P
Paddock: A grazing area that is a subdivision
of a grazing management unit, and is enclosed and separated from other areas
by a fence or barrier.
Palatability: The relish with which a particular
species or plant part is consumed by an animal.
Parasite: An organism living in or on another
and benefiting at the expense of the other. Often, though not always harmful
to the host. Animal parasites include internal warms and external lice, mites,
ticks etc.
Pasture: A type of grazing management unit
enclosed and separated from other areas by fencing or other barriers and devoted
to the production of forage for harvest primarily by grazing.
Perennial Plant: A plant that has a life cycle
of 3 or more years.
Period of occupation: The length of time that
a specific land area is occupied, whether by one animal group or by two or more
animal groups in succession.
Period of stay: The length of time that a
particular animal group occupies a specific land area. Period of occupation
and period of stay differentiate between the total time a specific land area
is utilized and the time that a particular group of animals is using said land
area.
Peste de Petits Ruminantes: An acute, highly contagious viral disease of goats
and sheep characterised by fever, anorexia, necrotic stomatitis, diarrhoea and
respiratory distress. It is a rinder-pest-like disease in Africa and Asia and
is highly fatal in goats and less so in sheep.
PIU: Project Implementation Unit.
Prairie: Nearly level or rolling grassland,
originally treeless, and usually characterised by fertile soil.
Predisposition: Latent susceptibility or tendency
toward disease.
Prevalence: This is defined as a number of
cases of disease or infection existing at any given time in relation to the
unit of population in which they occur.
Pure live seed (PLS): Purity and germination
of seed expressed in percent; calculated as PLS = % germination x % purity/100.