02143naa a2200325 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902200140006002400250007410000220009924501430012126000090026450002420027352009130051565300220142865300230145065300190147365300250149265300210151765300210153865300370155965300200159670000260161670000210164270000170166370000220168070000250170270000160172777300740174310639402023-01-23       2022    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d  a1836-57877 a10.1071/AN220112DOI1 aPONTES-PRATES, A.  aSimilar grazing mechanisms explain contrasting intake and sward-height dynamics under different grazing management.h[electronic resource]  c2022  aArticle history: Submitted 8 January 2022; Accepted 4 October 2022; Published online 18 November 2022. -- Corresponding author: Arthur Pontes-Prates, pontesprates@ucdavis.edu -- Handling Editor: Pablo Gregorini -- Supplementary material.  aContext: Average sward height has traditionally been used as a grazing management variable. However, such approach ignores the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of swards. Because the intake rate responds non-linearly to average height at plant level, we expected that sheep exposed to contrasting grazing methods with similar average heights would behave differently. Conclusions: Intake responses of sheep differed between grazing methods with similar average height due to sward heterogeneity over time and space. Grazing mechanisms were not directly affected by the treatments but were influenced by the sward heterogeneity imposed by the grazing management. Implications: Grazing management requires not only consideration of the average sward height, but also an understanding of how the resource is distributed in time and space. © 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing  aForaging behavior  aGrazing mechanisms  aHerbage intake  aHeterogeneous swards  aLarge herbivores  aPatch depression  aSpatial–temporal heterogeneity  aSward depletion1 aCARVALHO, P. C. DE F.1 aBOLZAN, A. M. S.1 aSAVIAN, J.V.1 aSILVA NETO, G. F.1 aSÁNCHEZ ZUBIETA, A.1 aLACA, E. A.  tAnimal Production Science, 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.1071/AN22011