Proximal sensors for monitoring seasonal changes of feeding sites selected by grazing ewes

Montado is a silvo-pastoral ecosystem of the Mediterranean region, a mixed system of trees and grass, where livestock graze. The information about the spatial and temporal variability of pastures constitutes the basis to estimate available feed, a fundamental decision support tool for the farm manager to define the animal stocking or the rotation of the grazed paddocks. In this study, the intrinsic features of high spatial–temporal variability of Mediterranean grazed pastures were assessed with the objective of evaluating the suitability of two proximal sensing techniques (an active optical sensor, AOS and a capacitance probe) for easily monitoring seasonal variability of pasture productivity and quality linked to animal grazing patterns. The correlation between pasture and sensor parameters was consistent between capacitance and pasture productivity (r 2 = 0.68, P