Coronilla juncea is both a nutritive fodder shrub and useful in the rehabilitation of abandoned Mediterranean marginal farmland

Coronilla juncea is a leguminous shrub native to semi-arid regions of the Mediterranean Basin, particularly south-eastern Spain, and is browsed by livestock such as sheep and goats. We provide here information about this source of forage: allometric regression equations (phytovolume vs. total and forage phytomass), nutritive value and seed germination. The regression equations calculated were highly significant (r(2)=0.86 for volume/total phytomass and 0.93 for volume/forage phytomass, p<0.001). The values recorded for the in vitro digestibility of dry matter and organic matter were 65.93% and 62.13%, respectively. The optimum temperature for seed germination was 10 degrees C. Scarification in goat rumen for 24h increased the overall germination rate of fruit with pericarp although in sheep rumen overall germination decreased slightly. We suggest that this fodder shrub be included in programmes for land management and the rehabilitation of degraded semi-arid-to-arid ecosystems. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.