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Volume 13
Issue 4
10.3390/su13042163
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Article

Multi-Scale Evaluation of Dominant Factors (MSDF) on Forage: An Ecosystemic Method to Understand the Function of Forage

by
Shanning Lou
,
Jiao Ning
,
Cheng Zhang
,
Chunmei Wang
,
Wanhe Zhu
,
Shenghua Chang
and
Fujiang Hou
*
College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2163; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042163
Submission received: 10 December 2020 / Revised: 4 January 2021 / Accepted: 10 January 2021 / Published: 18 February 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems: The Role of Innovative Amendments in Crop Production Under Polluted Environments)
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Abstract

Grassland agroecosystem plays a key role on resource cycling and sustainability of global ecosystem. Forage is the basic factor and core of the grassland agroecosystem. At a single scale, the most of forage evaluation remain in a state of qualitative or quantitative evaluation, and lack a series of quantitative evaluation at multi spatial scales and influence of society, environment and economy. This study collected dominant indicators at micro, plot, farm, ecoregional and macro scales to compile a systemic evaluation of forage in agroecosystems. A case study is presented for forage evaluation by using plot, farm, and regional data from an arid region of Gansu, China. Multi-scale evaluation of dominant factors (MSDF) was used to aggregate forage evaluation indicators. Results showed that the scale of evaluation had significant effects on the results of the evaluation. The evaluation results of the single index for the same forage species among plot, farm and ecoregional scales were different. Results implied that forage MSDF are needed to guide the evaluation of forage and then production of forage and herbivore in the future. An appropriate scale of evaluation could be selected in term of the forage production objectives and moreover, MSDF evaluation of forage should be used to improve the environmental, social and productive evaluation of forage in a grassland agroecosystems.
Keywords: forage evaluation; forage quality; multi-scale; social effect; macro scale forage evaluation; forage quality; multi-scale; social effect; macro scale

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MDPI and ACS Style

Lou, S.; Ning, J.; Zhang, C.; Wang, C.; Zhu, W.; Chang, S.; Hou, F. Multi-Scale Evaluation of Dominant Factors (MSDF) on Forage: An Ecosystemic Method to Understand the Function of Forage. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2163. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042163

AMA Style

Lou S, Ning J, Zhang C, Wang C, Zhu W, Chang S, Hou F. Multi-Scale Evaluation of Dominant Factors (MSDF) on Forage: An Ecosystemic Method to Understand the Function of Forage. Sustainability. 2021; 13(4):2163. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042163

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lou, Shanning, Jiao Ning, Cheng Zhang, Chunmei Wang, Wanhe Zhu, Shenghua Chang, and Fujiang Hou. 2021. "Multi-Scale Evaluation of Dominant Factors (MSDF) on Forage: An Ecosystemic Method to Understand the Function of Forage" Sustainability 13, no. 4: 2163. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042163

APA Style

Lou, S., Ning, J., Zhang, C., Wang, C., Zhu, W., Chang, S., & Hou, F. (2021). Multi-Scale Evaluation of Dominant Factors (MSDF) on Forage: An Ecosystemic Method to Understand the Function of Forage. Sustainability, 13(4), 2163. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042163

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