Contribute To A Definition Of Extensive Grazing (Mediterranean),
2024
Instituto Politécnico Santarém, Portugal
Contribute To A Definition Of Extensive Grazing (Mediterranean), J. Potes, J. P. F. Almeida, C. Matos, A. Teixeira
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
The subject of this paper is a definition of Extensive Grazing from Extensive Systems of Animal Production in Mediterranean environments. The edaphoclimatic characterization is essential to understand the low level of primary productivity as a consequence of irregular precipitation over the year and its absence during the long, dry and hot summer. The powerless of soils justify the limited contribution of plants and make clear the necessary recovery of the soil and storage of water naturally (soil) or artificially (irrigation). Considering the IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) definition of extensive grazing it has been used the …
Soil Carbon Monitoring Program For Ranches In Dryland Ecosystems,
2024
Oregon State University
Soil Carbon Monitoring Program For Ranches In Dryland Ecosystems, David E. Prado-Tarango, S. Ates, J. Talbot
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Implementation of ranching practices that lead to greater soil carbon sequestration has become increasingly important due to rising atmospheric CO2 levels. Sustainable ranching practices are suggested to improve soil health and sequester more carbon in the soil. However, there is a paucity of measured data from replicated on-farm studies to support this premise. Thus, we developed a soil carbon monitoring program for a ranch located in the state of Oregon. Our monitoring program is focused on measuring the net carbon budget and the soil carbon sequestration totals. To achieve this goal, we combined field-sampling data with the COMET-Farm model. A …
Answering Complex Questions As We Make Headway On Annual Grasses And Fire,
2024
University of Idaho
Answering Complex Questions As We Make Headway On Annual Grasses And Fire, T. Prather, L. Jones, E. Strand, G. Harrison, K. Johnston
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Annual grasses challenge our ability to meet forage production and plant community conservation objectives. Direct competition, potential mutualism, and shortened fire return interval interplay resulting in complexity of how to meet challenges we face. Bromus tectorum presents challenges to sagebrush dominated plant communities with shortened fire return intervals and the advancing invasion of Ventenata dubia poses threats to forage production through competitive interactions that may involve mutualism to enhance V. dubia’s invasion of annual and perennial grass dominated plant communities. Use of fuel breaks can reduce the extent of fires and their proper function hinges on their reduced plant biomass …
Rangeland Devastated By Invasive Annual Grass,
2024
Envu
Rangeland Devastated By Invasive Annual Grass, H. E. Quicke
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
This paper serves as an introduction to the thematic session on protection and restoration of western US rangelands. Exotic annual grass species have steadily invaded western US rangeland for decades. More recently, the problem of invasive annual grasses received national attention with multiple stakeholders working together under the auspices of Western Governors’ Association to develop a common strategy to fight back.
Preventing Conversion To A Highly Degraded Invasive Dominated System,
2024
Utah State University
Preventing Conversion To A Highly Degraded Invasive Dominated System, C. V. Ransom
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Invasive annual grasses (IAG) negatively impact rangeland across the Western US. Within the Intermountain Region, downy brome, Japanese brome, medusahead, and ventenata are among the most prevalent invasive annual grass species. Research conducted at Utah State University has addressed numerous approaches to IAG management as well investigating restoration strategies of highly degraded sites. Under harsh climates common to the Western US, restoration has been extremely challenging, causing focus to shift towards prioritizing the protection of existing desirable plant communities. In either restoration or plant community protection approaches, annual rainfall is the largest driver of success. Changes or shifts in plant …
Red Deer Browsing Decelerates Shrub Regrowth Despite Increasing Wolf Presence,
2024
University of Göttingen, Germany
Red Deer Browsing Decelerates Shrub Regrowth Despite Increasing Wolf Presence, F. Riesch, C. Raab, Bettina Tonn, N. Gerber, M. Zetsche, J. Signer, Marcus Meißner, Sven Herzog, Niko Balkenhol, Johannes Isselstein
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Semi-natural open habitats in Europe have been shaped by traditional land use practices, such as extensive mowing or livestock grazing. However, socio-economic transformations have led to the abandonment of many grassland and heathland areas and conservation management is now required to maintain these biodiverse habitats. Grazing by wild red deer (Cervus elaphus) can be a convenient alternative to laborious mechanical management or livestock grazing. Yet it remains unclear if free-ranging ungulates can counteract shrub growth sufficiently to maintain open habitats—especially with natural predators, i.e. wolves (Canis lupus), recolonizing Europe. To assess red deer effects on shrub …
Using Recurrent Phenotypical Selection To Improve Drought Tolerance Of Red Clover,
2024
DBlack Sea Agricultural Research Institute Samsun, TR
Using Recurrent Phenotypical Selection To Improve Drought Tolerance Of Red Clover, M. Sahin, S. Reid, E. Sahin, S. Ates, S. Elias, David B. Hannaway
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Red clover is one of the most important forage legumes in the world. It is utilized extensively in European and North American farming systems. Approximately, 4 million hectares of red clover are grown globally each year for forage production, soil improvement, and as a pollen and nectar source for pollinators (Riday, 2010). In North America, red clover is widely used in temperate regions for pasture, hay, and silage in combination with grasses for soil improvement and as a pollen and nectar source for bumblebees (Bombus). In the northwest, it is also grown for seed production (Anderson et al., 2016) with …
Legumes As A Biological Tool To Address The Sustainability Of Ruminant Production Systems,
2024
University College Dublin, Ireland
Legumes As A Biological Tool To Address The Sustainability Of Ruminant Production Systems, H. Sheridan, M. B. Lynch
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Growing public concern regarding accelerated rates of climate change, the depletion and degradation of natural resources such as biodiversity water and soils, coupled with policy commitments to address these challenges, are placing increasing pressures to enhance sustainability metrics associated with agriculture in general, and ruminant production systems in particular. At EU and indeed global scale, there has probably never before been so many potentially conflicting challenges for agriculture. On one hand, agricultural systems need to produce more, to feed the increasing global human population, while at the same time being much less reliant on economically and environmentally costly chemical inputs …
How Do Artemisia Capillaris Population Respond To Grazing Management And Rain Reduction?,
2024
Lanzhou University, China
How Do Artemisia Capillaris Population Respond To Grazing Management And Rain Reduction?, Li-Yuan Shi, Fu-Jiang Hou, Zhen Wang
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Climate and human activities, such as drought event and livestock grazing, generally coupled to influence the structure and function of grassland ecosystems. However, most of previous studies focused on the isolated effects of grazing or drought on grassland ecosystems, with little attention paid to the combined effects of them. Further, we know little about how plants respond to grazing and drought at the population level. We conducted a grazing regime (enclosure, stop grazing, and heavy grazing) and drought manipulation experiment in a typical steppe to explore how grassland plants response to ongoing drought and grazing regimes at the population level. …
Development Of Forage Curriculum For Extension Educators In The Southeast Usa,
2024
Clemson University
Development Of Forage Curriculum For Extension Educators In The Southeast Usa, L. S. Silva, L. Dillard, K. Mullenix, M. Wallau, J. J. Tucker, C. Vasco
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
In the Southeast USA, livestock production is one of the largest agricultural activities, and forages are the primary feed source. Most livestock systems are highly dependent on off-farm inputs to support forage production and animal performance, which elevates production costs and the activity's carbon footprint. There is a strong need to develop forage educational resources to enhance productivity, environmental sustainability, resilience, and profitability of agricultural systems in the region. This multi-disciplinary initiative was a collaboration among several land-grant Universities across the region. The objective was to develop decision tools and provide in-classroom training associated with hands-on demonstrations to Extension agents …
Isolation And Culture Of Epichloё Sp. For Re-Infection Of Endophyte-Free Southeastern Wildrye (Elymus Glabriflorus),
2024
Mississippi State University
Isolation And Culture Of Epichloё Sp. For Re-Infection Of Endophyte-Free Southeastern Wildrye (Elymus Glabriflorus), B. J. Haile, J. I. Morrison
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Mutualistic relationships between endophytic fungi and grasses have shown to improve the hardiness of the host. This relationship is common in grasses, including native cool-season grasses that are important in both forage and grassland ecosystems. Elymus genus members, such as Canada wildrye (CAWR), commonly host the endophytic fungi, Epichloё, while southeastern wildrye (SEWR) may not. In this study, seed of ten Elymus accessions and seed and leaves from local SEWR were assessed for endophyte infection. Infection status was confirmed via seed squash and leaf peel techniques and assessed using microscopy. Seed of one SEWR and nine CAWR accessions were assessed …
Virtual Fencing Predictable For Cattle? A Simple Method To Test Whether And How Fast Cattle Can Learn The Association Between Acoustic Signal And Electric Pulse,
2024
University of Goettingen, Germany
Virtual Fencing Predictable For Cattle? A Simple Method To Test Whether And How Fast Cattle Can Learn The Association Between Acoustic Signal And Electric Pulse, D. Hamidi, M. Komainda, N. Grinnell, L. Wilms, F. Reisch, J. Horn, M. Hamidi, J. Isselstein
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Virtual fencing (VF) offers promising future prospects for improved grazing management as it has the potential to simplify fencing. VF lines are easily drawn and shifted via GPS coordinates. A VF collar emits an acoustic signal when the animal approaches the VF line. The signal stops immediately when the animal turns around. If the animal continues to move towards the VF line, a short electric pulse is emitted. A teaching and an operating mode are provided by the VF collars. The animals automatically change mode when they respond correctly to 20 consecutive acoustic signals without receiving an electric pulse. A …
More Than A Fencing System? Testing The Validity Of Virtual Fencing Collars For Animal Monitoring On Pasture,
2024
University of Goettingen, Germany
More Than A Fencing System? Testing The Validity Of Virtual Fencing Collars For Animal Monitoring On Pasture, D. Hamidi, M. Komainda, N. Grinnell, F. Reisch, J. Horn, M. Hamidi, I. Traulsen, J. Isselstein
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
High labour requirements for fencing and animal monitoring appear to be general obstacles for the wider use of pastureland for grazing livestock. Virtual fencing (VF) enables a less laborious pasture management. Fence lines can be easily drawn and moved using GPS data. The advantages of VF for reducing the labour inherent to controlled grazing management are obvious. Potential additional animal monitoring opportunities arising from such a VF system that uses real-time GPS data have not yet been studied. Lying is seen as an indicator for assessing comfort or restlessness of cattle. Therefore, we focus on lying behavior in this evaluation. …
Forage And Grazinglands Extension: Training The Next Generation Of Specialists,
2024
USDA, Agricultural Research Service
Forage And Grazinglands Extension: Training The Next Generation Of Specialists, D. W. Hancock
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
This invited talk provides a perspective on what is required to excel in the role as an Extension Specialist. In the USA, most such Extension Specialists are tenure-track faculty, and have state-wide or even multi-state responsibilities. Advice is given on how to balance the high expectations of such a faculty appointment while providing appropriate recommendations to farmers/ranchers and service providers in the forage and grazinglands industry. This talk will offer one former Extension Specialist’s perspective on the skills, experience, and persona required to begin a successful career as a Forage and Grazinglands Extension Specialist. Additional exposition will be given on …
An Assessment Of Young Cattle Behaviour And Welfare In A Virtual Fencing System,
2024
Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute, Ireland
An Assessment Of Young Cattle Behaviour And Welfare In A Virtual Fencing System, C. Holohan, A. Gordon, R. Palme, S. Buijs, F. Lively
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Virtual fencing is a novel technology which uses a combination of audio and electrical stimuli to contain grazing livestock within a GPS boundary. There are however some concerns around the use of such a technology and its potential effects on the behaviour and welfare of animals. To investigate this, 64 dairy-origin calves were assigned to one of two treatments in a randomised complete block design, with 4 groups of 8 calves per treatment. The two treatments were virtual fencing (VF) and electric fencing (EF). The experimental period lasted 31 days in total, consisting of a 10 day training period and …
Herding Livestock – The Phoenix Rises From The Ashes? Digital Herding As A Future Tool For Grazing Livestock,
2024
University of Goettingen, Germany
Herding Livestock – The Phoenix Rises From The Ashes? Digital Herding As A Future Tool For Grazing Livestock, J. Horn, R. Reisch, M. Komainda, P. Riedel, J. Isselstein
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Today, sustainable management of grazing livestock requires high efforts in management and fencing. Nowadays, several developments in digital technologies for herding grazing animals are arising. We conducted a systematic review on current developments in digital technologies for managing grazing animals within the landscape. We mainly focused on cattle (Bos taurus) and sheep (Ovis aries). We highlight the most promising developments of virtual fencing used in recent research to evaluate effectiveness, animal behaviour and welfare. Moreover, we highlight current research in digital herding by drones and robots. We discuss the potential and current limitations of digital tools …
Development Of Megathyrsus Maximus Genotypes For Intensification Of Cattle Rearing In Brazil,
2024
EMBRAPA, Brazil
Development Of Megathyrsus Maximus Genotypes For Intensification Of Cattle Rearing In Brazil, Liana Jank, M. F. Santos, Sanzio Carvalho Barrios, Cacilda Borges Do Valle, Rosangela Maria Simeão
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Megathyrsus maximus is a forage species used over 30 million hectares in Brazil and in the surrounding countries for intensification of the cattle production systems. Due to the large area and distinct biomes in which it is used, there is a need to continuously develop more productive and adapted cultivars to each biome and use. Three apomictic accessions were crossed with five sexual plants at Embrapa Beef Cattle in Campo Grande, MS, Brazil in 2014. More than 1100 hybrids were planted in a spaced-plant field and evaluated visually for regrowth after cuts and for disease and pest damage. In 2016, …
Scaled Datasets Through Leveraging Technology Better Represent Plant Communities Classified Within National Land Cover Database (Nlcd),
2024
Tarleton State University
Scaled Datasets Through Leveraging Technology Better Represent Plant Communities Classified Within National Land Cover Database (Nlcd), D. M. Johnston, D. B. Murray, Y. Y. Tsang
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Technological advances in remote sensing have allowed for access to and application of large- scale datasets of plant communities using cover classification and chlorophyll content measurement with the use of multispectral sensors and vegetation indices. The United States’ primary remote sensing platform Landsat Thematic Mapper is a series of satellites providing 30-meter resolution imagery of the Earth’s surface. Efforts have been made to best utilize Landsat derivative National Land Cover Database (NLCD) datasets and provide spatial resolution commensurate with the needs of plant ecologists and range managers. However, usage of 30-meter spatial resolution imagery and indices does not allow detection …
Heavy Grazing Significantly Reduced The Temporal Stability Of Aboveground Biomass,
2024
Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, China
Heavy Grazing Significantly Reduced The Temporal Stability Of Aboveground Biomass, X. Ju, T. T. Shen, Q. Wu, G. D. Han
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
The stability of a plant community is the embodiment of the dynamic balance achieved by the interaction between populations in the form of competition or mutual benefit. Temporal stability refers to the ratio of the average value to the variance of the biomass of the population or community. For grassland ecosystems, the stability of the grassland plant community is the basis for its survival and functional performance, and is the key factor affecting its structure and function. In order to study the impact of grazing on the temporal stability of aboveground biomass of desert steppe, this study used a completely …
Migration And Colonization Characteristics Of Endophytic Tracer Rhizobia To The Reproductive Organs Of Alfalfa,
2024
Gansu Agricultural University, China
Migration And Colonization Characteristics Of Endophytic Tracer Rhizobia To The Reproductive Organs Of Alfalfa, W. J. Kang, S. L. Shi, Y. T. Zhang, L. Y. Chen
IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)
Legume seeds are the product of long-term natural selection and the co-evolution of rhizobia and seeds. They are more competitive than the native rhizobia in constructing symbiotic nitrogen-fixing systems with host plants. However, the paths and impact factors of rhizobia invasion and migration in plants, as well as colonization in seeds, are unclear. Here, alfalfa cultivars WL343HQ and Gannong 5, and three cyan fluorescent protein-tagged rhizobia (FTR), 3436f, 12531f and gn5f were used as materials. The effects of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4) and fulvic acid (FA) on the migration and colonization of FTR in the reproductive organs of field plants …
