Digital Commons Network^™

Comparative Analysis Of Climate Change Adaptation Options Across The Southern Australian Livestock Industry, Afshin Ghahramani, Andrew D. Moore

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Climate change is predicted to have a substantial negative effect on the productivity of grasslands across southern Australia (Moore and Ghahramani 2013). We used the GRAZPLAN biophysical simulation models to assess several possible grassland management and animal genetic improvement adaptations under SRES A2 climate change scenario. Simulations spanned the five dimensions of geography, time, global circulation models, enterprise, and adaptations. Impact of climate change was predicted to reduce profitability of livestock industry by 46%, 58%, and 72% at 2030, 2050 and 2070, respectively. Increasing soil fertility could return the average profitability of five livestock enterprises to its historical level at …

Elevated Co2 Impacts On Grazed Pasture: Long-Term Lessons From The New Zealand Face, Michael B. Dodd

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A grazed pasture Free Air CO₂ Enrichment (FACE) experiment has been operating for almost 15 years in the Rangitikei Region of New Zealand, following earlier work studying CO₂, temperature and moisture effects on pasture in growth chambers. The longer-term results are reviewed with a focus on primary productivity, pasture compositional dynamics, nutrient cycling feedbacks and soil carbon supply. In terms of the direct effects of CO₂ elevated to 475 ppm, increases in primary production were reflected in belowground allocation and legume stimulation, with the latter diminishing in the longer term and annual aboveground net herbage accumulation …

Assessing Climate Change Impacts On Managed Grassland Production Using A Bio-Economic Modelling Approach, Robert Finger, Pierluigi Calanca, Simon Briner

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

We develop a bio-economic model that combines the process based grassland simulation model PROGRASS with an economic decision model, which accounts for income risks and yield quality, to derive optimal nitrogen application rates in a grass-clover system in Switzerland. The model is applied to current as well as to future climate conditions. Though nitrogen increases yields, it also leads to a higher variance and more negative skewness of yields, i.e. is risk increasing. Accounting for farmers’ risk aversion thus reduces optimal nitrogen use. We find climate change, ceteris paribus, to lead to higher grassland yields but also to increase the …

Tithonia Diversifolia For Ruminant Nutrition, Rogerio M. Mauricio, Rafael S. Ribeiro, Sylvia R. Silveira, Person L. Silva, Leonardo Calsavara, Luiz G. R. Pereira, Domingos S. C. Paciullo

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

India and Brazil lead the world ranking of livestock enteric methane emissions (FAO 2006). According to FAO (2006), Brazil (9.6 Tg of CH4/year) is the highest emitter of methane from cattle, followed by India (8.6 Tg of CH4/year) and the USA (5.1 Tg of CH4/year). In livestock, methane (CH4) formed from enteric fermentation of carbohydrates is primarily responsible for the emissions in the sector. Regarding livestock methane emission, Delgado et al. (2012) evaluated 20 tree and shrub species using in vitro technique and demonstrated a reducing effect on the amount of methane when Tithonia diversifolia was compared with, for …

Herbage Intake, Methane Emissions And Animal Performance Of Steers Grazing Dwarf Elephant Grass With Or Without Access To Arachis Pintoi Pastures, Ederson A. De Andrade, Henrique M. N. Ribeiro-Filho, Diego M. De Liz, João G. R. Almeida, Marcolino F. Miguel, Gutierri T. Raupp, Fabiana R. Ramos, Edison X. Almeida

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The inclusion of legumes in diets based on grass has nutritional benefits due to ingestive and digestive interactions (Niderkorn and Baumont 2009). Moreover, it is speculated that tropical legumes can contribute to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) compared to diets exclusively composed of grasses (Archimède et al. 2011). However, under grazing conditions, these advantages are not always possible to obtain. This occurs when the spatial distribution of sward grasses impose limitations on access to legumes by grazing animals (Solomon et al. 2011). This can be the case, for example, when legumes are overlapped by the leaves …

Modelling Adaptation And Mitigation Strategies For Southern Livestock Industries Of Australia, Richard J. Eckard, Richard P. Rawnsley, Brendan R. Cullen, Matthew Bell, Karen Christie

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Climate change will impact on the Australian grazing industries both through mitigation policies and the impact of warmer temperatures, increased atmospheric CO₂ and changed rainfall patterns (Cullen et al. 2009; Eckard et al. 2010). Mechanistic models are useful tools to inform our understanding of the complex interactions between future climates and the soil, plant, animal and management in livestock production systems.

This paper summarises the results of a number of whole farm systems modelling studies investigating likely impacts of climate change, adaptation options and emissions implications for livestock production in southern Australia.

Effect Of Soil Moisture Status And Animal Treading On N2O Emissions And The Effectiveness Of A Nitrification Inhibitor Mitigation Technology, H. J. Di, K. C. Cameron, B. Ball, A. Podolyan, Jizheng He

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a potent greenhouse gas with a long-term global warming potential about 298 times that of carbon dioxide (CO₂). In grazed grassland, most of the N₂O is emitted from nitrogen (N) excreted by the grazing animal, particularly in the animal urine. When the soil is wet, such as that in winter grazing conditions, animal grazing can cause soil structural damage, leading to soil compaction. The combination of a wet soil plus soil compaction is particularly conducive for N₂O production. A nitrification inhibitor technology using dicyandiamide (DCD) has been developed …

Challenges And Opportunities For Improving Eco-Efficiency Of Tropical Forage-Based Systems To Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Michael Peters, Mario Herrero, Myles Fish, Karl-Heinz Erb, Idupulapati M. Rao, Guntur V. Subbarao, Aracely Castro, Jacobo Arango, Julian Chará, Enrique Murgueitio, Rein Van Der Hoek, Peter Läderach, Glenn Hyman, Jeimar Tapasco, Bernardo Strassburg, Birthe K. Paul, Alvaro Rincón, Rainer Schultze-Kraft, Steve Fonte, Timothy Searchinger

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Forage-based livestock production plays a key role in national and regional economies, for food security and poverty alleviation. Livestock production is also considered as a major contributor to agricultural GHG emissions, however. While demand for livestock products is predicted to continue to increase, there is political and societal pressure both to reduce environmental impacts and to convert some of the pasture area to alternative uses such as crop production and environmental conservation. Thus it is essential to develop approaches for sustainable intensification of livestock systems to mitigate GHG emissions, addressing biophysical, socioeconomic and policy challenges. This paper highlights the potential …

Distribution Of Soil Organic Carbon Fractions As Related To Land Use And Management In The Loess Plateau, Northern China, Huige Han, Xudong Li, Decao Niu, Hua Fu

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Organic C in the soil is not a uniform material but rather a complex mixture of plant, animal and microbial residues at different stages of decomposition (Post and Kwon 2000). So the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) is usually described by dividing total SOC into different fractions (Six et al. 2002). Of all the different fractions, density defined fractions (light- and heavy fractions) may relate better to specific functions or processes (O’Hara et al. 2006), and the changes in SOC due to land use and management may be partly explained by the way C is allocated in …

Grazing And Soil Carbon, Rooting Around For An Effect, Helen P. King

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There is considerable scientific and policy interest in the effect of different grazing methods on soil organic carbon (SOC) and general acceptance that increasing SOC by changing grazing management is possible. While overgrazing is recognised as a cause of land degradation and historical loss of SOC, a review and modelling by Conant and Paustian (2002) showed that ceasing overgrazing and stocking at appropriate levels can also increase SOC. Other reviews showed no difference in animal or pasture productivity between continuous (CG) and rotational (RG) grazing (Briske et al. 2008); and increases, decreases or no change in SOC with high, …

Long-Term Impacts Of Stocking Rate On Soil Carbon Sequestration In Arid Areas Of South Africa, Deribe G. Talore, Eyob Tesfamariam, Abubeker Hassen, Jean-François Soussana

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Overstocking is one of the most important factors which results in changes of carbon stocks (Reeder and Schuman, 2002) and soil degradation, particularly in sandy soil, vulnerable to degradation through physical erosion. South African (RSA) topsoil is characterized by the low level of organic matter (Du Preez et al. 2011). Like most other African countries, little is known about the level of C sequestration under various grazing strategies in the vast dry grassland areas of RSA. It is well known that long-term studies with various stocking rate would be able to shed light on the level of C sequestration …

Bayesian Modeling For Estimating Cattle’S Dung Position In Pasture, Rena Yoshitoshi, Nariyasu Watanabe, Kensuke Kawamura, Seiichi Sakanoue, Jihyun Lim, Taisuke Yasuda

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Livestock excrement is one of the major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in pasture. As a first step in evaluating its contribution to overall GHG emissions, an understanding of excretion distribution patterns in pastures is required. Betteridge et al. (2010) describe a urine sensor that detects and logs each urination event of female sheep and cattle. The urine sensor records time and ambient temperature at one-second intervals however, patters of dung distribution are not specified. The objective of this study was to predict spatial distribution of cattle dung. The knowledge of livestock excrement position may be useful for …

Influence Of Grassland Management On Carbon Allocation In A Semiarid Temperate Steppe, Nan Liu, Y. Jun Zhang, H. Ming Kan, W. Jie Lu

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grazing lands in North China are often excessively grazed and widely degraded, while hay-making lands appear to be in relatively good condition due to grazing exclusion, but they are facing a continuous loss of nutrients in the harvested biomass. In semiarid grasslands, plant productivity and community composition are significantly altered by grazing and haying. Grazing mostly leads to negative effects on aboveground productivity, however root biomass seems to increase with moderate grazing (Gao et al. 2009; Derner et al. 2006), although responses can vary. Aboveground biomass removal can increase C3 grass dominance and productivity (Hofer and Bragg 1981). …

Research On Soil Carbon Storage Of Alpine Grassland Under Different Uses In Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Tao Li, Youmin Gan, Lei Ji, Shujing Yang, Zhongqi Song

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In recent years, with the temperature rising on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, studies have shown that (Shaoqing Wang et al. 1999; Yuchun Qi et al. 2003) the plateau permafrost has great potential for emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon, nitrogen, because of the remarkable permafrost thermal sensitivity. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a special geographical and ecological unit, which has an important role in global climate change. The study of soil carbon storage of grassland ecosystems in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its distribution characteristics allow the evaluation of different land management. The carbon cycle response and feedback effects of …

The Effects Of Management And Vegetation On Soil Carbon Stocks In Temperate Australian Grazing Systems, Warwick B. Badgery, Helen P. King, Aaron Simmons, Brian Murphy, Andrew Rawson, Elizabeth Warden

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The natural spatial variability in soil organic carbon (SOC) found under perennial pasture systems can make it difficult to determine differences between contrasting agricultural management practices. Pasture composition in large, extensively grazed paddocks can give an indication of pasture growth, utilisation and fertility that influence SOC and are a result of management over the longer-term. This paper examines SOC stocks on the central and southern tablelands of NSW, Australia (average rainfall from 615 to 915 mm and average annual temperature from 10.6 to 15.6°C) at three scales (regional, between similar sites and within site) to determine the influence of management, …

Long-Term Field Experiment For Monitoring Soil Carbon Content In Japanese Grasslands: Initial Data From 2010 To 2012, Shoji Matsuura, Hiroshi Hibino, Reiko Kazama, Hiroyuki Sasaki, Masayuki Hojito

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A long-term field experiment for monitoring soil carbon content in Japanese grasslands started in 2010 to investigate the changes in soil carbon content and the effect of composted livestock manure application. We established grassland plots with 3 levels of manure application treatment at 10 sites. Bulk density values in many sites had wide inter-replicate and inter-annual variability. It is reasonable to suppose that the variability in the bulk density reflect spatial variability of physical properties within the grasslands because the annual trends of the bulk density values were not consistent. Organic carbon concentration tended to increase yearly in the surface …

Palatability Of Psolarea Spp. Accessions Offered As Micro-Swards To Dairy Sheep, Mauro Decandia, Marco Acciaro, Maria Sitzia, Andrea Cabiddu, Carla Manca, Valeria Giovanetti, Giovanni Molle

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Psoralea bituminosa C.H. Stirton (syn. Bituminaria bituminosa L.) is a perennial legume usually considered of low palatability because of the strong smell that can be emitted by oil glands located on its foliage. However the nutritive value of P. bituminosa in terms of forage composition and digestibility was proven similar to or even better than that of other legumes. The aerial part of this species may contain a high concentration of furano-coumarins, out of which psoralen and angelicin are the most abundant (Pecetti et al. 2007). These substances could be harmful to animals, being responsible for contact photodermatitis, in …

Is There Genetic Diversity In The ‘Leucaena Bug’ Synergistes Jonesii Which May Reflect Ability To Degrade Leucaena Toxins?, Jagadish Padmanabha, Michael J. Halliday, Stuart E. Denman, Carl K. Davis, H. Max Shelton, Chris S. Mcsweeney

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Leucaena leucocephala, a nutritionally rich forage tree legume, contains a non-protein amino acid, mimosine, which is degraded by ruminal bacteria to toxic metabolites 3,4-DHP and 2,3-DHP resulting in goitre-like symptoms in animals, severely restricting weight gain. Raymond Jones, in the early 1980s, discovered the ‘leucaena bug’ in the rumen of goats in Hawaii that degraded these toxic DHP metabolites into non-toxic compounds (Jones and Lowry 1984) which was named Synergistes jonesii (Allison et al. 1992) Subsequently, a rumen inoculum containing S. jonesii was used as an ‘oral drench’ for cattle, kept in continuous culture (Klieve et al. …

Rates Of Urinary Toxin Excretion In Unprotected Steers Fed Leucaena Leucocephala, Joseph H. O’Reagain, Sam R. Graham, Scott A. Dalzell, H. Max Shelton

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) is a productive, nutritious, leguminous forage tree with high capacity for ruminant live weight gain. The plant does however contain the non-protein amino acid mimosine which is degraded within the rumen to 3-hydroxy-4(1H)-pyridone (3,4-DHP) with potential to cause adverse effects on animal health and production. Stock can be protected via rumen inoculation with the bacterium Synergistes jonesii, which is capable of degrading the toxin. However surveys have demonstrated sub-clinical toxicity is persisting in Queensland herds (Dalzell et al. 2012).

Currently, testing for toxicity involves analysis of urine samples using high performance liquid chromatography …

Prevalence Of Dhp Toxicity And Detection Of S. Jonesii In Ruminants Consuming Leucaena Leucocephala In Eastern Indonesia, Michael J. Halliday, Tanda Panjaitan, Jacob Nulik, H. Dahlanuddin, Jagadish Padmanabha, Chris S. Mcsweeney, Sulaiman Depamede, Debora Kana Hau, Kurniawan, Muhammad Fauzan, Sutartha, Baiq Tutik Yuliana, Charles Pakereng, Putri Ara, Dessy Liubana, Resti G. Edison, H. Max Shelton

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Leucaena leucocephala (leucaena) is a productive forage tree legume widely used in eastern Indonesia. While highly nutritious, it possesses the toxin mimosine which adversely affects animal production. In ruminants, mimosine is readily converted to the two isomers of dihydroxypyridine (3,4-DHP and 2,3-DHP) known to cause goitre, suppress appetite, and cause severe mineral deficiencies. These adverse symptoms may be partially responsible for the reluctance of some farmers to feed leucaena.

A bacterium capable of complete degradation of DHP, Synergistes jonesii, originally discovered in Hawaii in goats consuming leucaena (Jones and Megarrity 1986), was later found in Indonesia which led to …

The Efficacy Of In Vitro Synergistes Jonesii Inoculum In Preventing Dhp Toxicity In Steers Fed Leucaena-Grass Diets, Michael J. Halliday, Hayley E. Giles, Scott A. Dalzell, Chris S. Mcsweeney, H. Max Shelton

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Leucaena leucocephala (leucaena) is a valuable forage tree legume for tropical animal production that contains the toxin mimosine. The breakdown products of mimosine in ruminants (3,4-DHP and 2,3-DHP) can adversely affect their health and limit weight gains (Jones and Hegarty 1984). The rumen bacterium Synergistes jonesii, introduced into Australia in 1983 was shown to completely and rapidly degrade these toxins to safe levels (Jones and Megarrity 1986). Since 1996, an in vitro produced inoculum has been made commercially available to Australian graziers (Klieve et al. 2002). Accordingly, the issue of leucaena toxicity in Australia was thought to be …

Detection Of Toxicity In Ruminants Consuming Leucaena (Leucaena Leucocephala) Using A Urine Colorimetric Test, Sam R. Graham, Scott A. Dalzell, Graham L. Kerven, H. Max Shelton

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala), a productive leguminous shrub for feeding ruminant livestock, contains the toxic amino acid, mimosine which post- ingestion is converted to 3,4-DHP and 2,3-DHP, isomers of dihydroxy-pyridone. While DHP generally does not exhibit acute toxic symptoms, it has been suggested that it is an appetite suppressant that reduces animal live weight gain (Jones 1994). With no observable symptoms, subclinical toxicity is difficult to detect (Phaikaew et al. 2012). In 1982 the DHP-degrading rumen bacterium named Synergistes jonesii was introduced into Australia as a potential solution to DHP toxicity as it spreads easily throughout cattle herds …

Diurnal Urinary Excretion Of Dhp In Steers Fed Leucaena Leucocephala, Hayley E. Giles, Michael J. Halliday, Scott A. Dalzell, H. Max Shelton

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) contains the toxin mimosine which is quickly degraded by rumen microorganisms to isomers of dihydroxypyridine (DHP). DHP is detrimental to animal production, causing reduced thyroid hormones, reduced weight gain, goiter and severe deficiencies in essential minerals (Tsai and Ling 1971; Hammond 1995). There are several methods of testing for exposure to DHP toxicity but the simplest is the colorimetric urine spot test (Graham et al. 2013). Several researchers have noted high variability in the excretion of DHP among animals on similar leucaena diets (Dalzell et al. 2012; Phaikaew et al. 2012) and …

Relationships Between Goat Foraging Behaviour And Pastoral Value In High Bassin Zone Of Mandrare Rangeland In Southern Of Madagascar, A. J. M. Randrianariveloseheno, J. N. Rakotozandriny, R. Daccord

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Goats have particular anatomical behaviour for browsing leaves to satisfy their energy requirements. In rangelands, available shrubs, leaves and biomass resources influence ruminant’s activities and rhythms such as foraging, walking, resting, ruminating and drinking. At semi-arid areas, this study aimed to determine how shrubs interact with pasture value to effect goat foraging behaviour.

Relative Preference, Palatability And Intake Of Stylosanthes Scabra Accessions Adapted In Pretoria, Thamsanqa D. E. Mpanza, Abubeker Hassen, Ned E. F. Donkin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Inadequate supply of forage particularly during dry season is the major constraint in livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa (Anele et al. 2011). Poor management of the available feeds, seasonal variability in weather and climate changes may contribute to the high fluctuation of forage quality and quantity between season and years (Sultan et al. 2008). To improve livestock production in sub-Sahara Africa there is a need to improve feed deficiencies both in quantity and quality. Stylosanthes scabra cv. Seca was evaluated for dry season feed supplementation, and was found to be adaptive and productive under subtropical climate of Gauteng …

Modelling The Effect Of Maize Silage And Winter Oat Forage Crop On Cow-Calf Systems In Argentina, Horacio Berger, Claudio F. Machado, Carolina Zabala, Catalina Fernandez Rosso, Julio C. Burges

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Cow-calf systems in the flooding Pampa - Argentina, are facing increasing competition with cropping systems for resources and land. In this context, to be more competitive livestock systems require system intensification, which demands an improvement on the feedbase. Forage crops and feeding silage have been used widely on dairy and beef cattle finishing systems. The purpose of the study was to assess with a model the level of intensification that can be achieved in cow calf systems and its economic effects by incorporating maize silage and winter grazing oat crops.

Plant Traits Relevant For Multi-Functionality Of Grassland Swards For Free-Range Chicken Husbandry, Laura Breitsameter, Matthias Gauly, Nicole Wrage-Mönnig, Johannes Isselstein

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The sward of the outdoor run serves multiple important functions in free-range chicken husbandry systems. Vegetation ground cover is crucial for soil conservation. Moreover, by providing a foraging enrichment it is relevant for animal welfare (Shimmura et al. 2008). Scientific knowledge of the plant-animal interactions of swards in outdoor chicken runs is only just emerging. An understanding of these will help to improve swards both in view of the conservation of an intact vegetation cover, and for fostering animal welfare.

In the present field study, we investigated: (1) the growth of a number of grassland plant species under conditions …

Relationship Between Grazing Jaw Movements And Time Per Bite In Cattle: Effect Of Sward Structure And Grazing Methods, Jean C. Mezzalira, Lidiane Fonseca, Olivier J. F. Bonnet, Carlos C. Mezzalira, Lenilson Da Fonseca Rosa, Luan C. Pagani, Teresa C. M. Genro, Paulo C. De F. Carvalho

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The time per bite is the result of the interaction between mouth morphology, animal behaviour and sward structure (Laca et al. 1994). The time per bite increases with bite mass (Laca et al. 1994), but it has a constant component that is the time required to open and close the jaws, namely, the time required for one jaw movement (Hirata et al. 2010, Newman et al. 1994). In this experiment we tested the hypothesis that the time per jaw movement will remain constant independently of sward structure and grazing method.

The Proportion Of The Ungrazed Area Of The Pasture (Pup) Determines When Forage Intake And Diet Quality Decline In Grazing Systems, Marcelo A. Benvenutti, Daniel R. Pavetti, Carlos A. Cangiano, Dennis P. Poppi, Iain J. Gordon, Jérôme Bindelle, Lucas Zakidalsky, Deli Chen

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grazing management has to deal with the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of pastures. In this context it is desirable to have a grazing management strategy that can be applied in a wide range of pasture conditions to control daily forage intake, diet quality and thus, animal performance. Sward height has been extensively studied and has been found not to be universally applicable to control the animal response as its relationship with intake changes with sward structure (Prache and Peyraud, 2001; Sollenberger and Burns, 2001) . Selective grazing is a universal phenomenon where, independently of pasture condition, cattle prefer the more …

Intake Rate And Nutritive Value Of Elephant Grass Cv. Napier Subjected To Strategies Of Rotational Stocking Management, Eliana V. Geremia, Lilian E. T. Pereira, Adenilson J. Paiva, Thiago M. Santos, Laiz P. Oliveira, Laiz P. De Oliveira

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Several research papers on forage tropical grass species have demonstrated that grazing management interferes with sward structure that, in turn, alters patterns of ingestive and foraging behaviour of the grazing animals. For that reason it has been used as explicative variable for adjustments in intake characteristics like bite mass, bite rate, intake rate and nutritive value of the consumed herbage (Fonseca et al. 2012). Tall tufted growing plants like elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) cv. Napier show a continuous pattern of growth characterised by stem elongation during their vegetative state (Da Silva and Carvalho 2005), causing swards to …