Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Urinary Recovery Of Dicyandiamide (Dcd) Pulse-Dosed Into The Rumen Of Non-Lactating Dairy Cows, And The Effects Of Applying Urine With Dcd To Lysimeters On Nitrous Oxide And Nitrate Leaching In Ireland, Patrick J. O’Connor, Eva Lewis, Helen Slattery, Deirdre Hennessy

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Urine excreted by dairy cows is a source of nitrogen (N) to the sward. The N content of urine is high, up to 1000 kg N/ha and is usually in excess of sward requirements. Surplus N is usually lost through a number of pathways including nitrate (NO₃^-) leaching and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Dicyandiamide (DCD), a nitrification inhibitor, has been shown to reduce NO₃^- leaching and N₂O emissions when applied as a fine particle suspension (FPS) to grazed paddocks. The objectives of the study were to: (1) quantify the recovery of DCD in …

Improving The Phosphorus Efficiency Of Temperate Australian Pastures, Richard J. Simpson, Graeme A. Sandral, Richard A. Culvenor, Megan H. Ryan, Hans Lambers, Phillip G. H. Nichols, Richard C. Hayes

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Phosphorus (P) is a key input necessary for high production in many temperate, grass-legume pasture systems in Australia because the pastures are situated on P-deficient and moderate to highly P-sorbing soils. A consequence of P-sorption in these soils is that much more P must be applied as fertiliser than will be exported in animal products. The P balance efficiency (PBE=100*P_export/Pi_nputs) of grazing enterprises (e.g. wool, meat, milk and live animal export) is about 10-30% and compares poorly with some other agricultural enterprises (e.g. 45-54% for grain production; McLaughlin et al. 1992; Weaver and …

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

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

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 …

Soil Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria Of The Okavango Floodplains, Botswana, Tabo Mubyana-John, Lawrence Tarupiwa, Wellington R. L. Masamba, Susan Ringrose

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Phosphorus although abundant is among the most limiting macro plant nutrients in some soils. Deficiencies are often seen as purpling of leaves due to unavailability of PO₄ in soil solution. In soil solution PO₄ solubility is pH dependent; at pH < 6, it is often bound to Fe or Al, while at pH > 7 it forms insoluble complexes with Ca, Mg, K or Na making it unavailable to plants (Brady 2002). Soil organic P requires mineralisation then solubilisation by the enzyme phosphatase before being available. Botswana soils due to the low rainfall (< 450 mm/yr) are characterised by high pH and salt pans scattered all over the semi-arid and arid landscape. Cultivation of most of these soils often results in P deficient crops (Leuschner and Manthe 1996). However, in grassland areas of the Okavango, very few grasses show P deficiency. Studies from other areas indicate that some grasses habour PO₄ solubilizing bacteria in their rhizosphere that help them in their P sequencing quest (Duponnois et al. …

Should Native Pastures Be Fertilised?, Jo I. Powells, Doug J. Alcock, Luke C. Pope, Denys Garden

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Considerable research has been conducted in recent years demonstrating the ongoing benefits of phosphorus (P) fertiliser in achieving and maintaining higher levels of production from native pastures (Graham 2006; Garden et al. 2003; Lodge et al. 2003; Michalk et al. 2003). However Garden et al. (2003), Hill et al. (2004) and Dorrough et al. (2008) all question the sustainability of this practice by highlighting changes in species composition of these pastures with regard to increasing the introduced annual grass and broadleaf weed components at the expense of the native grasses and forbs but in …

Humic Products–Potential Or Presumption For Agriculture. Do Humic Products Have A Place In Australian Grazing Enterprises?, Kim L. Billingham

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Australian soils are inherently low in organic matter. Agricultural practices have compounded this problem. As farmers look for more sustainable farming methods a commercial niche has opened for a range of alternative products including the humic products. More than 200 humic products are manufactured and sold by Australian companies (Billingham 2012). Many more can be purchased via overseas websites.

The term ‘humic products’ denotes a range of materials derived from lignites (brown coals), peats, lignins, composts and other organic wastes. Most are manufactured by alkali and acid extraction of the source material. Humic products are usually sold as soil amendments …

Efficient Use Of Phosphorus In Temperate Grassland Systems, Richard J. Simpson, Alan E. Richardson, Shirley N. Nichols, James R. Crush

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Phosphorus (P) fertilisers are important for high production in many grassland systems. However, there are increasing environmental, economic and strategic issues associated with using P, which is a non-renewable and “effectively finite” global resource. We review the P balance of temperate pastures to identify the factors that contribute to inefficient P use and discuss ways to improve P use efficiency. The most immediate gains can be made by ensuring that pastures are not over-fertilised. Plants with low critical P requirements, particularly as a result of better root foraging, will be important. Root traits such as fine roots (root diameter), branching, …

Nitrogen Management In Grasslands And Forage-Based Production Systems–Role Of Biological Nitrification Inhibition (Bni), Guntur V. Subbarao, Idupulapati M. Rao, K. Nakahara, Y. Ando, K. L. Sahrawat, T. Tesfamariam, J. C. Lata, S. Boudsocq, J. W. Miles, Manabu Ishitani, M. Peters

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Nitrogen (N), being the most critical and essential nutrient for plant growth, largely determines the productivity in both extensive- and intensive- grassland systems. Nitrification and denitrification processes in the soil are the primary drivers generating reactive-N: NO₃^-, N₂O, and NO, and is largely responsible for N-loss and degradation of grasslands. Suppressing nitrification can thus facilitate the retention of soil-N to sustain long-term productivity of grasslands and forage-based production systems. Certain plants can suppress soil nitrification by releasing inhibitors from roots, a phenomenon termed ‘biological nitrification inhibition’ (BNI). Recent methodological developments (e.g. bioluminescence assay …

Assessment Of Drought Resistance For 17 Alfalfa Varieties At The Seedling Stage, Lin Meng, Peichun Mao, Qiang Guo

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Alfalfa is a crop of relative water demand, and the good quality, the high and stable yield could be obtained directly depending on water supplies and strong or weak drought resistance ability of alfalfa cultivars (Geng 1995; Chen and Jia 2000). To guide steady and effectively development of alfalfa industrialization in the arid and semi-arid regions of China, we systematically selected the excellent drought resistant alfalfa cultivars, and then identified and assessed their drought resistant capacity. In this study, a pot experiment was conducted by simulating drought stress in a greenhouse to assess the drought resistance of seventeen alfalfa cultivars …

Effect Of Forage Brassica On Subsequent Soil Water Content And Yield Of Dual-Purpose Winter Wheat In Rainfed Region Of Northwestern China, Yuanbo Liu, Lihua Tian, Qingping Zhang, Yuying Shen

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The dual-purpose performance of winter wheat used for both forage and grain production has been explored as an alternative practice for filling the feed gap during winter and spring in agricultural areas of the Loess Plateau. Profit-ability is still restricted however, because of a three month summer fallow period between harvest and planting of the subsequent wheat crop. During this 3 month period 60% of the annual precipitation occurs, limiting the effective use of soil water and compounding the risk of soil erosion. Thus it is important to cultivate some forage crops with higher water consumption, protecting the ecological environment …

Using Forages To Conserve Water In Semi-Arid Irrigated Cropping Systems, Rick Kellison, V. G. Allen, C. P. Brown, D. L. Doerfert, P. N. Johnson, S. J. Maas, C. P. West

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The Texas High Plains are part of the largest, contiguously irrigated cropland in the USA, and draws water from the Ogallala aquifer. High crop prices, increased demand for maize for ethanol production, and severe drought have increased water depletion rates. Research has shown that integrating forages and grazing cattle into the cotton-dominant cropping system can reduce overall water use (Allen et al. 2012) while still offering farmers positive net returns (Johnson et al. 2013). Integrating forages with row crops also reduces needs for nitrogen (N) fertilizer, rebuilds soil organic matter (Acosta-Martinez et al. 2010), and reduces fossil energy …

Flexible Forage Systems For Variable Water Supplies, Mary-Jane E. Rogers, Alister Lawson, Kevin Kelly

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The dairy industry in northern Victoria, Australia is primarily based on the border check irrigation of temperate forage species over the spring to autumn period. Traditionally, dairy cows have grazed the perennial species (white clover and perennial ryegrass) and annual pastures (based on short-lived ryegrasses and subterranean or Persian clover). However, due to a more variable climate – particularly a period where the annual rainfall has been significantly less than the long-term average – the summer irrigation allocations have been substantially lower and more variable than the preceding 20-30 years. Under this climate scenario, dairy farmers are re-evaluating their feed …

Delayed Sowing Decreased Lucerne Dry Matter Yield Over Two Seasons, Richard Sim, Derrick Moot

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) can be sown in New Zealand from late spring (October) to early autumn (March). In the establishment season, greatest drymatter (DM) yields are normally attained from sowing early and production lost from delayed sowing is only considered in the establishment season. The objective of this research is to determine if sowing date continues to have an effect on DM yield in year two and how the partitioning of DM between the above and below ground plant fractions is influenced by sowing date.

Dynamic Simulation And Definition Of Crop Coefficient For Typical Steppe In Inner Mongolia, China, Hou Qiong

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

There are few reference values for crop coefficients for natural grassland in FAO Irrigation and Drainage papers. The aim of this paper was to define crop coefficients under different water conditions for typical steppe vegeation in Inner Mongolia, based on actual observation data and statistical analysis, so as to accurately calculate the water demand and actual evapotranspiration of plant community in Inner Mongolia.

The North Wyke Farm Platform: Methodologies Used In The Remote Sensing Of The Quantity And Quality Of Drainage Water, Bruce A. Griffith, Jane M. B. Hawkins, Robert J. Orr, Martin S. A. Blackwell, Phil J. Murray

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The North Wyke Farm Platform(NWFP) for agri-environmental research in temperate grassland was established in the UK in 2010 (Orr et al. 2011). Here we describe the instrumentation and methodologies used to monitor the quantity and quality of drainage water at a total of 15 H-flumes draining 5 sub-catchments within three farmlets. Each of 15 flume laboratories is supplied with 3 kW of mains power and connected to both fibre optic and UHF (Ultra High Frequency) radio networks for data exchange. The radio data network also provides telemetry for rain gauges and soil temperature/moisture probes located away from the flumes …

Managing Water Resources In Australian Temperate Pastures, David Mitchell

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Increasing the amount of perennial vegetation changes the water balance at both farm and catchment scale. At the farm scale, changes to the flows of water and salt are generally as expected, though some perverse outcomes may occur, such as a shortage of surface water for stock. From a catchment perspective, downstream users are little affected by decreases in streamflow volumes, river flows appear to be more typical of pristine flows, and upstream landholders benefit from improved resilience.

Effect Of Water Harvesting And Re-Seeding On Forage Biomass Production From Rangelands In Sheikan Locality, North Kordofan State, Sudan, Sahar Ezzat, Mekki A. Omer, Babo Fadlalla

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

This study was conducted at Sheikan Locality, North Kordofan State, Sudan. The area has a unimodal annual rainfall of 300-400 mm occurring during July-October. The main economic activities are crop and livestock production. Livestock are raised either under sedentary or migratory systems where natural grazing is practiced. The dominant livestock species are sheep, cattle, goats and camels. A main determinant of livestock production is low forage production resulting from low soil moisture due to low total precipitation and is also due to poor water infiltration rate associated with the prevalent type of sandy clay soils locally known as “gardud”. These …

Soil And Water Conservation And Integrated Management In Watershed Ecosystem Of The Loess Plateau, China, Guobin Liu, Gaolin Wu, Guoliang Wang, David Mitchell

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The Loess Plateau is well known for severe soil erosion and ecosystem degradation. The key issues in this region are the food security (grain), ecological security and a sustainable economy. This paper reviews a range of studies on ecological restoration, and management and the benefit at watershed scale on the Loess Plateau. This includes several successful cases and failures in soil conservation. The paper presents practical soil conservation measures and related benefit analysis, and discusses some effective methods adopted in soil erosion control, research directions and future perspectives for the Loess Plateau.

Soil Quality Parameters And Carbon Stock As Influenced By Fodder Grasses And Organic Amendments In An Alfisol Of Northeastern India, Anup Das, G. Ramkrushna, Jayanta Layek, A. S. Panwar, S. V. Ngachan, D. P. Patel

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Intensive tillage, cultivation along the slope, low input, minimal nutrient replacement and high rainfall are among major causes of land degradation in the north eastern hill (NEH) region (Ghosh et al. 2009). Maintaining and enhancing soil quality are crucial to sustaining agricultural productivity and environmental quality (Lal, 2004). Continuous cropping, without use of conservation-effective measures, has negative effects on the soil and environment (e.g., loss of SOC, soil erosion, water pollution). Thus, soil management methods are needed that enhance use efficiency of inputs, reduce losses and minimize adverse impacts on the environment (Bilalis et al. 2009). Perennial grasses provide …

A Method For Assessing Multiples Ecosystem Services From Grasslands Based On Vegetation Characteristics. An Example From Norwegian Semi-Natural Grasslands, Simon Taugourdeau, Line Johansen, Sølvi Wehn

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Ecosystem services are human benefits provided by ecosystems and related to the characteristics of the vegetation (de Bello et al., 2010).Semi-natural grasslands provide a large set of ecosystem services and are thus important ecosystems in boreal landscapes. The vegetation of semi-natural grasslands differ regarding land use, soil and climate. Consequently, also provision of ecosystem services from semi-natural grasslands will vary among various types of semi-natural grasslands. Here, we propose a method to develop indicators of ecosystem services from semi-natural grassland using the DEXI® software (Bohanec and Raikovic, 1990).

Pastoral Land Use And Grazing Measurement Through Remotely Sensed Data, Mahesh Kumar Gaur, Arun Kumar Misra, Khem Chand, Mounir Louhaichi, Douglous E. Johnson, M. M. Roy, Ashutosh Sarker

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

About 60 percent of the world's pasture land (about 2.2 million sq km), just less than half the world's usable surface is covered by grazinglands. These are distributed between arid, semi arid and sub humid, humid, temperate and tropical highlands zones. This supports about 360 million cattle (half of which are in the humid savannas), and over 600 million sheep and goats, mostly in the arid rangelands (grasslands) (IFAD, 2005). Grasslands around the world can have drastically different grazing management systems depending on the political, social, economic, and cultural settings. Livestock grazing is the predominant type of land use, providing …

Modeling Of The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Derived Radioactive Cesium Dynamics In Grazing Grassland, Mikinori Tsuiki, Moe Yamashita, Yasuko Togamura, Fumiaki Akiyama, Kiyoshi Hirano, Daigo Yamada, Yasuyuki Ide, Takeshi Shibuya

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant incurred following the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 resulted in serious radioactive pollution of Eastern Japan. In some grasslands of this area, radioactive cesium (Cs) content of grasses exceeded the provisional safety standard for use as feed for dairy and beef cattle of 100 Bq kg^–1 fresh weight, and the livestock industry has been seriously affected in numerous ways: needing to dispose of polluted forage, grazing prohibitions, declines in beef prices, suspensions of shipping beef to market, and blanket testing of beef cattle (Manabe et …

The Value Of Modeling Botanical Composition Change In Grasslands, Karl Behrendt

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The integration of grassland dynamics, livestock production and economics is necessary to improve decision making regarding grassland resource development and management. Within a sward, the relative competitive ability of different species and the way management interacts with the environment both play a significant role in determining the competition between species, future states of the grassland sward, ecological impact of the grassland and its potential for livestock production (Kemp and King, 2001). The impact of botanical composition shifts on grassland productivity will depend on the nutritive value and yield potential of the invasive species against those of the resident species. The …

Bfast: A Replacement Of Climate Indicators For Monitoring Time-Series Using Modis, Naghmeh Gholami Baghi, Jens Oldeland

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Monitoring changes is critical information for rangeland management because vegetation is seasonally fluctuating green base protection of soil, therefore it is necessary to evaluate it at long-term period. In this study, abrupt and gradual trend changes were detected using BFAST and EVI-16 days of MODIS production. Time series results showed that 2000-2003 period was stable history and abrupt changes included 2003 onwards on monitoring history. The most negative trends were situated at center above of area with salty soil. Other parts of study area had positive and moderate trend. Our results suggest that BFAST is an automatic and repeatable …

Remote Sensing And Gis Techniques For Forage Production Assessment And Management Of Northern Chhattisgarh In India, Nur Salim Ekka, S. K. Gupta

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Grasslands play a vital ecological and environmental role in global carbon balance and climate change. In the prairie provinces of Canada, grasslands occupy approximately 25 M ha of the land base and provide a valuable resource to the multi-billion dollar cattle industry. In recent years, remote sensing technology has been applied for estimating the fractional cover of arid grasslands and savannah ecosystems (Asner and Heidebrecht, 2003; Marsett et al. 2006; Guerschman et al., 2009). Grassland, a specific ecosystem, occurs naturally on all continents excluding Antarctica (White et al., 2000). Remote sensing imagery needs to be converted into tangible information …

Assessment Of Grasslands And Livestock Production In Kangra Valley Of Himachal Pradesh, S. Radotra, Inder Dev, A. Kanan, Birbal Singh

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

In Himachal Pradesh 89.96 percent as per 2011 census of population lives in rural areas. The mainstay of the people of Himachal Pradesh is agriculture and has an important place in the economy of the State. Agricultural census shows that 87.95 percent of the total holdings are of small and marginal. Rearing of livestock is an integral component of rural economy (Anonymous, 2014). Livestock depend to a certain extent on fodder and grass grown on common property resources (CPR) as well as on crops and residues. Animal production is an integral part and forms part of the earning of small …

Effect Of Plateau Pika (Ochotonacurzionae) Disturbance On Soil Microelements Content In Alpine Meadow, Tingting Jia, Zhenggang Guo, Yu Xiao, Yuying Shen

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The plateau pika (Ochotonacurzoniae) creates the extensive disturbance on alpine meadow ecosystem in the QinghaiTibetan Plateau (Smith and Foggin, 1999, Delibes-Mateos et al., 2011), especially on soil nutrient (Davidson et al., 2012). Previous studies show that intermediate active burrows of plateau pika improved soil macro-element (organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus) in alpine meadow (Guo et al., 2012). However, there is little knowledge about the underlying contribution of plateau pika disturbance in determining soil microelement in alpine meadow. The density of active burrow entrances is used to divide the disturbances levels of plateau pika to …

Range Dynamic And Sustainability Of Mediterranean Grassland, Zalmen Henkin, Eugene D. Ungar, Avi Perevolotsky, Yehuda Yehuda, Serge Landau, Marcelo Sternberg

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Mediterranean grasslands are a highly diverse and complex ecological resource of considerable economic and environmental importance. Herbaceous plant production that determines the carrying capacity of these grasslands for beef cattle husbandry is not only influenced by climatic factors, habitat characteristics, soil fertility and depth, but also by the stocking density and the nature of the grazing system (Gutman et al., 1999). The yearly Mediterranean pasture cycle is characterized by a temperate, winter-spring growing season and a hot, dormant, summer-autumn dry season. Consequently, pasture growth dynamics result in extremely low biomass availability at the beginning of the rainy season and …

Net Herbage Accumulation Rate (Nhar) Of Plantain And Chicory Based Sward Mixes, Sharini Carol Somasiri, Paul R. Kenyon, Peter D. Kemp, Patrick C. H. Morel, Stephen T. Morris

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The managed grasslands of New Zealand have a range of forage species comprising grasses and legumes that can be grown and utilised in a wide range of conditions (Saggar et al., 2007). Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens) are the dominant grass and legume species found in these grasslands (Hodgson et al., 2005; Waghorn and Clark, 2004). Annual pasture production is affected by the soil moisture status, nutrient levels and temperatures (Valantine and Kemp, 2007). Therefore, monthly pasture production can vary from year to year. Net herbage accumulation rate (NHAR) is …

Inventory Of Important Fodder Plants Of Ladakh Himalaya, Suheel Ahmad, J. P. Singh, D. K. Verma

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

In Ladakh, livestock rearing is a major activity in the livelihoods of the population and contributes greatly to income generation in the region and therefore alleviating poverty. In agro-pastoral animal husbandry systems of Leh, Khaltsey, and Nubra blocks and limited areas in Nyoma and Durbok, villagers live in settled communities and practice sedentary agriculture, but they also keep relatively large herds of livestock to augment income and meet dietary and fibre subsistence needs (Ahmed, 2002). Due to prolonged and extreme cold winter, the agriculture season is very short which starts from May and ends by September depending upon different altitudes. …