Ground Surface Features Attributable to Feral Buffalo, Bubalus bubalis I. Their Distribution relative to Vegetation Structure and Plant Lifeform

1984 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 303 ◽  
Author(s):  
JA Taylor ◽  
GR Friend
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Bubalus Bubalis ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Surface Features ◽  
Dense Vegetation ◽  
Lower Elevation

Relationships among ground surface features attributable to feral buffalo (viz. wallows, trails, pug marks and dung pats), vegetation structure, and lifeform spectrum were examined in both dry and wet seasons in a tropical monsoonal area of northern Australia. In the dry season, the frequency of pug marks was negatively correlated with the number of trails and dung pats, and positively correlated with the number of wallows. In the wet season only dung pats and wallows were significantly correlated. In the dry season, wallows were not associated with any vegetation structure or lifeform attribute, but in the wet season they were associated with dense foliage <1 m high. Trails occurred in areas of low dense vegetation (<0.5 m) in the dry season, but in the wet were uncommon and positively associated with lianas. Pug marks occurred mainly in the lower-elevation, treeless areas dominated by forbs. Whereas the nature and strength of the relationships of pug marks to plant lifeform or vegetation structure remained constant from season to season, those involving dung pats changed seasonally. In the dry season, dung pats were associated with the higher-elevation areas where trees, lianas, dense mid-level foliage (1.5-2.5 m) and leaf-litter were common. In the wet, they were associated with low vegetation (<1 m) dominated by forbs, and were negatively correlated with the factors important in the dry.

Rates of Herbage Ingestion and Turnover of Water and Sodium in Feral Swamp Buffalo, Bubalus Bubalis, in Relation to Primary Production in a Cyperaceous Swamp in Monsoonal Northern Australia.

1982 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 397 ◽  
Author(s):  
CK Williams ◽  
MG Ridpath
Keyword(s):  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Bubalus Bubalis ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Water Turnover ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Daily Rate ◽  
Swamp Buffalo ◽  
Total Body

During a monsoonal dry season, a free-living population of swamp buffalo inhabiting an ephemeral cyperaceous swamp on the floodplain of the South Alligator River had high rates of water turnover. The daily rate of consumption of Eleocharis sphacelata was c. 5.79 kg DM/animal or 49.2 plus or minus 2.77 g/l total body water-0.82. Annual herbage production in the 13.1 ha swamp was estimated at 80.43 t. Buffalo using the swamp varied from 42 in the mid-wet season and 20 in the late-wet season to c. 200 in the dry season. Herbaceous vegetation was grazed out by the end of the arid phase of the monsoonal cycle. The dependence of buffalo on water which confines them during the arid season and results in intense grazing and changes in floristic composition is discussed.

Ground Surface Features Attributable to Feral Buffalo, Bubalus bubalis II. Their Relationship to the Abundance of Small Animal Species

1984 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 311 ◽  
Author(s):  
GR Friend ◽  
r Taylo
Keyword(s):  
Animal Species ◽  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Small Animal ◽  
Bubalus Bubalis ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Surface Features ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Monitoring Programs ◽  
Orthopteran Species

Relationships between ground surface features attributable to feral buffalo (wallows, trails, pug marks and dung pats) and the abundance of 116 small animal species (birds, reptiles, amphibians and orthopterans) were explored by pattern analysis for both dry and wet seasons in a tropical monsoonal area of northern Australia. The abundance of 33% of the bird, 39% of the reptile, 58% of the amphibian and 63% ofthe orthopteran species recorded was related positively or negatively to the effects ofbuffalo. Overall, 14 species displayed statistically significant relationships with the effects of buffalo. These relationships constitute hypotheses for some of the consequences to fauna of the removal of buffalo. Grasshoppers, and to a lesser extent birds, provided the greatest number of strong relationships, and these two groups are recommended for inclusion in any future experiments or monitoring programs. Results suggest that elimination of buffalo may benefit some animal species, but be to the detriment of others.

scholarly journals Diurnal, Seasonal and Annual Variation of Microwave Radio Refractivity Gradient over Akure, South West Nigeria

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Adekunle Titus Adediji ◽  
Joseph Babatunde Dada ◽  
Moses Oludare Ajewole
Keyword(s):  
Rainy Season ◽  
Annual Variation ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Local Effect ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Radio Link ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Annual Variations ◽  
Microwave Radio

In this study, four years in-situ measurements of atmospheric parameters (pressure, temperature and relative humidity) were carried out. The measurement was by placing an automatic weather station at five different heights: ground surface, 50, 100, 150 and 200 m respectively on a 220 m Nigeria Television Authority TV tower in Akure, South Western Nigeria. The four years Data collected (January 2007 to December 2009 and January to December 2011) were used to compute radio refractivity and its gradient. The local effect of a location/ region cannot but looked into when designing effective radio link, hence the diurnal, seasonal and annual variations of the radio refractivity gradient were studied. Results showed that refractivity gradient steadily increases inthe hour of 8:30 and 9:30 to 18:00 during dry season throughout the years investigated, and decreases two hours in the rainy season than the dry season. The record shows that at 50 m altitude, the maximum and minimum values are 158 N-unit/km around 14:30 and - 286 N-unit/km around 13:30 to 14:00 hrs, LT during the dry and rainy season respectively. Seasonally, refractivity gradient is steeper with greater variability in the dry season months than in the wet season months.

scholarly journals The economics of phosphorus supplementation of beef cattle grazing northern Australian rangelands

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 683
Author(s):  
M. K. Bowen ◽  
F. Chudleigh ◽  
R. M. Dixon ◽  
M. T. Sullivan ◽  
T. Schatz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Cattle Herd ◽  
Annual Business ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
P Deficiency ◽  
Business Profit ◽  
Dry Seasons ◽  
Land Types

Context Phosphorus (P) deficiency occurs in beef cattle grazing many rangeland regions with low-P soils, including in northern Australia, and may severely reduce cattle productivity in terms of growth, reproductive efficiency and mortality. However, adoption of effective P supplementation by cattle producers in northern Australia is low. This is likely to be due to lack of information and understanding of the profitability of P supplementation where cattle are P-deficient. Aims The profitability of P supplementation was evaluated for two dissimilar regions of northern Australia, namely (1) the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, and (2) the Fitzroy Natural Resource Management (NRM) region of central Queensland. Methods Property-level, regionally relevant herd models were used to determine whole-of-business productivity and profitability over 30 years. The estimated costs and benefits of P supplementation were obtained from collation of experimental data and expert opinion of persons with extensive experience of the industry. The economic consequences of P supplementation at the property level were assessed by comparison of base production without P supplementation with the expected production of P-supplemented herds, and included the implementation phase and changes over time in herd structure. In the Katherine region, it was assumed that the entire cattle herd (breeders and growing cattle) grazed acutely P-deficient land types and the consequences of (1) no P supplementation, or P supplementation during (2) the dry season, or (3) both the wet and dry seasons (i.e. 3 scenarios) were evaluated. In the Fitzroy NRM region, it was assumed that only the breeders grazed P-deficient land types with three categories of P deficiency (marginal, deficient and acutely deficient), each with either (1) no P supplementation, or P supplementation during (2) the wet season, (3) the dry season, or (4) both the wet and dry seasons (i.e. 12 scenarios). Key results In the Katherine region, year-round P supplementation of the entire cattle herd (7400 adult equivalents) grazing acutely P-deficient pasture resulted in a large increase in annual business profit (+AU$500000). Supplementing with P (and N) only in the dry season increased annual business profit by +AU$200000. In the Fitzroy NRM region, P supplementation during any season of the breeder herd grazing deficient or acutely P-deficient pastures increased profit by +AU$2400–AU$45000/annum (total cattle herd 1500 adult equivalents). Importantly, P supplementation during the wet season-only resulted in the greatest increases in profit within each category of P deficiency, comprising +AU$5600, AU$6300 and AU$45000 additional profit per annum for marginal, deficient and acutely P-deficient herds respectively. Conclusions The large economic benefits of P supplementation for northern beef enterprises estimated in the present study substantiate the current industry recommendation that effective P supplementation is highly profitable when cattle are grazing P-deficient land types. Implications The contradiction of large economic benefits of P supplementation and the generally low adoption rates by the cattle industry in northern Australia suggests a need for targeted research and extension to identify the specific constraints to adoption, including potential high initial capital costs.

Phenological changes in a Sumatran rain forest

1986 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. P. Van Schaik
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Seasonal Pattern ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Phenological Changes ◽  
Young Leaves ◽  
Fig Trees ◽  
One Year ◽  
Made In

ABSTRACTPhenological observations were made in a Sumatran rain forest during three years (1980–1982). Phenological changes followed a consistent seasonal pattern. The abundance of young leaves and the fall of leaf litter peaked between December and February (first dry season); flowers were most abundant between January and April (first dry and first wet sea son), and ripe fruits in July-August (the second dry season). The fruit of strangling fig trees showed peaks in April and October, both wet season months. Within the study area there was variation in both the phase and the amplitude of the phenological cycles. One year, 1981, displayed mast flowering and fruiting. The observations indicate that the conditions for production were better during the mast year, a finding that facilitates our understanding of the evolution of mast fruiting.

Corrigendum to: Seasonal patterns of soil carbon dioxide efflux from a wet¿dry tropical savanna of northern Australia

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 373
Author(s):  
Xiaoyong Chen ◽  
Derek Eamus ◽  
Lindsay B. Hutley
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Soil Co2 Efflux ◽  
Co2 Efflux ◽  
Tropical Savanna ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Soil Co2 ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Closed Chamber

Soil CO2 efflux rates were measured in a eucalypt open forest in a tropical savanna of northern Australia, with a portable closed chamber and CO2 gas analyser. Both abiotic (soil temperature and water content) and biotic (litterfall and fine-root growth) factors that may influence soil CO2 efflux were examined. Daytime rates of soil CO2 efflux rate were consistently higher than nocturnal values. Maximal rates occurred during late afternoons when soil temperatures were also maximal and minimum values were recorded during the early morning (0400–0800 hours). Average soil CO2 efflux was 5.37 mol m–2 s–1 (range 3.5–6.7 mol m–2 s–1 during the wet season and declined to 2.20 mol m–2 s–1 (range 1.2–3.6 mol m–2 s–1) during the dry season. The amount of carbon released from soil was 14.3 t ha–1 year–1, with approximately 70&percnt; released during the wet season and 30&percnt; during the dry season. The rate of efflux was correlated with soil moisture content and soil temperature only during the wet season, when root growth and respiration were high. During the dry season there was no correlation with soil temperature. These results are discussed in relation to the carbon balance of tropical savannas.

The influence of weather on the quality of tropical legume pasture during the dry season in Northern Australia. II. Moulding of standing hay in relation to rain and dew

1981 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 589 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL McCown ◽  
BH Wall
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Bulk Sample ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Mould Growth ◽  
Tropical Legume ◽  
Dry Tropics

Naturally desiccated legume pasture is valuable forage in the dry season but is very vulnerable to moulding, which drastically reduces its acceptability to cattle. At a network of sites in the wet-dry tropics of Australia, trends in mouldiness of standard leaf 'litter' samples were monitored in relation to rain, dew, and rates of drying. Although heavy dews occurred frequently at some sites, only the immediate top layer of fallen leaf moulded. This had a very small effect on the mouldiness of the bulk sample. Appreciable moulding occurred only after at least 2 mm rain, but in some cases there was no mould growth after over 10 mm rain; the amount of rain accounted for only 23 % of the variation in mouldiness. The duration of wetness of the leaf litter, as indicated by the duration of 95 % relative humidity 10 cm above the ground after rain, accounted for 91 % of the variation in mouldiness. At the more humid sites, material which was exposed for several weeks before rain moulded more rapidly after rain than did recently exposed material, even though at the time of rain there were no visible differences. Differences in causation of moulding of conventional hay and of 'standing hay' are discussed.

Effect of the red land crab (Gecarcinus lateralis) on leaf litter in a tropical dry forest in Veracruz, Mexico

1993 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Kellman ◽  
Bianca Delfosse
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Seasonal Pattern ◽  
Coastal Dunes ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Nutrient Pools ◽  
Land Crab ◽  
Litter Biomass ◽  
Gecarcinus Lateralis

ABSTRACTThe effect of the red land crab (Gecarcinus lateralis) on leaf litter biomass and nutrient transformation was investigated in a semi-deciduous tropical forest on coastal dunes using access and exclusion plots observed for six months. Crabs were in burrows during drought, but began foraging immediately after rainfall. Crabs accelerated litter disappearance significantly during the wet season at one site located beneath Brosimum alicastrum, but had no effect beneath a nearby Enterolobium cyclocarpum. The difference is tentatively attributed to small leaflet size in the latter species which crabs were unable to handle and consume. At both sites, litter in exdosures had approximately doubled by the end of the ensuing dry season. At the Brosimum site it is attributed to sporadic crab detritivory occurring after dry seasonal rains. At the Enterolobium site it is attributed to preferential retention of litter in the cxclosures during strong dry season winds. The nutrient content of litter exposed to, or protected from, crabs was not significantly different at either site and differences in litter nutrient pools reflected differences in litter biomass. Accelerated nutrient mineralization due to crab detritivory was concentrated early in the wet season before leaching began from the soils, and it is suggested that this altered seasonal pattern of mineralization may reduce the loss of nutrients from the site in percolating water.

The influence of weather on the quality of tropical legume pasture during the dry season in Northern Australia. I. Trends in sward structure and moulding of standing hay at three locations

1981 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 575 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL McCown ◽  
BH Wall ◽  
PG Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Seasonally Dry ◽  
Actual Contribution ◽  
Tropical Climates

In seasonally dry tropical climates, animal production is severely constrained during the dry season by the low nutritive value of dry grass forage. Introduction of a legume such as Caribbean stylo can provide a valuable alternative forage during this period, mainly in the form of leaf litter and accompanying seed. The actual contribution of dry legume is closely dependent on its moisture regimen, which determines the degree of mould growth, an important palatability factor. This paper reports a 2-year study conducted at Katherine, Darwin and Townsville of the environmental control of both the timing and rate of leaf shed and of the subsequent moulding of leaf litter. At Katherine and Darwin, leaf was shed early and rapidly; at Townsville, much lower evaporation rates and small rainfalls delayed and prolonged leaf shed by several weeks. The data provide a model for predicting leaf shed by using standard weather data to aid the assessment of the risk of forage damage by precipitation.

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