Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

Boron Fertilization Effects On Nutritive Parameters Of Alfalfa, F. M. Rouquette Jr., V. A. Haby, J. O. Fritz, M. Collins

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

With early pre-plant incorporation of limestone to raise soil pH to 6.8 to 7.0, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) may be grown successfully on acid, Coastal Plain, sandy loam soils. Fertility and forage quality for hay and/or grazing require alternative management of alfalfa on these Coastal Plain soils. A two-year experiment evaluated alfalfa fertilized with three rates of boron to quantify effects on nutritive entities, especially fiber components. On a whole-plant basis in year 1, only crude protein was increased (P < .05) at one of six harvest dates. In year 2, chemical analyses of leaf-stem components indicated consistent increases in crude protein of leaf fractions at each harvest (P < .05), reduction in neutral detergent fiber at three harvest dates (P < .06), and reduced lignin (P < .07) at the final harvest. Stem sections were affected by rate of boron at only the June harvest with an increase in crude protein (P < .05). Rate of boron fertilization had indirect effects on nutritive value (crude protein) by either delaying physiological maturity or enhancing nitrogen fixation in leaves, and had a direct negative effect on certain fiber components.

The Role Of Grass Feeding In Improving Oxidative Stability And Increasing Vitamin B12 Content Of Beef And Veal, V. Pastushenko, H.-D. Matthes, H. Heinrich, Z. Holzer, T. Prokopyuk

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of grass feeding of cattle on the decontamination capacity against free radical (DCAFR) and vitamin B₁₂ content of beef and veal. The meat samples from intensively (26 cattle, final weight 485±9 kg, concentrate feeding) and ecologically (25 heifers, final weight 472±32 kg, and 28 calves, final weight 260±24 kg, pasture grazing) managed cattle groups were investigated. The DCAFR was colorimetric assessed by examining damage to 1.4 benzoquinone. Vitamin B₁₂ was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Data indicate that the oxidative stability of meat samples from ecological management …

Nitrate Accumulation In A Sorghum-Sudangrass Hybrid As Influenced By Nitrogen Fertilization, A. Elgersma, I. Y. Tecle, T. Provin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The effect of nitrogen (N) fertilization and plant stage on nitrate accumulation was studied in a sorghum-Sudan grass hybrid. Grass cv. Dynagrazer was sown at the experimental site of Texas A & M University. Six N levels were applied (0, 112 … 672 Kg. N ha^-1). Nitrate concentrations were determined in three harvests, 5– 7 weeks after planting. Maximum levels were 2.1, 3.5 and 4.6 g nitrate-N kg^-1 DM, respectively, which is beyond the safe limits for animal consumption. The plots were cut at heading. Regrowth took place on residual N. Nitrate-N accumulation was lowest in the …

Effect Of Maceration On In Sacco Degradability And Energy Content Of Low-Moisture Round Bale Alfalfa Silage, K. Nonaka, S. Kume, T. Ohshita

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of maceration on in sacco degradability and energy content of low-moisture alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) silage. The results of two treatments were compared: 1) maceration, in which the alfalfa was processed through a large- scale forage mat maker prior to wilting to approximately 50% DM content (FM treatment), and 2) conventional conditioning, in which the alfalfa was tedded and wilted to the same DM content as that in the FM treatment (CC treatment). Silage bales were chopped in 20-mm pieces for each experiment. In sacco degradabilities of DM, CP …

Efficiency Of Nitrogen Use In Dairy Cows Grazing Ryegrass With Different Water Soluble Carbohydrate Concentrations, L. A. Miller, D. H. Baker, M. K. Theodorou, J. C. Macrae, M. O. Humphreys, Nigel D. Scollan, J. M. Moorby

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This experiment is one of a series designed to investigate the efficiency of nitrogen (N) use in Holstein-Friesian dairy cows grazing perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) which has been bred to express high water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentrations. Animals grazed either a High Sugar (HS) grass or a Control (C) variety chosen on the basis of heading date compatibility. Dry matter (DM) intakes were estimated using herbage mass. Milk yields, milk constituent concentrations and plasma concentrations of b-hydroxybutyrate, glucose, total protein, albumin and urea were also measured. Forage DM intakes were similar for the two grasses. However, because of …

Maris: Scalable Online Scenario Development Tool For Rangeland Conservancy Managers Using High Spatial-Temporal Resolution Carrying Capacity Maps And Livestock Market Data, L. G. J. Boerboom, R. O. Ohuru, A. G. Toxopeus, W. Nieuwenhuis, C. A. J. M. De Bie, P. K. Mwangi, M. L. Schouwenburg, R. L. G. Lemmens

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Although the management of livestock numbers within the bounds of carrying capacity of African rangelands is a way to manage risks, both scientists and practitioners, caution against a momentary and local use of carrying capacity as a management indicator. Carrying capacity should be seen in wider spatial and temporal/seasonal context as well as in a social and economic context. Given the large numbers of conservancies across Kenya, and its Maasai Mara region in particular, with many more landowner members, it is difficult for conservancies’ managers to contextualize phenomena such as carrying capacity and market price over space and time.

We …

Assessing The Impacts Of Different Initiatives On The Rehabilitation Of Pastoral And Silvopastoral Ecosystems: Big Data Oriented Approach, Said Moukrim, Said Lahssini, Mustapha Naggar, K. Menzou, H. Mharzi-Alaoui, A. Labbaci, L. Rhazi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Moroccan forests, through the provision of goods and ecosystem services, underpins benefits to local communities and play a crucial role for rural area development. The legal framework recognizes to people, living near public forests, the right to graze their domestic livestock. Over the years, the grazing pressure is at levels far beyond the forestland’s carrying capacity throughout the country. Such pressure has been demonstrated as the main cause of forest cover loss and land degradation in Morocco and still threatening the sustainability of forests. To reduce the heavy grazing pressure on forest ecosystems and ensure their regeneration, several initiatives have …

The Role Of Indigenous Knowledge In The Effective Collective Management Of The Communal Rangelands, A. Finca, S. Linnane, D. Getty, J. H. Slinger

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Numerous scientific studies have highlighted the complexities associated with the collective management of communal rangelands. To date, policy interventions in rangelands have largely ignored people’s traditional ways of managing, with adverse effects on rangeland productivity. Thus, local knowledge has not been considered in spatial planning, despite the fact that local rural communities are often repositories of key indigenous knowledge. Hence this study set out to evaluate the role of indigenous knowledge in the management of the communal rangeland in Cata and Guquka, now and in the future. This was achieved through the use of Participatory GIS (PGIS), specifically participatory mapping …

Land Users – Land Watchers, J. H. Stefánsson, B. Marteinsdóttir

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

GróLind is a collaborative project with the aim of monitoring Icelandic vegetation and soil resources. It was founded in 2017 by the Icelandic National Associations of Sheep Farmers, the Farmers Association of Iceland, Ministry of Industries and Innovation, and the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland. GróLind is a collaborative project and cooperation with stakeholders, such as the science community, landowners, and others, is a fundamental concept in the project.

In this project, the state of vegetation and soils are evaluated. Currently, a citizen science project is being developed within GróLind, in which land-users will annually monitor, using a mobile app, …

Silvopastoral Strategy And Sustainable Management Of Forests In Morocco, Mustapha Naggar, Said Lahssini, Said Moukrim, Anass Legdou

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In Morocco, forests act as a grazing reserve all year long and in a normal year produce 1.5 billion feed units, i.e. 17 % of the national forage assessment. The pastoral question is one of the factors involved in the desertification of forested areas against a bioclimatic background where more than 93% of the national territory is arid. In 2016, the Water and Forestry Department in cooperation with its partners, devised a nation-wide sylvo-pastoral strategy. The approach adopted consists in sustainably managing sylvo-pastoral resources over the long term based on good governance of all goods and services offered by forested …

Effects Of Agroforestry Practices On Soil Properties In The Drylands Of Eastern Kenya, Nicholas Syano Mutuku, Moses M. Nyangito, Geoffrey Kironchi, Oliver Vivian Wasonga

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Drylands, which are home to about 2 billion people face a myriad of problems among them low land productivity. Agroforestry is one of the land use practices that is perceived to be sustainable with beneficial effects on soil properties. However, the effects of agroforestry practices on soils especially in the drylands have rarely been quantified and studied in details. The study determined the effects of selected agroforestry practices on soil properties in Makueni County of Kenya where agroforestry has been promoted by various organizations. Four soil samples were collected at 0-15cm, 15-30cm, 30-45cm and 45-60cm depths in a zigzag pattern …

Adaptive, Multi-Paddock, Rotational Grazing Management: An Experimental, Ranch-Scale Assessment Of Effects On Multiple Ecosystem Services, D. J. Augustine, J. D. Derner, L. M. Porensky, H. Wilmer, María E. Fernández-Giménez, David D. Briske

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Decisions on how to move livestock in space and time are central to rangeland management. Despite decades of small-scale research, substantial uncertainty exists regarding the relative importance of cattle stocking rates per se, versus the movement of cattle in both space and time, in achieving desired vegetation and livestock outcomes at scales relevant to livestock producers. We report on a ranch-scale experiment comparing effects of collaborative, adaptive, multi-paddock, rotational management (CARM) versus more traditional, season-long, continuous rangeland management (TRM) on perennial grass density and production, cattle performance, and wildlife habitat, while holding the annual stocking rate the same in …

Water Use Efficiency And Land Cover Variability On A Native Grassland Ranch On The Pampa Biome Of Uruguay, Diana L. Restrepo-Osorio, Gabriel De Oliveira, James Coll, Daniela Schossler

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Global efforts towards sustainable cattle ranching should be based on comprehensive approaches, targeting physical variables of the ranching process, as well as, the socioeconomic dimensions. Alianza del Pastizal is a non-profit conservation organization that works to preserve the temperate grasslands of the Southern Cone of South America by promoting conservation practices among ranching communities in Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Alianza has become a mediator for ranchers exchanging information, resources, and education. Ranchers associated with the Alliance take pride in their property management as they aim to improve the community wellbeing and natural resource sustainability. In a previous study, producers …

Revisiting The Concept Of The Planning Region In Settings With Dynamic Spatial-Temporal Conditions: Lessons From Land Use Planning In Pastoral Areas Of Kenya, Ethiopia And Tanzania, H. Musoga, L. W. Robinson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Pastoralist rangeland systems often provide prime examples of scale mismatch—the challenge that arises when the scale and geographic extent of decision-making institutions do not correspond to the scale and geographic extent of problems that need to be addressed. Pastoralist resource use and traditional governance systems operate at multiple levels, and are often characterized by multiple, overlapping claims, rights, and management territories. Scholarship on pastoralist systems suggests that their fuzziness, flexibility, and overlap in territories and rights mean that there is no single scale or level that is optimal for effective resource governance. These characteristics stymie attempts to implement conventional …

Ewe Daily-Weight Gain Grazing Leucaena Leucocephala-Megathyrsus Maximus Cv Mombasa Silvopastoral System And Tropical Native Unimproved Range, L. K. Trejo-Arista, Enrique Cortés-Díaz, P. A. Martínez-Hernández, J. A. Cadena-Meneses

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Silvopastoral systems are a viable option to increase livestock productivity, The silvopastoral arrangement of Leucaena leucocephala associated with Megathyrsus maximus CV Mombasa (LMS) is successfully cultivated in tropical environments.. The objective of the study was to determine ewe daily-weight gain grazing LMS and a tropical unimproved native range. Two LMS were tested: high and low leucaena densities, 4700 and 2383 plants/ha, respectively. Grazing was rotational, lasted 150 d (rainy season) at equivalent stocking rate of 59 ewes/ha/150 d. Experimental design was a completely random design with three replications, the experimental unit was a 192 m² plot. Variables measured on …

Status, Management, And Governance Of The Communal Grasslands Of Ethiopia’S Highlands: A Disappearing Asset For Mixed Crop-Livestock Livelihood Systems, Bedasa Eba, Fiona Flintan, Tesfa Getachew, Jason Sircely

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There is little documentation about the status, management, and governance of the communal grasslands of Ethiopia’s highlands. However, research being carried out by ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute) in northern Shewa, Amhara region, is highlighting their importance as a critical resource for those farmers engaged in mixed crop-livestock livelihood systems across the highland areas. These grassland areas range from 2 to 200 hectares and can be used by up to four different villages or ‘kebele’ and providing on average 10-20% of livestock feed for local farmers. However, this important resource is rapidly disappearing with encroachment of farming and tree-planting with …

Proposals For Innovation And Improvement Of The Quality Of Life In Caprine Pastoralist Communities Of Subsistence In The Monte Desert, Argentina, E. M. Abraham, C. Rubio, D. Soria, L. Corso, A. Therburg, D. Bran, A. Maggi, P. Maccagno, C. Policastro, S. Verón, V. Pietragalla, M. Wilson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In a satisfactory alliance between the main environmental policy organizations and the academy, the National Observatory on Land Degradation and Desertification (ONDTyT) is created. The ONDTyD provides information regarding status and trends of land degradation/desertification in order to promote prevention and mitigation measures used for advising public and private decision-makers in Argentina. It is based in the development of 17 Pilot Sites that constitutes the local level network, providing bio-physical and socio-economic indicators of land degradation.

In this network the pilot site of the Monte, the largest dry region of Argentina (Lavalle desert, Mendoza), aims to improve the living conditions …

Participatory Observatories To Connect Multifunctional Landscapes, Link Smallholder Farmers, And Collectively Diversify Income, I. Espejel Carvajal, G. Romero, O. Pérez, R. Yaguez, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, N. Martínez Tagueña, C. L. Lauterio Martínez, V. M. Reyes Gómez, S. Lucatello

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Cattle ranching was introduced to Baja California, Mexico (semiarid and arid climates) by the Spaniards, who brought the animals and the techniques. One important activity was moving livestock from the mountains (forests and few kinds of grass) to the coast crossing poor shrublands known as chaparrals. Fire was a common practice to promote grass growth and pastoralists could move through the land freely. Pastoralism became a common practice when English workers built the Ensenada port and became ranching landowners. They followed the practice of livestock movement through the exorreic watersheds. Native Indians, as well as other Mexicans known as ejidatarios, …

Participatory Management Of Rangeland Hydrology – A New Socio-Ecological Technology To Effectively Adapt To And Mitigate Climate Change: Case From Morocco, Lhoussaine Bouchaou, El Hassane El Mahdad, El Hassan Beraaouz, Abdelfettah Sifeddine, Alessandro Rizzo, Mohamed Hssaisoune, Hanane Reddad, Abdelghani Chehbouni, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Morocco’s drylands cover over 90% of the land area; low and irregular rainfall and high potential evaporation contribute to extremely high-water deficits. These phenomena have greatly impacted rangeland hydrology and nomadic and transhumant pastoralism. To adapt to this predominant water deficit, the inhabitants of these areas have developed two forms of lifestyles, which include household and livestock mobility: (i) a pendulum movement for seasonal transhumance between the mountains and their bordering plains; and (ii) random nomadic mobility regulated by the sporadic frequency of rains and thus water availability. In both cases, this mobility is controlled by the degree of development …

A Network Of Transdisciplinary Observation Mechanisms As A Digital Source Of Knowledge On Rangeland, To Communicate And Exchange At Local, Regional And Global Scales, Alessandro Rizzo, El Hassane El Mahdad, Abdelfettah Sifeddine, S. Lucatello, Lhoussaine Bouchaou, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

For several decades, interventions geared towards the development of drylands have been the catalysts of much change in a rapidly evolving world, and learning how to build sustainable trajectories that take into account both cultural and contextual variations is becoming of increasingly great import. As local problems become intertwined, and given the difficulty of large-scale collective action, understanding these dynamics requires cognizance of all levels of knowledge governance systems and their interactions. So far as rangelands are concerned, the lack of easily accessible documentation encompassing all knowledge to date is a major impediment to their sustainable development. With this in …

Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research In The Biosphere Reserve In Mapimi, Mexico: A Multidimensional Participatory Observatory Of Rangeland/Pastoral Systems, V. M. Reyes Gómez, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, N. Martínez Tagüeña, I. Espejel Carvajal, S. Lucatello, M. A. Bowker, C. L. Lauterio Martínez

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Since the creation of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Mapimi (BRM) in Mexico 45 years ago, pastoralism has undergone a series of transformations. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, horse breeding flourished until 1900; thereafter extensive cattle production lasted for six decades. Only recently, farmers have adopted alternative management types for organic meat production. National and international efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require basic, applied, and participatory research efforts. In the socio-ecological pastoral system BRM, first halophytic ecosystems were examined for their ecohydrological role in rangeland productivity. In 1996, a long-term ecological research site was installed to monitor …

Re-Envisioning Global Rangeland Stewardship: An Ecosystem Services Assessment Framework, David D. Briske

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Rangeland stewardship may be enhanced by transforming the global narrative from one of ‘resource scarcity and unpredictability’ to one of ‘global rangeland value’. This may be accomplished by devising a stewardship strategy founded on a more complete accounting of rangeland ecosystem services to inform land use planning and decision making. An ecosystem services framework may provide the necessary feedbacks to identify and assess potential tradeoffs among ecosystem services prior to implementing land use actions and policy. The ultimate goal of this alternative stewardship strategy would be to provide optimal combinations of ecosystem services to meet the needs of global citizens, …

Mongolian Herders’ Evaluation Of Rangeland Ecosystems Services, Values, And Changes Over The Past Decade, T. Ulambayar, B. Yunden, N. Davaasuren, S. Balt, D. Davaajav, B. Zambuu

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Mongolia's rangeland is one of the largest remaining contiguous ecosystems encompassing 2.6% of the global grasslands, and almost three-fourths of the country's territory provides essential ecosystem services (ESS) for over 3 million Mongolians and 71 million livestock. The well-being of 171,605 pastoral households directly depends on the rangelands receiving provisional services in the forms of nutrition, material use and energy, regulatory services, and cultural services. This study explored herders' perceptions of these ESS, their evaluation for ESS values, and observations of ESS change for the last decade. The study found that Mongolian herders have more benefits from provisional ESS (on …

Conceptualizing Pastoral Development Based On Carbon Sequestration: The Case Of Yabelo District In The Southern Ethiopian Rangelands, D. L. Coppock

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Major challenges for rangeland stewardship in the developing world include how to mitigate the spread of pastoral poverty and environmental degradation. Arresting such trends requires a scale of investment, policy incentives, and institutional commitments not previously observed in pastoral development. Indeed, such a rangeland revolution requires several global events to set the stage, namely: (1) Creation of markets for diverse ecosystem services; (2) recognition that improved rangeland stewardship is vital to mitigate climate change; and (3) distribution of green climate funds in support of local projects. New approaches for pastoral development projects are also needed. Previous projects have largely focused …

Wildlife Conservation And The Role Of The Indigenous Communities Living Around Conservation Areas, N. Parmisa, K. A. Galvin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The Indigenous Kenyan Maasai community has coexisted with the wildlife surrounding it for decades from Nairobi National Park, Maasai Mara and Amboseli. These parks border Maasai lands. Although the northern, eastern, and western perimeters of the Nairobi National Park are fenced, the southern part is not. It is at this point that the Maasai community’s land meets the park. This area also acts as a wildlife dispersal area where wildlife can freely migrate to other parks, including Maasai Mara and Amboseli. The park is only 117sq kms and its vitality depends on the plains to the south where the Maasai …

Whose Knowledge Counts?: Irrigation Development In Turkana, Kenya (1963-2019), G. L. Akall

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Irrigation has long been promoted in Africa’s drylands as a means to improve food security and livelihoods. Turkana County, one of the driest regions of Kenya, has a long history of irrigation interventions, extending from the colonial era to the present. The recent discovery of two huge water aquifers in the arid Turkana region, Kenya’s Vision 2030 and devolution has fed into enthusiasm for irrigation as an excellent solution to the multiple problems in the region against other activities like pastoralism. This is in spite of a history of failed irrigation developments in Turkana (Hogg 1987). This paper explores the …

Co-Produced Research Supports Pastoralists To Pursue Transformative Social And Ecological Change In Rangelands, R. S. Reid, K-A. S. Kassam, T. Pickering, A. Yasin, Chantsallkham Jamsranjav, Khishigbayar Jamiyansharav, Tungalag Ulambayar, Corrine N. Knapp

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Over the last two decades, pastoralists and researchers have formed powerful alliances to transform how we think about and do research-with-action in rangelands. These alliances promote faster learning about problems and their potential solutions by bringing together diverse partners and their different ways of understanding important issues. They also ensure research is fully relevant to real problems, so it supports pastoralists to act on both old and new issues that they face. While these approaches can be contentious when perspectives and experiences do not align, team members are finding them transformative, if they commit to working together over the long …

Land Use Planning For Resilient Pastoral Rangelands: Greater Serengeti Mara Ecosystem, Y. M. Said, B. J. Graae, M. Nielsen, H. P. Hartstean

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Greater Serengeti Mara Ecosystem (GSME) encompasses large protected areas of savanna with iconic wildlife surrounded by pastoralists and farms. GSME is facing severe pressure from human-induced changes due to rapid increase in population and climate variability. We undertook surveys with local communities to understand the potential impacts of these changes on wildlife and livelihoods of communities. We visited eight villages in Kenya and Tanzania and discussed with local communities and leaders, park management on drivers of change, and wishes for future development. To facilitate the conversation, we developed posters with four scenarios as a basis for discussions and a board …

Producing Useful Knowledge For Sustainable Development, K. A. Galvin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Africa makes a relatively minor contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions compared with developed nations, yet the African continent will be increasingly vulnerable to climate change processes in the coming decades. Critical challenges include meeting basic needs for food, water, shelter, and other necessities without undermining biodiversity and ecosystem services. Coordination efforts to address multiple global change related stressors has generally occurred at the national level and taken an external approach, with national governments favoring collaboration with foreign-based NGOs and other international institutions. However, the involvement of actors at the local level correlates with decisions that are better adapted to …

Engaged Research Can Advance Knowledge And Promote Positive Change Among The Rural Poor, D. L. Coppock

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There is increasing interest in investigative processes known as “Engaged Research.” Such approaches include aspects of Farming Systems Research & Extension, Participatory Rural Appraisal, Participatory Action Research, and Innovation Systems. Engaged Research—a term recently popular in the USA—is founded on long-term relationships among stakeholders and emphasizes problem-solving based on co-production of knowledge. We are now at a time when science-based knowledge should be implemented to improve the lives of the rural poor under the triple threat of poverty, natural resource degradation, and climate change. Traditional ways of conducting applied, academic study can be reconfigured to this end, improving research effectiveness …