Habitat use and feeding behavior of domestic free-ranging goats in a seasonal tropical dry forest

Traditional pastoralism based on free-ranging goats is indispensable for the rural economy of millions of people in the Brazilian Caatinga drylands. The use of landscape as rangelands for domestic herbivores benefits humans, but understanding its impacts on vegetation is crucial to sustainable strategies. Here we assessed how free-ranging domestic goats use mixed working landscapes in the largest dry forest of the Americas. We evaluated habitat use via GPS tracking and analysis of feeding preferences. Goats preferentially used open areas near human settlements and their impact on plant community may be negligible because they feed mostly on plants widely available in modified environments. Although free-ranging, the area of use was nearly constant (95.44 ha), but the size of herds varied (2–100 animals). Our study suggests that domestic goats can be considered dwellers of human-modified landscapes, foraging close to villages, on open (i.e., degraded) areas where abundant plant species thrive. Therefore, the extensive goat pastoralism in the Caatinga may have little impact on natural vegetation and could be sustainably managed under traditional management practices. •The Brazilian Caatinga is a rangeland that harbors 95% of the goats nation-wide.•The impacts of free-ranging goats on Caatinga rangelands is controversial.•Goats posses a nearly constant home-range and prefer open areas.•Goats are more associated with disturbed areas, not a primary cause of degradation.•Traditional management of goats is sustainable for Caatinga rangelands.