干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The ideal free distribution is a biological model that explains the abundance of predators relative to their prey. This analysis reapplies this theory to examine the distribution of domestic livestock relative to the availability of water and forage along a 150km. transect in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan. In this arid environment, the location, quality and quantity of stock water are as important as forage in determining stock movements. Livestock also appear to shift seasonally between preferring high quality or high volumes of forage. This analysis is part of a wider effort to understand why herd owners maintain animal numbers and distributions that promote or retard desertification.