Weed Science Commons^™

Climagie: A French Inra Project To Adapt The Grasslands To Climate Change, Jean-Louis Durand, Jérome Enjalbert, Laurent Hazard, Isabelle Litrico, Catherine Picon-Cochard, Marie-Pascale Prudhomme, Florence Volaire

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Climate change in France, central and southern Europe is expected to provoke more frequent and more intense summer water deficits, with increased amplitude in temperatures, exposing the same perennial crops to frosts as well as to heat waves and severe droughts. The impacts on sown monospecific grasslands have been assessed using crop models (Durand et al. 2010) but with less accuracy in extreme situations. Since less work has been done on intra-specific genetic variability there is urgent need to investigate both ranges of climate conditions and genetic variability (Poirier et al. 2012). Phenology and plant productivity responses to …

Data Integration And Modelling For The Assessment Of Future Climate Change Impacts On Natural Pasturelands Of The Alps, Camilla Dibari, Giovanni Argenti, Marco Moriondo, Marco Bindi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Evidence shows that in the last century in the Alps area warming was roughly three times the global average and, according to future projections, this trend is expected to worsen in the next decades. Moreover, the species-rich permanent grasslands characterizing the marginal areas of the Alpine landscape are acknowledged as very sensitive and vulnerable ecosystems to climate change (IPCC 2007). So far several studies have investigated the climate effects only on specific Alpine grassland species at a very small scale, while a comprehensive assessment of the impact of climate change on Alpine mountain grasslands distribution and composition at a territorial …

Climate Changes And Trends In Phenology Of Woody And Herb Plants In Inner Mongolia, 1981–2010, Yurong Wei, Yanfang Cao, Zhicun Wang, Xuebiao Pan

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The phenology of plants is a comprehensive reflection of seasonal climatological and ecological conditions and may be used as an indicator of climate change (Thomas et al. 2000; Volker and Annette 2004; Li et al. 2005). Analysis was made of the dates of sprouting, flowering and defoliating of woody and herb plants observed on 24 Agricultural Meteorological Stations in Inner Mongolia, China from 1980 to 2010. To assess the potential future change data was analysed for the 2011 to 2050 period using the England Hadley Climate Centre scenario (Wei et al. 2012).

Precipitation Pattern Change Influence On Vegetation Of Xilingol Grassland In Inner Mongolia, China, Wulanbter, Yurong Wei, Pengtao Liu, Xirong Jiang

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The Xilingol grassland covers the region bounded by 41’09”–45’31” N and 111’14”–118’25” E. It is representative of a typical steppe in northern China, with the major native grass species present being Aneurolepidium chinense and Stipa spp. However these grasslands have become increasingly degraded due to desertification and/or the impacts of human activities resulting in the previous climax plant community becoming substantially altered.

In the Xilingol League most weather station started observations around 1960 (earliest 1952), however, grassland phenology and biomass measurement only started in 1980. The growing season runs from the 1st May to the 30th September. Between 1961-2010, the …

Assessing Resilience Of Pasture Production To Climatic Changes, Brendan R. Cullen, Richard P. Rawnsley, Richard J. Eckard

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Increasing temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations, together with changes to rainfall patterns, will influence seasonal pasture production; however climate change projections for south eastern Australia are uncertain (CSIRO and BoM 2007). Despite this, climate change impact assessments generally rely on specific climate projections, but in this study an alternative approach was developed to test the resilience of production to incremental changes in climate.

Impacts Of Projected Climate Change On Pasture Growth And Safe Carrying Capacities For Three Extensive Grazing Land Regions In Northern Australia, Giselle L. Whish, Robyn A. Cowley, Lester I. Pahl, Joe C. Scanlan, Neil D. Macleod

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The northern beef industry is a major component of the regional economies of Queensland, Northern Territory and northern Western Australia, and has contributed an estimated $5 billion to Australia’s economy in 2009-10. Projected climate change will have an adverse impact on Australia’s agricultural production (McKeon et al. 2008) with an expected 3.5% decline in beef production in northern Australia by 2030 (Heyhoe et al. 2008). The GRASP pasture production model (McKeon et al. 2000) has been used to evaluate impacts of climate change in Australia’s rangelands (Crimp et al. 2002, McKeon et al. 2008), with …

Impact On Grassland Biomass From Climate Warming And Drying, Suying Li, Li Yang

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

It is becoming increasingly urgent to assess the impact of climate change on grassland biomass due to the important role these grasslands play in animal production. The typical steppe in Xilinhot of Inner Mongolia is the most representative vegetation types in the temperate grasslands of the northern China. One means to determine climate change is using the Aridity index (AI, also referred to as the dry degree of climate in this article) that is based on both temperature and precipitation (Arora 2002; Bannayan et al.. 2010; Nastos et al. 2012). The objective of this paper was to indicate how …

Future Climate Change Impacts On Pasture Biomass In Mongolia, Erdenetsetseg Baasandai, Erdenetuya Magsar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The main objective of this study is to estimate pasture biomass changes in Mongolia using the simulation model CENTURY. For the study framework we used the fenced pasture biomass data from 1960’s to 2008, over 60 meteorological stations and simulation data of the carbon, nitrogen, aboveground and belowground biomass, potential evapotranspiration, evaporation, transpiration and precipitation data across these grasslands. The simulated climatic and other parameters were estimated meteorological station based and their differences between 2 time periods were calculated. With purpose to make comparison of the present situation to the future situation used Climate Change Scenarios under A2, A1B and …

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 …

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.

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 …

Patterns And Potential Causes Of Changing Winter Bird Distributions In South Dakota, David L. Swanson, Reza Goljani Amirkhiz, Mark D. Dixon

The Prairie Naturalist

Average winter temperatures in the north-central United States have been increasing since the 1970s, and this warming might influence winter distributions of birds in the region. Species potentially influenced by such winter warming include short-distance migrants for which the northern boundary of the winter range is influenced by temperature, such as hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus), yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata), and fox sparrow (Passerella iliaca). We examined winter records during 1974–2017 from a citizen-science bird observation database for South Dakota to determine recent trends in winter records for these three species. We compared their occurrence patterns with those for three benchmark …

The Italian Catalogue Of Herbage Varieties, M. Giolo, Giovanni Corsi, N. Mugueta, F. Sorgoni, Pier Giacomo Bianchi, Renzo Torricelli, Mario Falcinelli

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

With 3.4 million hectares, permanent grassland covers 25.8% of Italian U.A.A. (Usable Agricultural Area). Most of this is located in hilly and mountainous areas and is important for the stability of the soil even if their productivity is low. Alfalfa and annual forages cover 1.8 million hectares (C.R.P.A. 2010). Italy’s large longitudinal extension (between latitudes 35° and 47° N), delivers a great variety of climates (Fig. 1). The northern regions bordering the rest of Europe differ greatly from the southern regions surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea.

The Use Of Functional Traits To Identify Grasses And Fodder Shrubs For Domestication To Suit A Changing Climate, Meredith L. Mitchell, R. D. B. Whalley, Hayley C. Norman

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There is uncertainty about future climatic predictions; however there is little doubt amongst experts that the future will be warmer. Climate change and the associated elevation in atmospheric CO₂ level and temperatures will provide novel challenges and potential opportunities for cultivated plant species. Plant breeding and domestication can contributed to improvements in both yield and quality of grasses and fodder shrubs. A range of key functional traits is required to cope with this changing climate. The main challenges that are discussed are new pests and pathogens; changes in the pattern of nutrient supply and forage quality; challenge associated with …

Summer Dormancy And Survival Of Tall Fescue In Relation To Endophyte Presence, J. L. Thomas, Charles P. West, D. P. Malinowski

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

True summer dormancy in temperate perennial grasses is the ability to survive summer stresses by ceasing growth and senescing vegetative tissues independently of water supply, as opposed to summer-active grasses, which respond to rains by continuing growth, but senesce during droughts (Volaire and Norton 2006). Summer dormancy is a common drought-escape mechanism for Mediterranean-origin perennial grasses, but is also being considered as a potentially useful trait in semiarid to humid zones whose climates are not strictly Mediterranean, but where temperate grass survival is threatened by summer heat and water deficits (Malinowski et al. 2005). Moreover, summer dormancy may provide …

Australian Grasslands Research At The Crossroads, Alan Robson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grasslands research in Australia is at a crossroad. There are several difficulties. First, the decline of sheep production and dairying within Australia and increased cropping has focused attention on crop research rather than pasture research. Second, enrolments in agricultural and related education have declined, and graduate numbers are insufficient to meet demand for expertise. Third, there has been a move towards specialisation in research and there are relatively few generalist agricultural scientists able to integrate research results into agricultural ecosystems. There remain very many challenges. Adapting grassland production to minimize the emission of carbon dioxide and methane is a major …

Managing Grassland Systems In A Changing Climate: The Search For Practical Solutions, Jean-François Soussana, Luis Gustavo Barioni, Tamara Ben Ari, Rich Conant, Pierre Gerber, Petr Havlik, Alexandre Ickowicz, Mark Howden

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

By the end of the XXI^st century, a global temperature rise between 1.5 and 4°C compared to 1980-1999 and CO₂ concentrations in the range 550-900 ppm are expected, together with an increased frequency of extreme climatic events (heat waves, droughts, and heavy rain) that is likely to negatively affect grassland production and livestock systems in a number of world regions. Grassland management has a large potential to mitigate livestock greenhouse gas emissions at a low (or even negative) cost, by combining a moderate intensification, the restoration of degraded pastures and the development of silvo-pastoral systems. Climate change vulnerability …

Climate Change Impact And Adaptation In Temperate Grassland And Livestock Industries, Afshin Ghahramani, Andrew D. Moore

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Climate is projected to have negative impact on temperate grassland and livestock productions across the globe. Moderately elevated atmospheric CO₂ in the near future is expected to increase plant photosynthetic rates but this is likely to be limited by soil nitrogen deficits. However, in Australia at least it is unlikely that positive effect of elevated CO₂ on plant production be able to offset the negative impacts of climate change. Currently there is a considerable gap between actual and achievable production and profit in Australian grazing systems and many management and genetic improvements for climate adaptation would operate by …

Rainwater Harvesting And Its Impact On Farming Systems, J. S. Samra

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Landless, small holders and other poors supplement their livelihood and adapt to climate change by grazing, stall feeding with crop residues and fodder cultivated under rainfed and irrigated conditions. Improving productivity by conserving rainfall, ground water recharging, harvesting and recycling of rainwater especially in degraded open access or shared land with community participation was quite successful over a wide range of precipitation and ecological situations. Various types of trenches, bunding, vegetative barriers, gully plugs, ponds, check dams, land slides and mine spoils stabilization etc. retained more soil moisture, seeds, vegetative propagules etc. in situ and prevented soil erosion. It regenerated …

Emission Of Green House Gases From Grasslands And Their Mitigation, Prem N. Sharma, Shyam Khadka

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The concentrations of green house gases (GHG) in the atmosphere began in pre-industrial times and it continues to increase. This could result into an alarming increase in temperature of up to 5.4 ^oC by year 2100 due to a net global annual GHG emission of H 4.5-6.5 Gt C equivalent. About 18% of the world’s GHG are contributed by livestock and related activities on grasslands that are spread over almost 35 million Km².These grasslands give livelihood to over a billion people most of who are poor. Twenty to 70% of the land surface area is degrading often …

Invasive Species And Climate Change, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

ISSUE

Climate change interacts with and can often amplify the negative impacts of invasive species. These interactions are not fully appreciated or understood. They can result in threats to critical ecosystem functions on which our food system and other essential provisions and services depend as well as increase threats to human health. The Invasive Species Advisory Committee to the National Invasive Species Council recognizes the Administration’s commitment to dealing proactively with global climate change. However, unless we recognize and act on the impact of climate change and its interaction with ecosystems and invasive species, we will fall further behind in …

Marine Bioinvasions And Climate Change, James T. Carlton, Sandra C. Lindstrom, Celia M. Smith, Jennifer E. Smith

National Invasive Species Council

BACKGROUND

Invasive species are second only to habitat destruction as the greatest cause of species endangerment and global biodiversity loss. Invasive species can cause severe and permanent damage to the ecosystems they invade. Consequences of invasion include competition with or predation upon native species, hybridization, carrying or supporting harmful pathogens and parasites that may affect wildlife and human health, disturbing ecosystem function through alteration of food webs and nutrient recycling rates, acting as ecosystem engineers and altering habitat structure, and degradation of the aesthetic quality of our natural resources. In many cases we may not fully know the native animals …