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The effects of seasons on size, number and area of the dung deposited on a grazed paddock were examined. Rate of dung breakdown, herbage fouling, and rejection were also investigated. Significant seasonal differences were found in number, size, area of dung and in proportion of paddock fouled per grazing such that these values were higher in wet than in dry season. A higher breakdown rate was obtained in the dry season when the termites were the main degradation agents than in the wet season when the dung was degraded mainly by the copriphilous fungi. The herd rejected the fouled herbage for a longer period during wet season than during the dry season. Two breakdown patterns for the dry season (depending on the presence of termites in the ecosystem) were suggested. Herbage rejection was discussed in relation to animal production and range improvement. In the tropics, use of synthetic fertilizer for herbage production is an infrequent practice. The pasture, for its nutrient supplies, has to depend on both the crop’s inherent ability to fix nitrogen and on nutrient recycling. Where the pasture is grazed, the latter process then includes dung voiding and breakdown. However, in many parts of the tropics, including the derived Savannah zone of Nigeria, few studies have been conducted to assess the role of the dung in maintaining the ecosystem’s nutrient cycle. In the temperature latitudes, the dung has been shown to be affected by both climatic and biotic factors. Dung voided in summer disappeared more slowly than that voided in winter (MacDiarmid and Watkin 1972). Arthropods, fungi, and bacteria have all been implicated in dung breakdown. Castle and MacDaid (1972) reported rejection of the herbage around the pats up to one year after they were voided. In the present experiments, the influence of the seasons on size, number, and rate of breakdown of the dung voided was examined. Also, the organisms involved in the breakdown and the behaviour of the grazing animals to the dung in the paddock were investigated.

Dung Deposition, Breakdown and Grazing Behavior of Beef Cattle at Two Seasons in a Tropical Grassland Ecosystem