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Agronomy
Volume 12
Issue 8
10.3390/agronomy12081893
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Review
Peer-Review Record

Bridging Ecology and Agronomy to Foster Diverse Pastures and Healthy Soils

Agronomy 2022, 12(8), 1893; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12081893
by Kinsey Reed and Ember M. Morrissey *
Reviewer 1: Anonymous
Reviewer 2:
Yoshiharu Fujii
Agronomy 2022, 12(8), 1893; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12081893
Submission received: 30 June 2022 / Revised: 5 August 2022 / Accepted: 9 August 2022 / Published: 12 August 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management of Grasslands: Forage Growth and Nutritive Composition, Livestock Grazing and Performance)

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript reviewed 87 papers to reach its aims: 1) to outline the current state of knowledge about ecological and agronomical aspects of pasture plant diversity and soil health, and 2) to make practical suggestions for the improvement of pasture-based production systems. The title and the keywords reflect both the aims and the content of the review perfectly.

Although I consider this manuscript a well-designed, well-written, valuable review, my opinion about this topic is that it is impossible to reach the optimal level of productivity and sustainability of grazed grassy production systems without trees and woody shrubs incorporated to the herbaceous pasture plant community (functions: increased structural diversity, shadow, wind protection, extra microhabitats, fallen leaves as soil cover, pollen source and pollen trap, dew trap etc.).  It would be wise to make it clear for the readers that the present review excludes this topic, but it is strongly recommended for author teams to review those scientific works that deal with the role of woody landscape elements in the improvement of productivity, diversity and soil health of pasture ecosystems.

I suggest to rephrase Table 1 legend, because it does not show any effect of plant diversity on anything. It simply provides data of case studies without proving any 'cause and effect' relationship. It is not a problem, 'cause and effect' relationship between measured parameters of natural, complex ecosystems is normally not proveable because of the infinite number of unknown factors. This table is descriptive with a limited number of cited cases, so the legend should reflect it.

Author Response

See attached. Thank you.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

This review is worth in this field of research. Please see attached PDF for my comments.  Table 1 is most important, and you should cite these papers directly from original papers.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

See attached. Thank you.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Well revised according to my previous comments. 

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