Prairie dogs can reduce the carrying capacity on rangelands by up to 50% through direct consumption of vegetation and by clipping plants. Studies have shown that forage quality and digestibility are greater on prairie dog towns than off town; however, research is lacking that quantifies rates of forage and nutrition intake by cattle. In 2012−2016, a study was conducted in South Dakota to evaluate livestock grazing behavior, diet quality, and forage intake on three plant communities in pastures occupied by prairie dogs. Plant communities studied were grass dominated on-town sites (PDOG-GRASS), forb dominated on-town sites (PDOG-FORB), and grass dominated off-town sites (NO-PDOG). Three pastures with varying levels of prairie dog occupation (0%, 20%, and 40%) were studied. Each pasture was grazed by a herd of yearling steers, a subset of which were fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars. Daily time spent grazing was estimated for each plant community. Forage quality and intake were estimated using ruminally fistulated steers that were allowed to graze in 30-min increments within each plant community for June, July, and August of each year. Rumen samples were weighed and analyzed for forage quality. Intake was calculated as the rate of organic matter per minute and multiplied by average grazing time based on GPS collar data. Livestock grazing preference decreased linearly (P < 0.001) on PDOG-GRASS sites and increased linearly (P = 0.001) for NO-PDOG sites through the growing season. Crude protein content was significantly higher (P = 0.002) on the PDOG-FORB sites versus PDOG-GRASS and NO-PDOG. Few differences in forage quality were evident between the PDOG-GRASS and NO-PDOG communities. Organic matter intake rates were similar between PDOG-GRASS and NO-PDOG communities; PDOG-FORB intake rates were reduced 59% compared with NO-PDOG sites. This study will inform land managers of potential forage contributions of on-town and off-town plant communities in pastures colonized by prairie dogs.

草原土拨鼠可通过直接食用植被和修剪植物而将牧场的承载力降低多达50％。研究表明，草原犬乡的草料质量和消化率要高于郊外。但是，缺乏量化牛的饲料和营养摄入率的研究。2012-2016年，在南达科他州进行了一项研究，以评估草原犬鼠所占牧场中三个植物群落的牲畜放牧行为，饮食质量和饲草摄入量。所研究的植物群落为草为主的城镇居民点（PDOG-GRASS），禁止为主的城镇居民点（PDOG-FORB）和草为主的郊区居民（NO-PDOG）。研究了三种草原犬的职业水平不同（0％，20％和40％）。每个牧场都有一群一岁的公牛，其中一部分安装了全球定位系统（GPS）项圈。估计每个植物群落每天的放牧时间。饲草质量和采食量使用瘤胃f牛进行估算，并在每年的6月，7月和8月在每个植物群落内以30分钟的增量放牧。称量瘤胃样品并分析草料质量。摄入量以每分钟有机物的速率计算，并乘以基于GPS项圈数据的平均放牧时间。牲畜放牧偏好线性下降（每年的八月 称量瘤胃样品并分析草料质量。摄入量以每分钟有机物的速率计算，并乘以基于GPS项圈数据的平均放牧时间。牲畜放牧偏好线性下降（每年的八月 称量瘤胃样品并分析草料质量。摄入量以每分钟有机物的速率计算，并乘以基于GPS项圈数据的平均放牧时间。牲畜放牧偏好线性下降（PDOG-GRASS网站上的P <0.001）， 而NO-PDOG网站上的整个生长季节线性增加（P = 0.001）。 与PDOG-GRASS和NO-PDOG相比，PDOG-FORB位点的粗蛋白含量明显更高（P = 0.002）。在PDOG-GRASS和NO-PDOG社区之间，饲草质量几乎没有差异。PDOG-GRASS和NO-PDOG社区的有机质摄入率相似。与NO-PDOG站点相比，PDOG-FORB摄入率降低了59％。这项研究将告知土地管理者在草原犬鼠定居的牧场中，城内和城外植物群落的潜在牧草贡献。