Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Plant And Animal Responses To Different Grazing Regimes On A Meadow Steppe In Northeast China, Deli Wang, Zhiming Yang, Ling Wang

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Grazing by domestic herbivores is often considered to be an essential factor governing grassland vegetation and animal production (Hodgson and Illius 1996). During recent decades, there is increasing interest as a fundamental interaction between plant-animal interface, especially for the simultaneous or interactive responses of plants and animals to grassland grazing regimes (Liu et al., 2015), which benefits on improving the efficiency of grazing or grassland resource management. To achieve sustainable animal productivity and maintain the stability of grasslands, farmers or stakeholders need to employ optimal grazing strategies or regimes based on practical grassland vegetation and environments. Unfortunately, up to date …

Effect Of Sheep Grazing And Rainfall On The Ecology Of Lasiurus Sindicus-Dominated Grassland In Hot Arid Zone Of India, Suresh Kumar, J. P. Singh, K. Venkatesan

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Thar Desert in India is very fragile owing to frequent drought and low rainfall which causes extreme stress on biodiversity of region especially on livestock due to limited seasonal grazing resources. Despite inhospitable and harsh climate, as well as anthropogenic pressures, Indian arid zone has 682 species belonging to 352 genera and 87 families. Some 63 species are introduced belonging to 37 genera and 9 families. Compared to other deserts of the world, this desert has higher number of endemic species, i.e. 6.4%. Poaceae and Leguminosae are the largest species. All these species have typical habitat-plant cover …

Abundance, Diversity And Importance Of Some Insects In Grasslands Of Indian Arid Zone, Nisha Patel

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Grasslands in arid regions are home to a large number of species of insects, which are well adapted to living in this ecosystem. Insects constitute a major part of the total faunal biodiversity of these grasslands and provide valuable ecosystem services such as pollination, decomposition, nutrient recycling, being important links in the food chain, etc. Diversity of entomofauna is a good criteria for judging the health of a grassland. However this diversity has not yet been properly studied. In the present study, attempt was made to unravel the diversity of some groups of insects in the grasslands of Indian arid …

Leaching Of Nitrate From A Grassland Field, Abdulfatah F. Aboufayed

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Agricultural activities are the major cause of non-point pollution. Mechanization of agriculture, artificial fertilizer use and overall intensification of farming has played a major role in the increased incidence of pollution by agricultural activities. Carton et al. (2006) reported the effects of agricultural practices on nitrate leaching from an intensively managed dairy farm and showed that mean concentrations of nitrate nitrogen in the groundwater beneath the farm during the two monitoring years exceeded the maximum admissible concentration (MAC) for drinking water. While average nitrate nitrogen concentration in soil water were less than MAC, there was a trend for increased nitrogen …

Impacts Of Future Climate Change On Net Primary Productivity Of Grassland In Inner Mongolia, China, Qiuyue Li, Xuebiao Pan, Jiaguo Qi, Lizhen Zhang, Xiaoyu Wei, Zhihua Pan, Yinlong Xu

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Net Primary Productivity (NPP) of grassland is a key variable of terrestrial ecosystems and is an important parameter for characterizing carbon cycles in grassland ecosystems. In this research, the Inner Mongolia grassland NPP was calculated using the Miami Model and the impact of climate change on grassland NPP was subsequently analyzed under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A2, B2, and A1B scenarios, which are inferred from Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies (PRECIS) climate model system. The results showed that: (1) the NPP associated with these three scenarios had a similar distribution in Inner Mongolia: the grassland NPP …

The Changing Patterns In Grasslands And Soil Fertility Along The Eastern Eurasian Steppe Transect Across China–Mongolia–Russia, Xiangyang Hou, Leonid Ubugunov, S. Tserendash, Haijun Chen, Wenjun Han, Xiangjun Yun, Ding Yong, Wang Zhen, Lei Ji

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

This paper analyses the adaptation and change in species along the north-south Eastern Eurasian Steppe Transect across China – Mongolia – Russia and considers the implications for climate change and management. The plant community diversity, above-ground biomass, N:P ratios of community and of dominant species, soil N (nitrogen), soil P (phosphorus) and AP (available phosphorus) contents were studied along a 1400 km north-south transect. The main findings were: (1) the community diversity and productivity decreased with the increase in latitude and a significant negative correlation was found between the many plant characteristics and latitude (P < 0.05) – decreasing diversity, biomass and N:P ratios; (2) soil AP content was lowest in Inner Mongolia, whereas no significant change in soil total P with latitude was found in China-Mongolia-Russia transect, a significant positive correlation was detected between the soil nutrient (N and AP) and latitude (P < 0.05); (3) a significant positive correlation was evident between plant community P content and soil AP content (P < 0.01), but a negative correlation was found between community N:P ratio and soil AP content (P < 0.05). The soil AP content can be used as a soil properties indicator to reflect the plant communities P content and N: P ratio. It is suggested that greater human activities in Inner Mongolia may be an important factor affecting soil AP content, community N:P and plant growth.

Effects Of Livestock Grazing Intensity On Reproductive Changes In Festuca Ovina L., Somaye Alidoost, Masoume Amirkhani, Mousa Akbarlou, Mansour Mesdaghi

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Reproduction and re-generation strategies, whether by sexual or asexual means, are important attributes of grazed plants. The Gramineae family is the main element of rangelands, grasslands and grassland ecosystems by virtue of their seed production and distribution mechanisms, and their tolerance of environment stresses (cold, heat, drought). Festuca ovina is a highly palatable and productive plant that has been recommended for drilling and sowing in the steppe and semi-steppe rangelands of Iran. The aim of this study, which was located in the Ghorkhoud region in North-east Iran, was to investigate the effects of different grazing intensities on reproduction of this …

Aboveground Biomass And Soil Moisture As Affected By Short-Term Grazing Exclusion In Eastern Alpine Meadows Of The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China, Haibo Liu, Jianping Wu, Wen Wang, Xiaoli Jin, Zhenheng Liu, Wenhua Du

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Heavy grazing substantially influences grassland vegetation and animal nutrition on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau (Guo et al. 2003). Degradation is characterized by a reduction in vegetation height, reduced ground cover decrease in species diversity (Wang et al. 2007).

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of short-term exclusion from grazing on aboveground herbage, forage nutritive value, and soil moisture in an alpine meadow in the eastern zone of the plateau. Three farms, applying different intensity of grazing over the summer months, were compared.

Spatial Variability And Seasonal Change Of Radioactive Caesium Concentration In Grassland Vegetation, Mikinori Tsuiki, Saaya Eguchi, Yusuke Nagata, Takeki Maeda

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

The damage from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 resulted in serious radioactive pollution over Eastern Japan. The distribution of radioactive fallout was largely determined by wind and rainfall patterns in March 2011. Distribution patterns were not necessarily in accordance with the distance from the nuclear power plant. In Iwate Prefecture (160 to 340 km north of the nuclear power plant), the amount of fallout of radioactive material in the southern region was greater than in the northern, but the distribution pattern was complex (Fig. 1, Tsuiki …

Drivers Of Change For Grassland And Forage Systems: A Case Study Of China, Yingjun Zhang, L. Z. Zhang, M. L. Wang, X. L. Li, Q. C. Yang, J. Hanson, M. A. Jorge

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Grassland and forage systems have changed dramatically across the world. This paper describes some of the key drivers of change of grassland and forage systems using examples from China as a case study. The key drivers of change for grassland and forage systems include political, economic, social, technical and environmental factors and their impact on changes in grasslands ecosystems in China is discussed. There are interactions among the drivers and their impact is similar in many developing countries.

New Frontiers And Perspectives In Grassland Technology, Jürgen Schellberg, E. Verbruggen

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Grassland scientists and farmers are increasingly faced with emerging new technologies and in-formation systems that have been primarily developed by engineering sciences in particular: precision agriculture, remote sensing, geographic localization and biotechnology. Whether the implementation of any of these technologies may be beneficial in economic and ecological respect is a challenging judgment call, especially for those who have to carry over that decision on their farm. Compared to arable land, new technologies have been applied on grassland only partially and with some delay. However, as we will demonstrate, there is place for a successful implementation of new technologies in various …

Local Loss And Spatial Homogenization Of Plant Diversity Reduce Ecosystem Multifunctionality, Yann Hautier, Forest Isbell, Elizabeth T. Borer, Eric W. Seabloom, W. Stanley Harpole, Eric M. Lind, Andrew S. Macdougall, Carly J. Stevens, Peter B. Adler, Juan Alberti, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lars A. Brudvig, Yvonne M. Buckley, Marc Cadotte, Maria C. Caldeira, Enrique J. Chaneton, Chengjin Chu, Pedro Daleo, Christopher R. Dickman, John M. Dwyer, Anu Eskelinen, Philip A Fay, Jennifer Firn, Nicole Hagenah, Helmut Hillebrand, Oscar Iribarne, Kevin P. Kirkman, Johannes M. H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, Rebecca L. Mcculley

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Biodiversity is declining in many local communities while also becoming increasingly homogenized across space. Experiments show that local plant species loss reduces ecosystem functioning and services, but the role of spatial homogenization of community composition and the potential interaction between diversity at different scales in maintaining ecosystem functioning remains unclear, especially when many functions are considered (ecosystem multifunctionality). We present an analysis of eight ecosystem functions measured in 65 grasslands worldwide. We find that more diverse grasslands—those with both species-rich local communities (α-diversity) and large compositional differences among localities (β-diversity)—had higher levels of multifunctionality. Moreover, α- and β-diversity synergistically affected …

Integrating Herbivore Population Dynamics Into A Global Land Biosphere Model: Plugging Animals Into The Earth System, Shree R. S. Dangal, Hanqin Tian, Chaoqun Lu, Wei Ren, Shufen Pan, Jia Yang, Nicola Di Cosmo, Amy Hessl

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Mammalian herbivores are an essential component of grassland and savanna ecosystems, and with feedbacks to the climate system. To date, the response and feedbacks of mammalian herbivores to changes in both abiotic and biotic factors are poorly quantified and not adequately represented in the current global land surface modeling framework. In this study, we coupled herbivore population dynamics in a global land model (the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model, DLEM 3.0) to simulate populations of horses, cattle, sheep, and goats, and their responses to changes in multiple environmental factors at the site level across different continents during 1980–2010. Simulated results show …

Effects Of Epichloë Coenophiala−Tall Fescue Symbiosis On Plant-Microbe-Soil Interactions In A Temperate Pasture, Lindsey C. Slaughter

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Plants interact in myriad ways with microorganisms to influence ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, which can regulate ecosystem response to global change. One important plant-microbe symbiosis occurs between cool-season grasses and asexual fungal Epichloë endophytes, such as tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus) and Epichloë coenophiala. Because the common toxic strain of the endophyte (CTE) harms grazing livestock, non-livestock toxic endophyte (NTE) strains have been developed and are increasingly deployed in pastures. Little is known about how these symbioses impact other plant-microbe interactions and microbe-mediated soil processes in grassland ecosystems. I conducted three studies to determine how E. …

New Methodologies For Grasslands Monitoring, Katarzyna Dabrowska-Zielinska, Piotr Goliński, Marit Jorgensen, Jørgen Mølmann, Gregory Taff, Monika Tomaszewska, Barbara Golińska, Maria Budzynska, Martyna Gatkowska

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Monitoring grassland areas to assess changes in their condition over time has been the subject of a lot of research at different scales. Initially the techniques focused on field-based measurements, and modelling. However, several obtained data were site specific. Based on the increase in availability of remote sensing data and products, there is an expectation that remote sensing can provide rapid and definite answers to the challenges of detecting and monitoring grassland conditions and associated changes in productivity. At the time of European Copernicus Programme, the new possibilities of satellite data from the group of Sentinel satellites give the new …

Enhancing Grassland Productivity Through Disease Management Of Grass And Forage Species, Tingyu Duan, Chunjie Li, Yanzhong Li, Binhua Yu, Zhibiao Nan

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

The total area of grassland in China is about 400 million hectares, accounting for 41.7% of the country’s land area, which plays important role in ecological construction and food security assurance of the national. However, diseases of grass and forage limited the development of the pastoral agriculture. There are more than1500 new diseases were reported in the past 16 years with more and more new diseases were discovered. The damage to grassland is becoming more severe with the known diseases prevalent areas expanding.