Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Comparative Analysis Of Climate Change Adaptation Options Across The Southern Australian Livestock Industry, Afshin Ghahramani, Andrew D. Moore

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

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 …

Eco-Efficiency Of Forage Production In Northern Germany, Antje Herrmann, Sandra Claus, Christof Kluß, Friedhelm Taube

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

A 2-year field experiment was conducted at two sites in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany, to quantify and evaluate the carbon footprint of arable forage cropping systems (continuous silage maize, maize-wheat-grass rotation, perennial ryegrass ley) as affected by N fertilizer type and N amount. Total greenhouse gas emission showed a linear increase with N application, with mineral N supply resulting in a higher slope. Product carbon footprint ranged between -66 and 119 kg CO2eq/(GJ NEL) and revealed a quadratic or linear response to fertilizer N input, depending on the cropping system. At N input required for achieving maximum energy yield, perennial ryegrass …

Elevated Co2 Impacts On Grazed Pasture: Long-Term Lessons From The New Zealand Face, Michael B. Dodd

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

A grazed pasture Free Air CO₂ Enrichment (FACE) experiment has been operating for almost 15 years in the Rangitikei Region of New Zealand, following earlier work studying CO₂, temperature and moisture effects on pasture in growth chambers. The longer-term results are reviewed with a focus on primary productivity, pasture compositional dynamics, nutrient cycling feedbacks and soil carbon supply. In terms of the direct effects of CO₂ elevated to 475 ppm, increases in primary production were reflected in belowground allocation and legume stimulation, with the latter diminishing in the longer term and annual aboveground net herbage accumulation …

Assessing Climate Change Impacts On Managed Grassland Production Using A Bio-Economic Modelling Approach, Robert Finger, Pierluigi Calanca, Simon Briner

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

We develop a bio-economic model that combines the process based grassland simulation model PROGRASS with an economic decision model, which accounts for income risks and yield quality, to derive optimal nitrogen application rates in a grass-clover system in Switzerland. The model is applied to current as well as to future climate conditions. Though nitrogen increases yields, it also leads to a higher variance and more negative skewness of yields, i.e. is risk increasing. Accounting for farmers’ risk aversion thus reduces optimal nitrogen use. We find climate change, ceteris paribus, to lead to higher grassland yields but also to increase the …

Tithonia Diversifolia For Ruminant Nutrition, Rogerio M. Mauricio, Rafael S. Ribeiro, Sylvia R. Silveira, Person L. Silva, Leonardo Calsavara, Luiz G. R. Pereira, Domingos S. C. Paciullo

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

India and Brazil lead the world ranking of livestock enteric methane emissions (FAO 2006). According to FAO (2006), Brazil (9.6 Tg of CH4/year) is the highest emitter of methane from cattle, followed by India (8.6 Tg of CH4/year) and the USA (5.1 Tg of CH4/year). In livestock, methane (CH4) formed from enteric fermentation of carbohydrates is primarily responsible for the emissions in the sector. Regarding livestock methane emission, Delgado et al. (2012) evaluated 20 tree and shrub species using in vitro technique and demonstrated a reducing effect on the amount of methane when Tithonia diversifolia was compared with, for …

Herbage Intake, Methane Emissions And Animal Performance Of Steers Grazing Dwarf Elephant Grass With Or Without Access To Arachis Pintoi Pastures, Ederson A. De Andrade, Henrique M. N. Ribeiro-Filho, Diego M. De Liz, João G. R. Almeida, Marcolino F. Miguel, Gutierri T. Raupp, Fabiana R. Ramos, Edison X. Almeida

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The inclusion of legumes in diets based on grass has nutritional benefits due to ingestive and digestive interactions (Niderkorn and Baumont 2009). Moreover, it is speculated that tropical legumes can contribute to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) compared to diets exclusively composed of grasses (Archimède et al. 2011). However, under grazing conditions, these advantages are not always possible to obtain. This occurs when the spatial distribution of sward grasses impose limitations on access to legumes by grazing animals (Solomon et al. 2011). This can be the case, for example, when legumes are overlapped by the leaves …

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 (1993-2023)

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.

Effect Of Soil Moisture Status And Animal Treading On N2O Emissions And The Effectiveness Of A Nitrification Inhibitor Mitigation Technology, H. J. Di, K. C. Cameron, B. Ball, A. Podolyan, Jizheng He

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a potent greenhouse gas with a long-term global warming potential about 298 times that of carbon dioxide (CO₂). In grazed grassland, most of the N₂O is emitted from nitrogen (N) excreted by the grazing animal, particularly in the animal urine. When the soil is wet, such as that in winter grazing conditions, animal grazing can cause soil structural damage, leading to soil compaction. The combination of a wet soil plus soil compaction is particularly conducive for N₂O production. A nitrification inhibitor technology using dicyandiamide (DCD) has been developed …

The Potential Of Carbon Sequestration And N2O Emissions Due To Different Sward Ages After Grassland Re-Sowing, Thorsten Biegemann, Ralf Loges, Friedhelm Taube

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

In order to quantify carbon (C) sequestration and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission rates from grassland of different sward ages (2, 5 and 18 years) after grassland re-establishment, a 2-year field experiment was conducted on a sandy loam in 2010/2011 (2011/2012). The trial was set up in a randomized plot experiment with three replicates including a control (no N-fertilizer) and a fertilized treatment (240 kg N/ha/year as cattle slurry). N₂O emissions were measured on a weekly basis using the closed chamber method. The soil carbon content was measured twice a year from soil cores. Results showed a …

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 (1993-2023)

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 …

Effects Of Rain Events On Carbon Fluxes From Biological Soil Crusts, Chunping Zhang, Xudong Li, Decao Niu, Hongrong Zhang, Hua Fu

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

In dry ecosystems, biological soil crusts (BSCs) have been suggested as one of the factors responsible for the large rate of annual CO₂ net uptake (Xie et al. 2009). However, most studies carried out on carbon (C) fluxes in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, such as soil respiration, have neglected the carbon fluxes from BSCs. Although BSCs are a vital component of the dry-land soil C cycle, few studies have parameterized the conditions required for photosynthesis in BSCs or determined BSCs respiration (Elbert et al. 2009, Castillo-Monroy et al. 2011). Precipitation in dry land is dominated by …

Carbon Density Distribution And Carbon Storage Estimation Under Different Grazing Degradation In The Typical Steppe, Sarula Wu, Xiangyang Hou, Yong Ding, Weibo Ren

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Carbon (C) is a crucial component of living organisms on planet earth, and C cycling is an important symbol of healthy development of the biosphere (Han et al. 1999). Human activity has adversely affected the global C cycle, and contributed to an alteration of climate that will generate discernible feedbacks to all organisms and ecosystems on earth (He et al. 2008). Grasslands are one of the most widely distributed terrestrial ecosystems on the earth and it is estimated that C storage of global grassland ecosystem was 761Gt (1Gt = 09t), which accounts for about 15.2% C storage in …

Effect Of Grazing On Soil Carbon And Nitrogen In Alpine Madow, Eastern Of Tibetan Plateau, Shiqing Li, Zhenggang Guo, Xue Ran, Yuying Shen

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

As the grassland ecosystem in the Tibetan Plateau is very fragile, overgrazing likely leads to more serious damages to it than other ecosystems. In the past 30 years, 37% of the alpine meadows have been heavily damaged by grazing causing degradation of native vegetation, a decline in species richness and feed value, and more seriously soil erosion (Six et al. 2004). The impact of grazing on alpine grasslands appears to be hysteresis, as the soil needs more time to recover than the vegetation. So analysing the effect of grazing intensity on soil characteristics is an important way to reveal how …

Carbon Sequestration In Relation To Shrub Size In The Desert Ecosystem, Decao Niu, Hongyang Chen, Shigao Jiang, Li Liu, Hongrong Zhang, Hua Fu

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Desert ecosystems have been reported as the location of the long-sought ‘missing sink’ for atmospheric carbon dioxide and as a potentially important area for carbon sequestering from fossil fuel combustion in the future (Stone 2008). Researchers have found that net uptake of carbon in the Mojave Desert ranged from 102 to 127 g C m2/yr during a 3-year period, which is equivalent to the net ecosystem production of many forest ecosystems with a much higher biomass (Luyssaert et al. 2007; Wohlfahrt et al. 2008). Shrub is the dominant plant of desert ecosystems (Gratani et al. 2011); hence, it …

Making A Profit With A Cash Hay Alfalfa Operation--Integrating All The Pieces, Clayton Geralds

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

What’S New In Alfalfa Weed Control?, Jonathan D. Green

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The importance of weed control in alfalfa production should not be overlooked, especially when you consider the high investment associated with forage legumes. Weeds have the potential to reduce forage yield by competing for water, sunlight, and nutrients. For example, yield obtained from the first cutting of alfalfa can be significantly reduced by a heavy infestation of common chickweed and other winter annual weeds. In addition to yield losses, weeds can lower forage quality, increase the incidence of disease and insect problems, cause premature stand loss, and create harvesting problems. Some weeds are unpalatable to livestock or, in some cases, …

Updates On An Online Alfalfa Management Tool Under Development, Travis Howle, S. Ray Smith

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

Integrated Management Of Alfalfa Diseases, Kiersten A. Wise

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa diseases can reduce forage quality and the longevity of alfalfa stands. Integrated management of diseases can minimize disease impact and improve forage stand and quality. There are several important pathogens that cause disease on alfalfa, and the occurrence of these diseases, as well as the severity of damage, depend on several factors, including the type of pathogen, the environment, and the level of resistance of the host to a particular disease. In addition, disease presence and severity are also influenced by agronomic practices, particularly sowing dates, cutting dates and frequency, and fertility programs.

Moving Past The Routine: Precision Management For Alfalfa And Hay Crops, Joshua M. Mcgrath

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Soil testing is made up of four distinct activities, collecting the soil sample, analyzing the sample, interpreting the results, and providing fertilizer recommendations that account for the fertilizer source, timing of application, rate of application, and placement of the fertilizer. Traditionally, collecting a soil sample was viewed as the limiting step because a recommendation is only as good as the sample that it is based on. With traditional soil sampling, we attempt to represent the field’s average nutrient status. Typically, you would want one sample for every 10 – 20 acres. A sample should be collected to the depth prescribed …

Smarter Alfalfa Weevil Management, Ricardo Bessin

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa weevil is the primary insect pest attacking the first cutting of alfalfa reducing both quality and yield. The tiny 1st and 2nd stage larvae chew on tip leaves producing tiny pin holes which may seem minor, but 3rd and 4th stages feed extensively shredding leaves resulting in significant damage. A heavy infestation can cause the field to appear grayish. While an individual larva feeds for about 3 weeks, eggs hatch over an extended period, so total damage within a field will accumulate over 5 to 6 weeks.

Getting The Full Benefit Of Your Lime/Fertilizer Dollar, John H. Grove

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Start with a soil test, even if soil testing is not a perfect way to identify nutrient needs. There are no one-size-fits-all formulas for starting a field of alfalfa – every field is ‘fertility unique’. Your prior knowledge of the field will cause you to make your initial soil test either well ahead of, or rather closer to, alfalfa seeding. The major driver of the timing of the initial soil test is soil acidity. If field soil acidity is suspected, soil test well ahead of seeding – 6 to 12 months ahead. Lime takes time to more thoroughly neutralize higher …

Distribution Of Soil Organic Carbon Fractions As Related To Land Use And Management In The Loess Plateau, Northern China, Huige Han, Xudong Li, Decao Niu, Hua Fu

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Organic C in the soil is not a uniform material but rather a complex mixture of plant, animal and microbial residues at different stages of decomposition (Post and Kwon 2000). So the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) is usually described by dividing total SOC into different fractions (Six et al. 2002). Of all the different fractions, density defined fractions (light- and heavy fractions) may relate better to specific functions or processes (O’Hara et al. 2006), and the changes in SOC due to land use and management may be partly explained by the way C is allocated in …

Grazing And Soil Carbon, Rooting Around For An Effect, Helen P. King

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

There is considerable scientific and policy interest in the effect of different grazing methods on soil organic carbon (SOC) and general acceptance that increasing SOC by changing grazing management is possible. While overgrazing is recognised as a cause of land degradation and historical loss of SOC, a review and modelling by Conant and Paustian (2002) showed that ceasing overgrazing and stocking at appropriate levels can also increase SOC. Other reviews showed no difference in animal or pasture productivity between continuous (CG) and rotational (RG) grazing (Briske et al. 2008); and increases, decreases or no change in SOC with high, …

Long-Term Impacts Of Stocking Rate On Soil Carbon Sequestration In Arid Areas Of South Africa, Deribe G. Talore, Eyob Tesfamariam, Abubeker Hassen, Jean-François Soussana

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Overstocking is one of the most important factors which results in changes of carbon stocks (Reeder and Schuman, 2002) and soil degradation, particularly in sandy soil, vulnerable to degradation through physical erosion. South African (RSA) topsoil is characterized by the low level of organic matter (Du Preez et al. 2011). Like most other African countries, little is known about the level of C sequestration under various grazing strategies in the vast dry grassland areas of RSA. It is well known that long-term studies with various stocking rate would be able to shed light on the level of C sequestration …

Soil Organic Carbon Stocks In A Brazilian Oxisol Under Different Pasture Systems, José C. Pinto, Róberson M. Pimentel, Yuri L. Zinn, Fernanda H. M. Chizzotti

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Pastures are the main land use systems in the world and in Brazil they occupy 115 M ha. A major part of Brazil´s greenhouse gas emissions are due to land use change and agriculture. Livestock production comprises > 90% of methane and about 55% of CO2-equivalent emissions due to agriculture (Cerri et al. 2009). However, productive, well-managed pastures can improve degraded soils and increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks through humification of grass and root residues. In order to enhance pasture yields and SOC sequestration, nutrient availability in soils must also be improved, especially for N and P. This work …

Forward Of Kentucky Alfalfa And Stored Forages Conference [2020], S. Ray Smith, Jimmy C. Henning, Christopher D. Teutsch

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

Bayesian Modeling For Estimating Cattle’S Dung Position In Pasture, Rena Yoshitoshi, Nariyasu Watanabe, Kensuke Kawamura, Seiichi Sakanoue, Jihyun Lim, Taisuke Yasuda

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Livestock excrement is one of the major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in pasture. As a first step in evaluating its contribution to overall GHG emissions, an understanding of excretion distribution patterns in pastures is required. Betteridge et al. (2010) describe a urine sensor that detects and logs each urination event of female sheep and cattle. The urine sensor records time and ambient temperature at one-second intervals however, patters of dung distribution are not specified. The objective of this study was to predict spatial distribution of cattle dung. The knowledge of livestock excrement position may be useful for …

Influence Of Grassland Management On Carbon Allocation In A Semiarid Temperate Steppe, Nan Liu, Y. Jun Zhang, H. Ming Kan, W. Jie Lu

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Grazing lands in North China are often excessively grazed and widely degraded, while hay-making lands appear to be in relatively good condition due to grazing exclusion, but they are facing a continuous loss of nutrients in the harvested biomass. In semiarid grasslands, plant productivity and community composition are significantly altered by grazing and haying. Grazing mostly leads to negative effects on aboveground productivity, however root biomass seems to increase with moderate grazing (Gao et al. 2009; Derner et al. 2006), although responses can vary. Aboveground biomass removal can increase C3 grass dominance and productivity (Hofer and Bragg 1981). …

Land Use Intensification Effects On Soil C Dynamics In Subtropical Grazing Land Ecosystems, Maria L. Silveira, Sutie Xu, Julius Adewopo, Kanika S. Inglett

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The impacts of land intensification on carbon (C) responses are important components of soil organic carbon (SOC) management. Grazing land intensification typically involves the use of highly productive plant species that can support greater grazing pressure, removal of higher proportions of site biomass and nutrients during mechanical harvest or grazing, and increased use of fertilizers, particularly N. Current improved grazing land management strategies are aimed at increasing above-ground biomass yield, with less regard for below-ground C dynamics. Because intensive management affects above- and below-ground C inputs (Schuman et al. 1999; Liu et al. 2011a,b), it can therefore have …

Research On Soil Carbon Storage Of Alpine Grassland Under Different Uses In Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Tao Li, Youmin Gan, Lei Ji, Shujing Yang, Zhongqi Song

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

In recent years, with the temperature rising on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, studies have shown that (Shaoqing Wang et al. 1999; Yuchun Qi et al. 2003) the plateau permafrost has great potential for emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon, nitrogen, because of the remarkable permafrost thermal sensitivity. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a special geographical and ecological unit, which has an important role in global climate change. The study of soil carbon storage of grassland ecosystems in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its distribution characteristics allow the evaluation of different land management. The carbon cycle response and feedback effects of …