Abstract Wool production in arid and semiarid rangelands is strongly affected by environmental variability. Seasonal fluctuations of the environmental conditions drive variations in the nutritional status of the sheep, wool growth and quality. The variation of fibre diameter during the annual growth period can be observed through the Fibre Diameter Profiles (FDP). The FDP provide a retrospective description of animal responses to varying environmental and management conditions during the wool growth period. Certain characteristics of FDP influence wool quality because this is associated with the performance during processing. The aim of this paper was to assess the variation of the FDP during the 2014–2015 wool growth period on farms located in a longitudinal environmental gradient of Northern Patagonia, Argentina. Some features of the FDPs were found to be associated to the geographical location of the farms. For example, the minimal fibre diameter occurred at different times on the farms during the annual wool growth. The results of this paper support the relevance of the environment in generating seasonal variations in fibre diameter, which might be associated to animal stressful circumstances. However, future research is needed to better understand the influence of climatic conditions and other stressful circumstances for animals.

中文翻译：

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从纤维直径的季节性变化角度看环境对美利奴绵羊毛质量的影响

摘要 干旱和半干旱牧场的羊毛生产受到环境变化的强烈影响。环境条件的季节性波动会导致绵羊营养状况、羊毛生长和质量的变化。通过纤维直径分布图（FDP）可以观察到纤维直径在年生长期内的变化。FDP 提供了动物在羊毛生长期间对不同环境和管理条件的反应的回顾性描述。FDP 的某些特性会影响羊毛质量，因为这与加工过程中的性能有关。本文的目的是评估位于阿根廷北巴塔哥尼亚纵向环境梯度的农场在 2014-2015 年羊毛生长期期间 FDP 的变化。发现 FDP 的某些特征与农场的地理位置有关。例如，在每年羊毛生长期间，农场的不同时间会出现最小纤维直径。本文的结果支持环境在产生纤维直径季节性变化方面的相关性，这可能与动物压力环境有关。然而，未来的研究需要更好地了解气候条件和其他压力环境对动物的影响。这可能与动物的压力环境有关。然而，未来的研究需要更好地了解气候条件和其他压力环境对动物的影响。这可能与动物的压力环境有关。然而，未来的研究需要更好地了解气候条件和其他压力环境对动物的影响。