traditional production system during 2023 in sarcocaulescent scrubland with very dry and semi-warm weather, located on the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. The results revealed that a goat walked longer daily distances per month (7.7 ± 2.6 vs. 3.4 ± 2.0 km) and had larger monthly home ranges than a cow (562 ± 153.5 vs. 332 ± 96 hectares). Specifically, a goat walked the longest distances in December (9.5 km; summer wet season) and the shortest in October (6.6 km; autumn dry season), while a cow traveled the longest in July (4.6 km; dry season) and the shortest in April (2.5 km; dry season). The total area utilized annually by a goat was 1,682 hectares, and 1,180 hectares for a cow. Seasonality (measured in Julian days), plant vigor (normalized difference vegetation index), vegetation cover, and temperature non-linearly affected the walking distance of the goat and cow. Additionally, wind speed had a non-linear effect on the goat's walking distance. Finally, vegetation cover, temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity significantly influenced the goat's home range size linearly but did not have a similar effect on the cow's. These findings underscore the importance of considering species-specific behaviors and climatic influences in developing effective and sustainable livestock management practices in traditional production systems.