{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,23]],"date-time":"2026-02-23T09:49:25Z","timestamp":1771840165678,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,22]],"date-time":"2021-07-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1626912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Single RTDI State Aid Action &quot;Research \u2013 Create \u2013 Innovate\u201d, co-funded by the European Union\u2019s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and national funds of the Hellenic Republic (Greece) via the Operational Programme Competitiveness, En-trepreneurship","award":["\u03a41\u0395\u0394\u039a-04488"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["\u03a41\u0395\u0394\u039a-04488"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Information"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Grazing has long been recognized as an effective means of modifying natural habitats and, by extension, as a wildlife and protected area management tool, in addition to the obvious economic value it has for pastoral communities. A holistic approach to grazing management requires the estimation of grazing timing, frequency, and season length, as well as the overall grazing intensity. However, traditional grazing monitoring methods require frequent field visits, which can be labor intensive and logistically demanding to implement, especially in remote areas. Questionnaire surveys of farmers are also widely used to collect information on grazing parameters, however there can be concerns regarding the reliability of the data collected. To improve the reliability of grazing data collected and decrease the required labor, we tested for the first time whether a novel combination of autonomous recording units and the semi-automated detection algorithms of livestock vocalizations could provide insight on grazing activity at the selected areas of the Greek Rhodope mountain range. Our results confirm the potential of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) techniques as a cost-efficient method for acquiring high resolution spatiotemporal data on grazing patterns. Additionally, we evaluate the three algorithms that we developed for detecting cattle, sheep\/goat, and livestock bell sounds, and make them available to the broader scientific community. We conclude with suggestions on ways that acoustic monitoring can further contribute to managing legal and illegal grazing, and offer a list of priorities for related future research.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/info12080290","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,23]],"date-time":"2021-07-23T00:07:40Z","timestamp":1626998860000},"page":"290","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Estimating Livestock Grazing Activity in Remote Areas Using Passive Acoustic Monitoring"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Ilias","family":"Karmiris","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Research Institute, ELGO-DIMITRA, 57006 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8503-217X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christos","family":"Astaras","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Research Institute, ELGO-DIMITRA, 57006 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0749-099X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Konstantinos","family":"Ioannou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Research Institute, ELGO-DIMITRA, 57006 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ioakim","family":"Vasiliadis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Research Institute, ELGO-DIMITRA, 57006 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8276-727X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dionisios","family":"Youlatos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nikolaos","family":"Stefanakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Music Technology & Acoustics, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 74100 Rethymno, Greece"},{"name":"Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Institute of Computer Science, 70013 Heraklion, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aspassia D.","family":"Chatziefthimiou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Brain Chemistry Lab, Institute for Ethnomedicine, P.O. Box 3464, Jackson Hole, WY 83001, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Theodoros","family":"Kominos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Antonia","family":"Galanaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kariuki, R.W., Western, D., Willcock, S., and Marchant, R. (2021). Assessing Interactions between Agriculture, Livestock Grazing and Wildlife Conservation Land Uses: A Historical Example from East Africa. Land, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/land10010046"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Balzan, M.V., Sadula, R., and Scalvenzi, L. (2020). Assessing Ecosystem Services Supplied by Agroecosystems in Mediterranean Europe: A Literature Review. Land, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/land9080245"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"355","DOI":"10.2307\/3565318","article-title":"Defence and Regrowth, Alternative Plant Strategies in the Struggle against Herbivores","volume":"51","author":"Wijn","year":"1988","journal-title":"Oikos"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.2307\/3545305","article-title":"The Effects of Herbivory and Granivory on Terrestrial Plant Succession","volume":"68","author":"Davidson","year":"1993","journal-title":"Oikos"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.1016\/S0006-3207(98)00134-7","article-title":"Managing grassland for wild geese in Britain: A review","volume":"89","author":"Vickery","year":"1999","journal-title":"Biol. Conserv."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jnc.2004.10.001","article-title":"Utilisation of Wadden Sea salt marshes by geese in relation to livestock grazing","volume":"13","author":"Bos","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Nat. Conserv."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-7998.2006.00199.x","article-title":"Intensity of livestock grazing in relation to habitat use by brown hares (Lepus europaeus)","volume":"271","author":"Karmiris","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Zool."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.2111\/REM-D-13-00152.1","article-title":"Grazing Intensity Influences Ground Squirrel and American Badger Habitat Use in Mixed-Grass Prairies","volume":"67","author":"Bylo","year":"2014","journal-title":"Rangel. Ecol. Manag."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"976","DOI":"10.2307\/3803207","article-title":"Response of Birds to Grazing of Riparian Zones","volume":"64","author":"Popotnik","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Wildl. Manag."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"400","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2664.2005.01012.x","article-title":"Predicting the impact of livestock grazing on birds using foraging height data","volume":"42","author":"Martin","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Appl. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"569","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1442-9993.2011.02317.x","article-title":"Differential responses of plants, reptiles and birds to grazing management, fertilizer and tree clearing","volume":"37","author":"Dorrough","year":"2012","journal-title":"Austral. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"446","DOI":"10.1111\/cobi.12779","article-title":"Effects of past and present livestock grazing on herpetofauna in a landscape-scale experiment","volume":"31","author":"Kay","year":"2017","journal-title":"Conserv. Biol."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1434","DOI":"10.1007\/s00267-014-0355-2","article-title":"Grassland Fire and Cattle Grazing Regulate Reptile and Amphibian Assembly among Patches","volume":"54","author":"Larson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Environ. Manag."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"629","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1523-1739.1994.08030629.x","article-title":"Ecological Costs of Livestock Grazing in Western North America","volume":"8","author":"Fleischner","year":"1994","journal-title":"Conserv. Biol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124","DOI":"10.1111\/icad.12151","article-title":"Effects of environmental variation and livestock grazing on ant community structure in temperate eucalypt woodlands","volume":"9","author":"Barton","year":"2016","journal-title":"Insect Conserv. Divers."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"Cook, C.W., and Stubbendieck, J. (1986). Range Research: Basic Problems and Techniques, Society for Range Management."},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Holechek, J.L., Pieper, R.D., and Herbel, C.H. (2011). Range Management: Principles and Practices, Prentice Hall Publishing."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1890\/ES10-00183.1","article-title":"Reintroducing fire into a ponderosa pine forest with and without cattle grazing: Understory vegetation response","volume":"2","author":"Kerns","year":"2011","journal-title":"Ecosphere"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1039","DOI":"10.1111\/1365-2664.12097","article-title":"Conditions favouring Bromus tectorum dominance of endangered sagebrush steppe ecosystems","volume":"50","author":"Reisner","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Appl. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"412","DOI":"10.2111\/REM-D-14-00011.1","article-title":"Cattle Grazing and Vegetation Succession on Burned Sagebrush Steppe","volume":"67","author":"Bates","year":"2014","journal-title":"Rangel. Ecol. Manag."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"233","DOI":"10.1002\/fee.1495","article-title":"Passive acoustic monitoring as a law enforcement tool for Afrotropical rainforests","volume":"15","author":"Astaras","year":"2017","journal-title":"Front. Ecol. Environ."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1093\/biosci\/biy147","article-title":"Terrestrial Passive Acoustic Monitoring: Review and Perspectives","volume":"69","author":"Sugai","year":"2019","journal-title":"Bioscience"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biocon.2014.12.020","article-title":"Autonomous sound monitoring shows higher use of Amazon old growth than secondary forest by parrots","volume":"184","author":"Figueira","year":"2015","journal-title":"Biol. Conserv."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"267","DOI":"10.1080\/09524622.2016.1152564","article-title":"Acoustic monitoring of golden jackals in Europe: Setting the frame for future analyses","volume":"25","author":"Comazzi","year":"2016","journal-title":"Bioacoustics"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"753","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecolind.2018.11.062","article-title":"An evaluation of the efficiency of passive acoustic monitoring in detecting deer and primates in comparison with camera traps","volume":"98","author":"Enari","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ecol. Indic."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1262","DOI":"10.1007\/s00267-013-0123-8","article-title":"Detection and Classification of Motor Vehicle Noise in a Forested Landscape","volume":"52","author":"Brown","year":"2013","journal-title":"Environ. Manag."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"82","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biocon.2014.11.003","article-title":"Quantifying the effect of boat disturbance on bottlenose dolphin foraging activity","volume":"181","author":"Pirotta","year":"2015","journal-title":"Biol. Conserv."},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"Astaras, C., Karmiris, I., Stefanakis, N., and Vasiliadis, I. (2021). Acoustic files used as training data for the development of livestock grazing detection algorithms (sheep\/goat, cow, bells). Figshare."},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Astaras, C., Vasiliadis, I., Stefanakis, N., and Karmiris, I. (2021). Livestock grazing detection algorithms. Figshare."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.5751\/ACE-01114-120214","article-title":"Recommendations for acoustic recognizer performance assessment with application to five common automated signal recognition programs TT","volume":"12","author":"Knight","year":"2017","journal-title":"Avian Conserv. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"R Core Team (2019). A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing, R Foundation for Statistical Computing."}],"container-title":["Information"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2078-2489\/12\/8\/290\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T06:33:08Z","timestamp":1760164388000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2078-2489\/12\/8\/290"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,22]]},"references-count":31,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,8]]}},"alternative-id":["info12080290"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/info12080290","relation":{},"ISSN":["2078-2489"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2078-2489","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,22]]}}}