The Distribution of Excreta by Freely Grazing Cattle and Its Effect on Pasture Fertility: I. Excretal Distribution¹

Abstract

Synopsis The negative binomial distribution function is used to characterize quantitatively the time‐space distribution of excreta from freely‐grazing animals over long periods of time; the Poisson distribution function was found to be reasonably accurate over short periods. Proportion of pasture covered by 0, 1, 2, … excretions during a grazing period appears to depend primarily on mean excretal density at the end of the period, and to be practically independent of the size and shape of the pasture.