Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Grass And Forage Improvement: Temperate Forages, Chris J. Pollock, M. T. Abberton, M. O. Humphreys

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

1. Plant breeding has contributed significantly to the development of effective grassland production systems.
2. New technologies offer enhanced precision in breeding and access to wider genetic variation.
3. The requirement for more sustainable production systems will require genetic improvements in complex traits where the use of new technology will be vital.

Rising Demand For Meat And Milk In Developing Countries: Implications For Grasslands-Based Livestock Production2, C. L. Delgado

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

1. Meat and milk consumption in developing countries has grown three times as fast as in developed countries over the past 30 years.
2. By 2020, developing countries will consume 72 million metric tons (mmt) more meat and 152 mmt more milk compared to 2002/3, dwarfing developed-country increases of 9 mmt for meat and 18 mmt for milk.
3. Ruminant livestock will account for 27% of the increase in global meat consumption between 2003 and 2020, up from 23% over the previous two decades.
4. The inflation-adjusted prices of livestock and feed grains are expected to fall only marginally by 2020, compared to precipitous …

Grassland In Ireland And The Uk, Myles Rath, S. Peel

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

1. Grassland is the dominant land use option in Ireland and the UK, and is characterised by a long growing season.
2. Dynamic, interactive systems of grassland management have been developed which combine high grass dry matter intakes with good sward quality. In the better grassland areas milk yields in excess of 7000 kg/cow are attainable with low levels of concentrate supplementation. In the times to come, measures to protect the environment will constrain stocking rates, and fertiliser and manure use on intensive grassland enterprises.
3. A high proportion of beef and sheep farms participate in voluntary, EU-funded agri- environmental schemes that promote …

How Herbivores Optimise Diet Quality And Intake In Heterogeneous Pastures, And The Consequences For Vegetation Dynamics, R. Baumont, Cécile Ginane, F. Garcia, P. Carrère

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Understanding the interplay between foraging behaviour and vegetation dynamics in heterogeneous pasture is an essential requirement for evaluating the value of the resource for large herbivores and for managing that resource. The orientation of selective grazing behaviour between intake and diet quality depends on the spatial and temporal scales considered. In the short-term scale of a grazing sequence, there is evidence that large herbivores tend to optimise the intake rate of digestible materials by adaptation of their biting behaviour and by patch choice. On a day-to-day scale, there is evidence that large herbivores tend to prioritise the quality of the …

Land Use History And The Build-Up And Decline Of Species Richness In Scandinavian Semi-Natural Grasslands, O. Eriksson, S. A. O. Cousins, R. Lindborg

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Scandinavian semi-natural grasslands have an exceptionally high small-scale species richness. In the past, these grasslands covered extensive areas but they have declined drastically during the last century. How species richness of semi-natural grasslands was built up during history, and how species respond to land use change, are discussed. The agricultural expansion from the late Iron Age was associated with increasing grassland extent and spatial predictability, resulting in accumulation of species at small spatial scales. Although few species directly depend on management, the specific composition of these grasslands is a product of haymaking and grazing. Grassland fragmentation initially has small effects …

Recreating Pastoralist Futures, T. J. P. Lynam

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Research experience in southern Africa is used to reflect on key determinants of pastoral futures and how they might need to be addressed. The paper begins with a brief review of what we mean by marginality. A set of observations on key issues defining the option sets for pastoralism in the future is then presented. The first of these is that only a small number of structures or processes actually control the behaviour of social-ecological systems such as pastoralist systems. A second observation is that the future is so uncertain that there is a need to learn to design for …

Challenges And Opportunities For Sustainable Rangeland Pastoral Systems In The Edwards Plateau Of Texas, J. W. Walker, J. L. Johnson, C. A. Taylor Jr.

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

This paper focuses on pastoral systems in an area of west-central Texas known as the Edwards Plateau. These rangelands have a combination of grass, forb and browse species and are used primarily for combinations of grazing by cattle, sheep, goats and wildlife. A major ecological challenge is woody plant encroachment. Stocking rate is the major factor affecting sustainability and historically this area was heavily grazed. Today the stocking rate is half or less of its historical peak. Species of livestock has shifted from predominantly small ruminant to cattle. About 70 % of pastoralists use some sort of rotational grazing system. …

Working Within Constraints: Managing African Savannas For Animal Production And Biodiversity, J. T. Du Toit

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The mean density of livestock biomass on African rangelands now greatly exceeds that of indigenous large herbivores, although livestock cannot fully substitute for wildlife with respect to co-evolved ecosystem processes involving herbivory. The dominance of livestock in semi-arid rangelands is largely due to water provision, which uncouples livestock population dynamics from the rainfall-driven trajectories followed by indigenous ungulate species in wildlife areas. Ecological sustainability cannot be achieved with a few exotic species maintained at unprecedented biomass densities in savanna ecosystems, which are evolutionarily adapted for species-rich communities of ungulates of a wise range of sizes. Integrating wildlife and livestock in …

Diversity And Variation In Nutritive Value Of Plants Growing On 2 Saline Sites In Southwestern Australia, H. C. Norman, R. A. Dynes, D. G. Masters

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

In south-western Australia 10% or 1.8 million ha of the farmed area is affected by dryland salinity and a further 6 million ha are at risk of salinity (NLWRA, 2001). Animal production from saltbush (Atriplex spp.)-based pasture systems represents the most likely large-scale opportunity for productive use of saline land in the short to medium term. Feeding saltbush-based pastures as a maintenance feed during the prolonged autumn feed gap typical in Mediterranean-type climates maximises their economic value. The aim of this study was to explore the diversity and nutritive value of plants that typically persist in saltbush-based saltland pastures.

The Long Road To Developing Native Herbaceous Summer Forage Legume Ecotypes, J. P. Muir, T. J. Butler, W. R. Ocumpaugh

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Only a handful of well-adapted herbaceous summer forage legumes are currently marketed for drier regions of North America and even fewer are true natives. There is a growing demand for native germplasm in the region as a new generation of landowner attempts to return grasslands to a semblance of their original species and diversity. The objective of this paper is to describe preliminary research results of a grasslands team collecting, studying and promulgating native leguminous germplasm in Texas.

Selecting Grassland Species For Saline Environments, M. E. Rogers, A. D. Craig, T. D. Colmer, R. Munns, S. J. Hughes, P. M. Evans, P. G. H. Nichols, R. Snowball, D. Henry, J. Deretic, B. Dear, M. Ewing

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

In Australia, around 5.7 million hectares of agricultural land are currently affected by dryland salinity or at risk from shallow water tables and this figure is expected to increase over the next 50 years (LWRA, 2001). Most improved grassland species cannot tolerate the combined effects of salt and waterlogging and, therefore, the productivity of sown grasslands in salt-affected areas is low. However, there is potential to overcome the lack of suitably adapted fodder species by introducing new, salt and waterlogging-tolerant species and by diversifying the gene pool of proven species. Potential species include exotic, naturalised and native Australian grass, legumes, …

Mortality Model For A Perennial Grass In Australian Semi-Arid Wooded Grasslands Grazed By Sheep, K. C. Hodgkinson, W. J. Muller

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Grazing Animal Production Systems And Grazing Land Characteristics In A Semi-Arid Region Of Greece, I. Hadjigeorgiou, G. Economou, D. Lolis, N. Moustakas, G. Zervas

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Rough grazing in Greece cover about 40% of the total land area, is publicly owned and managed extensively (Hadjigeorgiou et al., 2002). The Prefecture of Larisa is in the centre of Greece, and has 212,000 ha of rough grazing land, with a variable topography ranging from sea level up to 3,000 m a.s.l. This area is utilized by a total population of 135,000 LU (mainly sheep, goats and some suckler cows), which consumes annually an appreciable fraction of their total nutrient requirements from rough grazing.

The Productivity Of Coastal Meadows In Finland, R. Nevalainen, S. Jaakola, A. Huuskonen, J. Kiljala, E. Joki-Tokola

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The coastal meadows of Finland have gained a new interest as a summer pasture for cattle. These habitats have great historical, aesthetic and biological value (Pessa & Anttila, 2000). Typical features of the coastal meadows are the varying vegetation zones and wet, sometimes waterlogged, soils. The meadows are important nesting and feeding habitats for many water birds. When grazing ceases, reeds, trees and shrubs take over and the area loses its openness. Lately the amount of grasslands and pastures has drastically declined all over Europe. In Finland, the area of semi-natural biotopes has decreased to 1% of what it had …

Grass And Forage Plant Improvement In The Tropics And Sub-Tropics, Liana Jank, C. B. Do Valle, Rosangela M. S. Resende

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

1. The majority of tropical and subtropical forage grass genera and/or species have not yet been collected, or need further collection to be representative of their natural distribution.
2. New biotechnological techniques will only result in the release of superior forage cultivars if supported by strong breeding programs.
3. More funding and investment in the formation of strong public research teams in forage conservation and improvement are needed to guarantee the sustainability of tropical and subtropical pasture-based livestock systems in the future.
4. The creation of a permanent international working group on tropical and subtropical forages is essential to assist the International Plant Genetic …

Artificial Intelligence, Basic Skills, And Quantitative Literacy, Gizem Karaali

Numeracy

The introduction in November 2022 of ChatGPT, a freely available language-based artificial intelligence, has led to concerns among some educators about the feasibility and benefits of teaching basic writing and critical thinking skills to students in the context of easily accessed, AI-based cheating mechanisms. As of now, ChatGPT can write pretty convincing student-level prose, but it is still not very good at answering quantitatively rich questions. Therefore, for the time being, the preceding concerns may not be shared by a large portion of the numeracy education community. However, as Google and WolframAlpha are definitely capable of answering standard and some …

Beyond Statistical Significance: A Holistic View Of What Makes A Research Finding "Important", Jane E. Miller

Numeracy

Students often believe that statistical significance is the only determinant of whether a quantitative result is “important.” In this paper, I review traditional null hypothesis statistical testing to identify what questions inferential statistics can and cannot answer, including statistical significance, effect size and direction, causality, generalizability, and changeability of the independent variable. I illustrate these issues with examples from an empirical study of the association between how much time teenagers spent playing video games and time spent reading. I describe how study design and context determine each of those aspects of “importance,” and close by summarizing how to provide a …

Establishing The Validity And Reliability Of The Locus Assessments, Tim Jacobbe, Bob Delmas, Brad Hartlaub, Jeff Haberstroh, Catherine Case, Steven Foti, Douglas Whitaker

Numeracy

The development of assessments as part of the funded LOCUS project is described. The assessments measure students’ conceptual understanding of statistics as outlined in the GAISE PreK–12 Framework. Results are reported from a large-scale administration to 3,430 students in grades 6 through 12 in the United States. Items were designed to assess levels of understanding as well as components of the statistical problem solving process as articulated in the GAISE framework. We discuss details of how the model used to develop the LOCUS assessments guided the gathering of evidence for validity and reliability arguments. Three types of validity evidence are …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture For Growing West Coast Venus Clams, Avery Wallace

Theses

With demand for sustainable sources of seafood on the rise, California is looking to expand aquaculture with a focus on innovative culturing methods and use of native or resident species. Therefore, this study examined the potential for culturing native North American west coast venus clams (Chione californiensis and Chione undatella) using integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). An ITMA approach was chosen because it is a culture method that uses species from different but functionally complementary trophic levels that have been found to reduce the potential negative effects of traditional monoculture. California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) and the seaweeds red ogo (Gracilaria …

Reconnaissance Of Landslides And Debris Flows Associated With The July 2022 Flooding In Eastern Kentucky, Matt M. Crawford, Zhenming Wang, Seth Carpenter, Jonathan Schmidt, Hudson J. Koch, Jason M. Dortch

Report of Investigations--KGS

Between July 25 and July 30, 2022, a series of convective storms generated approximately 14–16 inches of rainfall across parts of eastern Kentucky, predominately in Clay, Leslie, Perry, Breathitt, Knott, and Letcher Counties. The peak rainfall occurred on the evening of July 27 and the morning of July 28, with the hardest-hit areas experiencing more than 10 inches in a 24-hour period. The historic rainfall led to catastrophic flooding along many rivers and streams, but also triggered widespread landslides and debris flows that damaged roads, homes, property, and other infrastructure. Once initial relief and recovery efforts were established, the Kentucky …

Chatgpt And The Rise Of Ai, Derek C. Schuurman

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Derek C. Schuurman considers the rise of AI from a Christian perspective in January 2023 in a blog post for the Christian Scholar's Review asking questions such as "how are people distinct from machines?" and "how can we discern norms for the responsible use of AI?" This blog post was one of the 2024 Word Awards Winners Honouring the Best of Canadian Christian Writing from 2023.

https://thewordguild.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TWA-2024-Media-Release-Winners-List.pdf

Problems And Countermeasures For Construction Of China’S Salt Cavern Type Strategic Oil Storage, Xilin Shi, Xinxing Wei, Chunhe Yang, Hongling Ma, Yinping Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Oil is an important strategic energy source, and the establishment of sufficient oil storage is a major need to ensure the political, economic and national defense security of the country. China's outer dependence for oil has exceeded 70% for three consecutive years, but the oil storage is extremely low. Underground salt caverns are internationally recognized as excellent places for large-scale oil storage, developed countries in Europe and the United States have built several salt cavern oil storages in the last century. The construction of salt cavern oil storage is expected to become an effective way to solve China's oil crisis. …

Impacts Of Tectonic Subsidence On Basin Depth And Delta Lobe Building, Tian Y. Dong, Jeffrey A. Nittrouer, Brandee Carlson, Brandon Mcelroy, Elena Il’Icheva, Maksim Pavlov, Hongbo Ma

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Channel avulsions on river deltas are the primary means to distribute sediment and build land at the coastline. Many studies have detailed how avulsions generate delta lobes, whereby multiple lobes amalgamate to form a fan-shaped deposit. These studies often assume steady subsidence and uniform basin depth. In nature, however, lobe building is disrupted by variable subsidence, and progradation of lobes into basins with variable depth: conditions that are prevalent for tectonically active areas. Herein, we explore sediment dispersal and deposition patterns across scales using measurements of delta and basin morphology compiled from field surveys and remote sensing, collected over 150 …

High-Quality Energy Development And Energy Security Under The New Situation For China, Guofa Wang, He Liu, Dandan Wang, Yihui Pang, Lixin Wu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Energy security is the cornerstone of national security and stable development, and high-quality energy development is the fundamental guarantee for long-term national economic growth. This study analyzes the complicated domestic and international environmental impacts of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the United States energy rule, and the rigid demand for domestic energy consumption growth. It also analyzes the uncertainty of domestic energy transformation and development. Then, the study summarizes the enlightenment of China's energy development. Furthermore, based on China's energy structure and resource endowment, this study establishes an independent, controllable, safe and reliable integrated energy security system based on fossil energy, …

Role Of Transnational Oil And Gas Exploration And Development In Ensuring National Energy Security, Lirong Dou, Zuoqian Wang, Feng Gao, Xiaobing Liu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

United States is the founder of modern oil industry, which promoted the development of oil and gas in the world. By means of global layout of American oil companies, United States supercharges the backyard of North America while covets the forecourt of South America. United States realizes energy independence and opens energy hegemony during 70 years after World War II. On basis of reviewing the development history of American oil industry, this study analyzes the role of transnational oil and gas exploration, and development of Chinese national oil companies in ensuring national energy security. On the one hand, the entitlement …

Challenges Of International Turmoil Situation To China’S Energy Resource Security And Coping Strategies, Anjian Wang, Chunhui Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

China is at a critical stage of development from late industrialization to modernization, and is still in the basic conditions of energy resources supporting the sustainable development of the national economy. The world today is facing unprecedented turmoil situation since the end of the cold war. The ongoing political and military crisis in Europe has accelerated the transformation of the world's geopolitical map and profoundly affected the global supply, demand and trade pattern of energy resources. Nowadays, the "four circles and two systems" pattern of global oil and gas supply and demand is undergoing major adjustments, and the competition in …

Hydrocarbon Security Strategy And Carbon Peak And Carbon Neutral Strategy: Relationship And Path, Wenzhi Zhao, Kun Liang, Kun Wang, Shiguo Lin, Zhixin Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

A century of changes combined with the COVID-19 pandemic has sounded the alarm on energy security around the world. How to deeply understand the relationship between energy transition and energy security, and how to explore the path of China's energy security and the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality (abbreviated as "dual carbon") strategy have become a major problem. Based on detailed analyses of China's energy consumption predictions and dual carbon strategy requirements, this study proposes:(1) Energy security is the foundation of energy transition. The oil and gas shortage situation in China may persist for a long time. The "dual carbon" …

Theory And Technology Considerations On High-Quality Development Of Coal Main Energy Security In China, Liang Yuan

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Coal is the ballast of energy security in China. In order to guarantee the high-quality development of energy security, China strongly supports the innovative development of coal industry. This study systematically summarizes the innovative achievements of China in six aspects, i.e., coal resource exploration technology, coal and gas co-mining theory and technology, typical dynamic disaster risk identification and early warning monitoring technology, integrated mining and intelligent mining technology and equipment, coal high-efficiency and clean utilization and coal-based clean energy high-efficiency conversion technology, coal and new energy multi-energy synergy technology. The study deeply analyzes the current challenges faced in above mentioned …

Developing Ecological Security Pattern For Coastal Wetlands Based On “Three-Line Integration” Spatial Strategy, Xiaowen Li, Liehui Zhi, Tiantian Ma, Zengli Liu, Baoshan Cui, Dongdong Shao, Yu Cao, Yonglin Mu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Coastal wetlands function as key socioeconomic resources as well as ecological barriers for sustainable development in coastal regions. Although previous research and practices indicate that restoration of degraded wetlands needs combination with intact natural wetlands to achieve best integrated ecosystem services, this kind of integration is still lacking both in research and practice. In the past decades, increased land reclamation coupling with climate change (e.g. sea level rise) have led considerable coastal squeeze effects and intensified degradation and loss in coastal wetlands along Chinese coastline, restoration of damaged coastal wetlands is therefore urgently needed to enhance the overall ecological functions …

Mission Of New Energy Under Carbon Neutrality Goal In China, Caineng Zou, Yanpeng Chen, Bo Xiong, Hanlin Liu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, curbing the global temperature rise, and striving to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality are the initiatives and common pursuit of human beings confronting the climate change crisis. Carbon neutrality is a huge systemic project involving multiple disciplines and fields, and it requires a solid theoretical foundation and scientific methods to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, hence the emergence of carbon neutrality science. The theoretical connotation of carbon neutrality includes two "dynamic balances", namely, the dynamic balance between global carbon emission and carbon absorption, and the dynamic balance between human development and the natural environment, …