One of the key factors in managing a rangeland is to determine the preference values of its major plant species. We investigated grazing behaviour of a native goat (Garizi) in the steppe rangelands of Iran, from May to November 2004. The study was condutced within or outside of an enclosure, representing a good condition (GC) or a poor condition (PC) rangeland, respectively. Folks of six goats were selected randomly, and their grazing behaviours monitored by chronometers. Records were taken during 15-day periods and repeated four times within the grazing season. In the GC site, grazing pressure on the perennial grass Stipa barbata and the perennial chenopod Salsola rigida was low at the beginning of the grazing period, but it was increased towards the end of the grazing season. In the PC site, main grazing pressure was on noxious plants such as Scariola orientalis, Launaea acanthoides, and Cousinia deserti. Therefore, grazing preference of Garizi goat was significantly altered at different times of the grazing season and under different site conditions. Such seasonal shifts in the goat preference values were largely affected by presence of annual plants and plant litter, which provide sources for temporal fodder in dry rangelands.

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