scholarly journals Effect of grazing intensity and dung on herbage and soil nutrients

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (No. 7) ◽  
pp. 343-348
Author(s):  
Klára Pavlů ◽  
Teowdroes Kassahun ◽  
Chukwudi Nwaogu ◽  
Lenka Pavlů ◽  
Jan Gaisler ◽  
...  

Dung deposited by grazing animals is a key driver affecting sward structure and nutrient cycling in pastures. We tested herbage and soil properties in three types of tall sward-height patches (> 10 cm): (i) patches with dung under intensive grazing; (ii) patches with dung under extensive grazing; and (iii) patches with no dung under extensive grazing. These patches were compared with grazed swards under intensive and extensive grazing. Analyses indicated no significant effect of different types of patches on plant available nutrients. Herbage nutrient concentrations from the different types of patches differed significantly. The highest concentrations of nitrogen (30.65 g/kg), phosphorus (4.51 g/kg) and potassium (22.06 g/kg) in the herbage dry matter were in the tall patches with dung presence under intensive grazing regime because of nutrients from dung utilized for sward regrowth. Regardless of dung presence, similar herbage nutrient concentrations were revealed in non-grazed tall sward-height patches in extensive grazing regime. The presence of dung did not have any effect on the plant available nutrients in any type of patches, therefore we suppose that non-utilized nutrients were probably leached, volatilised or transformed into unavailable forms and thus soil nutrient enrichment was low.

Author(s):  
B.M. Butler ◽  
A.C.P. Chu

Six grazing treatments, consisting of an intensity comparison (hard, medium and lax) at a 14.day regrowth interval, and a frequency comparison (regrowth intervals of 7, 14, 21 and 26 days) at the medium intensity, were imposed over 12 weeks during spring (treatment period). Subsequent pasture performance was assessed over a further 12 weeks during summer (post-treatment period). By the end of the treatment period two groups of wards were apparent. Compared with the other wards. Lax and Medium swards at regrowth intervals of 21 and 26 days were characterised by greater total, green, ryegrass reproductive stem and dead herbage mass and lower proportion of leaf. During the post-treatment period reproductive stem senesced and these wards contained greater levels of dead herbage. These swards also had lower leaf accumulation during the treatment period, though leaf accumulation was lower only on lax grazed swards during the post-treatment period. On high-fertility, ryegrass-dominant pastures hard grazing was not required to maintain pasture quality, as this occurred also under the medium grazing intensity (residual sward height 6-6 cm) provided the interval between grazing was 14 days or less (pregrazing ward height of 20 cm). It may be expected that herbage intake and animal performance on lax and infrequently (21 and 26 days) grazed swards would be reduced because of both lower leaf accumulation and greater dead herbage mass especially over the summer. Keywords: Pasture quality, ward characterisics, grazing frequency, grazing intensity, leaf accumulation, herbage mass.


2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 765-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.-Y. Li ◽  
P.-P. Fan ◽  
Y. Liu ◽  
G.-L. Hou ◽  
Q. Wang ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuta Takahashi ◽  
Kaori Shiojiri ◽  
Akira Yamawo

AbstractAboveground communication between plants is well known to change defense traits in leaves, but its effects on belowground plant traits and soil characteristics have not been elucidated. We hypothesized that aboveground plant-to-plant communication reduces root nodule symbiosis via induction of bactericidal chemical defense substances and changes the soil nutrient environment. Soybean plants were exposed to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from damaged shoots of Solidago canadensis var. scabra, and leaf defense traits (total phenolics, saponins), root saponins, and root nodule symbiosis traits (number and biomass of root nodules) were measured. Soil C/N ratios and mineral concentrations were also measured to estimate the effects of resource uptake by the plants. We found that total phenolics were not affected. However, plants that received VOCs had higher saponin concentrations in both leaves and roots, and fewer root nodules than untreated plants. Although the concentrations of soil minerals did not differ between treatments, soil C/N ratio was significantly higher in the soil of communicated plants. Thus, the aboveground plant-to-plant communication led to reductions in root nodule symbiosis and soil nutrient concentrations. Our results suggest that there are broader effects of induced chemical defenses in aboveground plant organs upon belowground microbial interactions and soil nutrients, and emphasize that plant response based on plant-to-plant communications are a bridge between above- and below-ground ecosystems.


2001 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir G. Onipchenko ◽  
Mikhail I. Makarov ◽  
Eddy van der Maarel

2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 479-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Bartoň ◽  
D. Bureš ◽  
V. Kudrna

The effects of breed and diet containing different types of silages on meat quality parameters and fatty acid profile of m. longissimus lumborum (MLL) were evaluated in a total of 30 Czech Fleckvieh (CF), Charolais (CH) and Charolais × Czech Fleckvieh (CH × CF) bulls. The animals were fed two mixed diets: MS (based on maize silage) and LCS (based on legume-cereal mixture silage and lucerne silages) with different concentrations of dietary energy and fatty acids. The MLL from CH bulls had the lowest content of dry matter (P < 0.01), less protein (P < 0.01) and lighter meat (P < 0.01) compared to the CF. The extensive LCS diet reduced dry matter (P < 0.01) and intramuscular fat (P < 0.01) and increased the content of hydroxyproline (P < 0.05). The CH bulls exhibited higher PUFA n-3 (P < 0.05) and lower MUFA (P < 0.05) compared to the CF, with the CH × CF being intermediate. The LCS diet enhanced the proportions of PUFA (P < 0.05) and PUFA n-3 (P < 0.001) and reduced MUFA (P < 0.001). In conclusion, both breed and diet affected the meat quality and fatty acid profile of the intramuscular fat of the bulls. The replacement of maize silage with the legume-cereal mixture and lucerne silages in the diet reduced the concentration of intramuscular fat and improved its fatty acid profile from the human nutrition perspective.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengjiao Sun ◽  
Enqing Hou ◽  
Jiasen Wu ◽  
Jianqin Huang ◽  
Xingzhao Huang

Abstract Background: Soil nutrients play critical roles in regulating and improving the sustainable development of economic forests. Consequently, an elucidation of the spatial patterns and drivers of soil nutrients in these forests is fundamental to their management. For this study, we collected 314 composite soils at a 0-30 cm depth from a typical hickory plantation in Lin 'an, Zhejiang Province, China. We determined the concentrations of macronutrients (i.e., soil organic carbon, hydrolyzed nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium) and micronutrients (i.e., iron, manganese, zinc, and copper.) of the soils. We employed random forest analysis to quantify the relative importance of soil-forming factors to predict the soil nutrient concentrations, which could then be extrapolated to the entire hickory region. Results: Random forest models explained 61%–88% of the variations in soil nutrient concentrations. The mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation were the most important predictor of soil macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations. Moreover, parent material was another key predictor of soil available phosphorus and micronutrient concentrations. Mapping results demonstrated the importance of climate in controlling the spatial distribution of soil nutrient concentrations at finer scales, as well as the effect of parent material, topography, stand structure, and management measures of hickory plantations. Conclusions: Our study highlights the biotic factors, abiotic factors, and management factors control over soil macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations, which have significant implications for the sustainability of soil nutrients in forest plantations.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo José Braga ◽  
Carlos Guilherme Silveira Pedreira ◽  
Valdo Rodrigues Herling ◽  
Pedro Henrique de Cerqueira Luz ◽  
César Gonçalves de Lima

In ruminant-forage systems herbage allowance (HAL) has a major impact on grazing intensity and sward structure, affecting animals, plants, and ultimately, pasture yield. Data on HAL responses of tropical cultivated pastures are scarce and this information may be useful in optimizing pasture utilization. The objective of this study was to describe and contrast sward structure and herbage accumulation responses of 'Marandu' palisadegrass [Brachiaria brizantha (A.Rich.) Stapf] pastures to HAL during two grazing seasons (warm-rainy season of 2003 and 2004). Treatments were four daily HAL levels, 5, 10, 15 and 20 kg herbage mass per 100 kg live weight (%) in a rotational stocking system with 35 days of grazing cycle (28-day rest; 7-d grazing). Post-graze swards were shorter (~17 cm) under 5% HAL. For the other HAL levels, postgraze sward height increased throughout the experiment (21 to 50 cm). Changes in sward light interception (LI) were highly associated with height, but differed across HALs in 2004. Early in the 2003 season, HAL increases resulted in linear increase of the daily herbage accumulation rate (HAR; 47, 66, 78, and 98 kg DM ha-1 d-1 for 5, 10, 15 and 20%-HAL, respectively). For the subsequent grazing cycles of 2003 and all through 2004, HAR decreased with increasing HAL. This was associated with the excessive increase in sward height and mean forage mass, caused by lower grazing intensity. The use of lax (high) HAL to maximize animal performance, especially 10, 15 and 20%-HAL, resulted in decreased pasture performance (lower herbage accumulation, HAC) in palisadegrass pastures.


Author(s):  
Hari Krishna ◽  
Peter D. Kemp ◽  
The Late Sally D. Newton

'Necton' sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) is a perennial forage legume with potential to provide high quality, non-bloating feed. This trial examined the effect of grazing intensity and frequency on sulla over one year. Annual dry matter yields ranged from 7.4 to 18.0 t/ha. There was no difference in the yield of hard and lax-grazed plots but grazing in late autumn significantly decreased plant density and yield. Keywords 'Necton', sulla, legume, grazing management


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