Seasonal grass production and carrying capacity of buffalo grazing area in Paminggir, South Kalimantan

Abstract

The population and performance of Kalimantan swamp buffalo are declining. Diminishing grazing area and pasture biomass availability, especially in the rainy season, contribute to inadequate buffalo feed consumption. This study was conducted to investigate the seasonal productivity of palatable native grasses and to estimate the carrying capacity of the swamp grazing area. One year of observation indicated that kumpai banta and sumpilang had higher dry matter production in the deep-water season, whereas kumpai minyak was in the shallow-water season, and padi hiyang had similar production in both seasons. Dry matter production in the deep-water season was higher than in the shallow-water season (1.29 vs 1.15 ton DM/ha/month) as well as for the carrying capacity of swamp grazing area (0.044 vs 0.029 AU/year). It is concluded that the swamp grazing area in the Paminggir sub-district could not carry the existing buffalo population.