Evaluation of preference value and forage protein variations of plant species in Kahnuj rangelands of Kerman province

A study on the grazing behavior of Raeeni goats in the desert habitat was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between forage quality and preference value. Forage quality of fourteen species within four plant communities was measured during two different phenological stages of vegetative growth and seed ripening in the dry rangeland of Kahnuj. In addition، preferences of the plant species by free-ranging of goat were estimated by visual estimation during two stages. One- way ANOVA and paired t-test were applied to compare the forage quality as well as preference value between and within two stages. In addition، linear regression and Pearson correlation were used to correlate preference value and forage quality. The results showed that forage quality and their preference values were different among each other and between two different phenological stages of growth. There was no significant relationship between forage quality and preference value (p>0. 05). Finally، highly selective feeder of goats and changing the goat diet from grazing to browsing and vise versa implicate the importance of highly diversified of botanical structure and preserving of shrubs and trees in the desert habitat.