The influence of season and of providing a water trough on stream use by beef cattle grazing hill-country in New Zealand

Cattle have been implicated in riparian habitat deterioration through riparian bank destruction, and through standing, defecating and urinating in streams. This study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of locating water trough distant from a stream and encouraging cattle away from riparian areas, and to establish the diurnal and seasonal patterns of cattle behaviour and its effect on riparian areas. Providing water sources distant from the stream might encourage cattle away from riparian areas. Two hill-country fields were used in each season for two consecutive years, and two other fields were used in two of the seasons. Fields were paired, with a trough placed in one of each pair. Each season, placement of troughs was alternated according to a cross-over design. Observations were carried out from 8:00 to 17:30 h on alternate days for 1 week each season. There was no difference in stream or trough use across seasons. Over the period of each observation week, herbage quantity declined, and trough use increased, but there was no change in the frequency of stream use. Cows drank from the trough, but the presence of the trough did not influence cattle use of the stream or surrounding area.