Field Measurements of Soil Cracks

Strategic de-stocking in winter is a common management practice on dairy farms in Southland, New Zealand, to protect the soil against pugging damage. This paper examines whether this practice can also be used to reduce nitrate leaching losses. Model analyses and field measurements were used to estimate nitrate leaching losses and pasture production under two strategic de-stocking regimes: 3 months off-farm or 5 months on a feed pad with effluent collected and applied back to the land. The model analyses, based on the results of a long-term farmlet study under conventional grazing and on information for an average New Zealand farm, suggested that the 3- or 5-month de-stocking could reduce nitrate leaching losses by about 20% or 35-50%, respectively compared to a conventional grazing system. Field measurements on the Taieri Plain in Otago support these findings, although the results to date are confounded by drought conditions during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. The average nitrate concentration of the drainage water of a 5-month strategic de-stocking treatment was about 60% lower than under conventional grazing. Pasture production of the 5-month strategic de-stocking regime with effluent return was estimated based on data for apparent N efficiency of excreta patches versus uniformlyspread farm dairy effluent N. The results suggested that a strategic de-stocking regime could increase pasture production by about 2 to 8%. A cost/ benefit analysis of the 5-month de-stocking system using a feed pad, comparing additional capital and operational costs with additional income from a 5% increase in DM production, show a positive return on capital for an average New Zealand dairy farm. This suggests that a strategic destocking system has good potential as a management tool to reduce nitrate leaching losses in nitrate sensitive areas whilst being economically viable, particularly on farms where an effluent application system or a feed pad are already in place. Keywords: dairying, feed pads, nitrate leaching, nitrogen efficiency, productivity, strategic de-stocking

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A protocol for sampling pastures in hill country

Journal of New Zealand Grasslands ◽

10.33584/jnzg.2016.78.511 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 78 ◽

pp. 203-209 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

K.J. Hutchinson ◽

D.R. Scobie ◽

J. Beautrais ◽

A.D. Mackay ◽

G.M. Rennie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Random Sampling ◽

Geographical Information Systems ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Decision Support Tool ◽

Accurate Estimate ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Geographical Information ◽

Support Tool ◽

Topographic Complexity ◽

Hill Country

To develop a protocol to guide pasture sampling for estimation of paddock pasture mass in hill country, a range of pasture sampling strategies, including random sampling, transects and stratification based on slope and aspect, were evaluated using simulations in a Geographical Information Systems computer environment. The accuracy and efficiency of each strategy was tested by sampling data obtained from intensive field measurements across several farms, regions and seasons. The number of measurements required to obtain an accurate estimate was related to the overall pasture mass and the topographic complexity of a paddock, with more variable paddocks requiring more samples. Random sampling from average slopes provided the best balance between simplicity and reliability. A draft protocol was developed from the simulations, in the form of a decision support tool, where visual determination of the topographic complexity of the paddock, along with the required accuracy, were used to guide the number of measurements recommended. The protocol was field tested and evaluated by groups of users for efficacy and ease of use. This sampling protocol will offer farmers, consultants and researchers an efficient, reliable and simple way to determine pasture mass in New Zealand hill country settings. Keywords: hill country, feed budgeting, protocol pasture mass, slope

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Method application of optimal multi-parameter analysis to assess the distribution of water masses as an example of CTD data of the Barents Sea in summer 2017

Hydrosphere Еcology (Экология гидросферы) ◽

10.33624/2587-9367-2019-2(4)-38-51 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 38-51

Author(s):

Valeriy G. Yakubenko ◽

Anna L. Chultsova

Keyword(s):

Barents Sea ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Structural Similarity ◽

Water Masses ◽

Parameter Analysis ◽

Water Dynamics ◽

Phosphorus Concentration ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

The Barents Sea ◽

Expert Assessments

Identification of water masses in areas with complex water dynamics is a complex task, which is usually solved by the method of expert assessments. In this paper, it is proposed to use a formal procedure based on the application of the method of optimal multiparametric analysis (OMP analysis). The data of field measurements obtained in the 68th cruise of the R/V “Academician Mstislav Keldysh” in the summer of 2017 in the Barents Sea on the distribution of temperature, salinity, oxygen, silicates, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentration are used as a data for research. A comparison of the results with data on the distribution of water masses in literature based on expert assessments (Oziel et al., 2017), allows us to conclude about their close structural similarity. Some differences are related to spatial and temporal shifts of measurements. This indicates the feasibility of using the OMP analysis technique in oceanological studies to obtain quantitative data on the spatial distribution of different water masses.

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