@inbook{35a513edada64049bd9bc10a67899625,
title = "Migratory geese foraging on grassland: Case study in the region of Flanders (Belgium)",
abstract = "Every winter nearly 100 000 migratory geese visit Northwestern Flanders (Belgium), including several protected species such as the pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus). The geese mainly forage on agricultural grassland, where they remove all the green parts and leave substantial amounts of droppings. In 2009 several farmers{\textquoteright} concerns about this phenomenon were thoroughly investigated. The main findings revealed that grass production on grazed parcels is reduced by 450 kg DM/ha on average at the time of the first cut around 1 May. On the same parcels, soil nitrogen addition from goose droppings did not far exceed 10 kg/ha, a small amount in comparison to the farmers{\textquoteright} average annual fertilization rate. No negative effect on grass fodder quality was found; even a small but significant increase in crude protein content was observed as well as a decrease in crude fibre content. The results of this study laid the foundation for measuring grass yield losses due to grazing by protected wildlife species, now used in a compensation scheme for farmers.",
author = "{Van Gils}, Bert and {De Vliegher}, Alex and Frank Huysentruyt and Jim Casaer and Koen Devos",
year = "2012",
language = "English",
isbn = "978-83-89250-77-3",
volume = "17",
pages = "759--761",
booktitle = "Grassland Science in Europe",
}