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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Commercialisation And Impacts Of Pasture Legumes In Southern Australia–Lessons Learnt, Clinton K. Revell, Michael A. Ewing, Daniel Real, Phillip G. H. Nichols, Graeme A. Sandral Dec 2019

Commercialisation And Impacts Of Pasture Legumes In Southern Australia–Lessons Learnt, Clinton K. Revell, Michael A. Ewing, Daniel Real, Phillip G. H. Nichols, Graeme A. Sandral

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Forage legumes are a key feature of temperate grasslands in southern Australia, valued for their ability to increase animal production, improve soil fertility and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Of the 36 temperate annual legume and 11 temperate perennial legume species with registered cultivars introduced or domesticated in Australia over the last 100 years, a third have made a major contribution to agriculture, a third have modest use and a third have failed to make any commercial impact. Highly successful species include subterranean clover, barrel medic, white clover, lucerne, French serradella and balansa clover. Species were assessed on the scale of their …


International R D & E Investment: Revitalising The Skill Base In Grassland Research And Practice, Ralph Von Kaufmann Nov 2019

International R D & E Investment: Revitalising The Skill Base In Grassland Research And Practice, Ralph Von Kaufmann

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Grasslands make up about 40.5% of the world’s land surface, and almost everywhere they make vital contributions to food supplies, livelihoods, watersheds, conservation of biodiversity and to ameliorating climate change through carbon sequestration. However, grasslands are under-represented in discussions on food security and livelihoods. Despite large investments in building human capacity, improving production systems and in research, grasslands are continuing to degrade and there is no let-up in sight for the consequent strife, famines and conflicts among the pastoral and other communities that depend on them. This review of grassland issues identified many critical skills that are lacking but it …


Soil Net Nitrogen Mineralisation Across Global Grasslands, A. C. Risch, S. Zimmerman, R. Ochoa-Hueso, M. Schütz, B. Frey, J. L. Firn, P. A. Fay, F. Hagedorn, E. T. Borer, E. W. Seabloom, W. S. Harpole, J. M. H. Knops, Rebecca L. Mcculley, A. A. D. Broadbent, C. J. Stevens, M. L. Silveria, P. B. Adler, S. Báez, L. A. Biederman, J. M. Blair Oct 2019

Soil Net Nitrogen Mineralisation Across Global Grasslands, A. C. Risch, S. Zimmerman, R. Ochoa-Hueso, M. Schütz, B. Frey, J. L. Firn, P. A. Fay, F. Hagedorn, E. T. Borer, E. W. Seabloom, W. S. Harpole, J. M. H. Knops, Rebecca L. Mcculley, A. A. D. Broadbent, C. J. Stevens, M. L. Silveria, P. B. Adler, S. Báez, L. A. Biederman, J. M. Blair

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Soil nitrogen mineralisation (Nmin), the conversion of organic into inorganic N, is important for productivity and nutrient cycling. The balance between mineralisation and immobilisation (net Nmin) varies with soil properties and climate. However, because most global-scale assessments of net Nmin are laboratory-based, its regulation under field-conditions and implications for real-world soil functioning remain uncertain. Here, we explore the drivers of realised (field) and potential (laboratory) soil net Nmin across 30 grasslands worldwide. We find that realised Nmin is largely explained by temperature of the wettest quarter, microbial biomass, clay content and bulk density. …