Search Results (154)

As one of the busiest airports in East China, effective bird-strike prevention is of paramount importance for Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport. Ground-dwelling insects in airport grasslands serve as a critical food source for insectivorous birds, making the study of insect communities essential for understanding bird activity patterns and mitigating bird-strike risks from a food chain perspective. This study investigates the communities of insects, birds, and vegetation in the flight zone and clear zone of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport. Based on monthly surveys conducted from January to December 2024, we analyzed insect community composition and diversity, assessed bird-strike risks, and examined correlations between insect and bird communities. The results recorded a total of 7744 birds belonging to 107 species, 43 families, and 15 orders in the flight zone and clear zone. Passeriformes was the most species-rich order, and resident birds dominated the avian community. Bird species richness and abundance peaked in spring and autumn. In the flight zone, 18 bird species (e.g., Hirundo rustica) were classified as highly hazardous (R ≥ 15, where R is the calculated risk index) or above. The vegetation survey identified Cynodon dactylon as the dominant plant species in the flight zone. Importantly, positive trends were observed between insectivorous birds and insect abundance, though correlations did not reach statistical significance. To reduce food availability for birds, we recommend stringent management of the grassland habitat in the flight zone, including targeted insect control measures. Given the airport’s location along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, enhanced bird dispersal efforts should be implemented during peak migration seasons. This study provides a crucial ecological foundation for developing an integrated “vegetation–insect–bird” management strategy for bird-strike prevention at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport and similar aviation hubs. Full article

In response to the complex erosion environment caused by periodic water level fluctuations, dry–wet cycles, and long-term water flow scouring on the Yangtze River bank, three typical soil-fixing and bank-protecting plants, Cynodon dactylon, Carex breviculmis, and Digitaria sanguinalis, which can adapt to both aquatic and terrestrial conditions, were selected for planting experiments. Tests on root–soil composite shear strength, disintegration, and water flow scouring were conducted to investigate the effects of different bank-protecting plants on bank stabilization. The results show that: 1. The root systems of the three plants significantly enhance the soil shear strength at various soil depths, but the reinforcing effect decreases with increasing soil depth. The cohesion strength of the root–soil composites ranks as Carex breviculmis > Digitaria sanguinalis > Cynodon dactylon, with maximum increases of 54.83 kPa, 20.66 kPa, and 6.5 kPa, respectively, equivalent to 3.16, 1.82, and 1.26 times that of bare soil. 2. Under dry–wet cycling, the water stability of the root–soil composites is significantly higher than that of bare soil. The disintegration residual rate of Cynodon dactylon and Digitaria sanguinalis decreased from 81.76% to 38.23% and from 80.18% to 34.34%, respectively, whereas Carex breviculmis showed only a slight decrease from 80.41% to 75.1%. Carex breviculmis exhibits the strongest stability and is least affected by dry–wet cycles, while the water stability of Cynodon dactylon and Digitaria sanguinalis declines noticeably with increasing cycle numbers. The plants’ ability to improve soil water stability ranks as Carex breviculmis > Cynodon dactylon > Digitaria sanguinalis. 3. The enhancement of bank erosion resistance is mainly attributed to the formation of a root-reinforced network, which strengthens the soil through root–soil interlocking and anchorage, thereby increasing resistance to flow-induced shear stress and reducing particle detachment under hydraulic action. The bank erosion resistance index ranks as Carex breviculmis > Cynodon dactylon > Digitaria sanguinalis, and decreasing with increasing runoff velocity. Compared to bare soil slopes, the maximum enhancement effects on bank erosion resistance are 75.1%, 63.3%, and 54.2% respectively. Full article

Seasonal fertilizer restriction periods (blackouts) are commonly implemented in Florida to reduce potential nutrient losses during the summer rainy season; however, their effects on sports turf performance under traffic stress are not well documented. A two-year field study (2022–2023) was conducted in Citra, FL, to evaluate the influence of nitrogen (N) fertilization timing and frequency on ‘Bimini’ bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L. Pers.) traffic tolerance and post-traffic recovery. Treatments included bi-weekly (24.4 kg N ha⁻¹) and monthly (48.8 kg N ha⁻¹) N applications, a pre-blackout (97.6 kg N ha⁻¹) N application, and a non-treated control. Simulated traffic was applied using a modified Baldree traffic simulator for a total of 60 traffic events each year. Turfgrass performance during traffic and recovery was assessed using percent green cover (PGC), dark green color index (DGCI), soil moisture, surface hardness, and rotational resistance. In both years, bi-weekly and monthly N applications consistently resulted in greater PGC and DGCI during traffic and recovery compared to the pre-blackout and non-treated treatments. The pre-blackout treatment provided limited and inconsistent benefits, particularly under prolonged traffic stress. Fertilizer effects on soil moisture and surface hardness varied between years, while rotational resistance was unaffected by treatment. These results indicate that reliance on pre-blackout fertilization alone may be insufficient to maintain bermudagrass traffic tolerance and recovery during periods of sustained traffic stress. Under sustained traffic pressure, applying a single fertilizer treatment just before the restriction period was less effective and produced inconsistent improvements in turfgrass coverage and color compared with staged fertilization during the growing season, reinforcing that routine N fertilization is necessary when turfgrass experiences sustained traffic. Full article

Vegetation in desert ecosystems is strongly affected by seasonal climatic fluctuations and soil physical and chemical properties. Rawdat Nourah is a natural watershed depression within the King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve in Saudi Arabia. It is colonized by grasses, herbs, and shrubs. Climatic variability and soil heterogeneity are influencing the vegetation dynamics and regeneration patterns in this ecosystem. Based on the literature review, no previous study analyzed and determined either the vegetation composition or the soil seed-bank of Rawdat Nourah. So, the general objective of this study is to examine the vegetation composition and its relationships with soil physicochemical properties and soil seed-bank composition across Rawdat Nourah across different seasons. Floristic analyses, vegetation composition, soil properties, and soil seed-bank were performed within two seasons (winter–spring and summer–fall seasons) of 2023–2024. The obtained data were analyzed using multivariate and statistical approaches. Six plant associations were identified: winter–spring (WVG I: Zilla spinosa–Malva parviflora; WVG II: Rhazya stricta–Zilla spinosa; WVG III: Cynodon dactylon–Convolvulus pilosellifolius) and summer–fall (SVG I: Calotropis procera–Pulicaria undulata; SVG II: Cynodon dactylon–Zilla spinosa; SVG III: Rhazya stricta–Schismus arabicus). Species richness was higher in winter–spring (2.4 species stand⁻¹) than in summer–fall (1.66 species stand⁻¹), while the seed-bank densities were 633.9 and 575.1 seeds m⁻², respectively. Vegetation responded strongly to marked seasonal contrasts in temperature and moisture (~15 °C, 11 mm vs. ~36 °C, 3 mm). Moderate human activity enhanced vegetation cover, whereas prolonged grazing exclusion reduced diversity through the dominance of a few species. The response of vegetation structure and species richness to climatic factors varies greatly depending on the increase in water availability, and moisture content during the mild weather Winter–Spring season (mean temperature is 15 °C and rainfall is 11 mm), compared to the Summer–Autumn season (mean temperature is 36 °C and rainfall is 3 mm). The richness and cover of the plants were generally affected by human activity, where long-term grazing will reduce species richness and increase competition between species, making one or two species dominant. Although above-ground vegetation exhibited clear seasonal and spatial shifts in species composition and abundance, these changes were not reflected in the soil seed-bank. This relation suggests that above-ground communities and seed-banks are regulated by different ecological processes under arid conditions. The data of the present study showed low correlation between the current vegetation and the soil seed bank, which reflects a degradation in this region. Therefore, these findings suggest that sustained protection of the King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve is essential for enhancing seed-bank persistence, vegetation recovery, and ecosystem resilience under arid conditions. Full article

Soil erosion poses a significant threat to slope stability and ecological functionality. The litter layer, with its complex physical structure, enhances surface roughness, mitigates direct rainfall impact, and improves rainwater interception and soil retention. A litter of three typical slope-protection plant species from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China (Cynodon dactylon, Indigofera amblyantha, and Cinnamomum camphora) was selected for this experiment. This study quantified the effects of litter mulch at four coverage levels (0, 500, 800, and 1000 g/m² based on dry mass) on slope runoff and sediment yield under simulated rainfall conditions at an intensity of 60 mm/h for a duration of one hour. The results indicated that (1) all litter types and coverage amounts effectively delayed the initiation of slope runoff, though their efficiencies in runoff and sediment reduction varied significantly. (2) Compared with the bare slope, the sediment yield in the plots covered with litter from Cynodon dactylon, Cinnamomum camphora, and Indigofera amblyantha decreased by 96.5%, 67.5%, and 9.4%, respectively, at a coverage of 800 g/m². Runoff yield decreased by 56.9% and 29.7% in the plots covered with Cynodon dactylon and Cinnamomum camphora litter, whereas Indigofera amblyantha litter cover instead increased runoff yield by 31.6%. (3) Furthermore, increasing litter coverage from 500 to 1000 g/m² progressively reduced runoff by 29% to 84% and sediment yield by 27.3% to 93.6% compared to the bare slope. These findings demonstrate the importance of litter cover in reducing runoff and soil erosion, offering quantitative support for optimizing vegetation-based slope management. Full article

The Water-Level-Fluctuation Zones (WLFZ) of the Lower Jinsha River, as a typical transition areas between land and water, show crucial ecological functions. However, the relationship between soil nutrients and microbial communities in different plant communities of the WLFZ is poorly understand. Therefore, we chose four typical plant communities, including Parthenium hysterophorus (P. hysterophorus), Ziziphus mauritiana (Z. mauritiana), Cynodon dactylon (C. dactylon), Zea mays (Z. mays), as a long-term plant communities experiment-monitoring site in a WLFZ of the Lower Jinsha River. By using high-throughput sequences, Mantel test and Mediation model, we explored the changing characteristics of soil nutrients and microbial communities, especially bacteria and fungi, and their driving role in the microbial stability in four typical plant communities. The results indicated that soil properties and enzyme activities noticeably changed among four types of different plant communities in the WLFZ, of which their P. hysterophorus and Z. mauritiana treatments were eventually higher than their of Z. mays and C. dactylon treatments. In the bacteria and fungi communities, the OTU number of P. hysterophorus and Z. mauritiana treatments were higher than their of C. dactylon and Z. mays treatments, which showed that the bacterial biomarkers only explained with the order, but the fungal biomarkers could explain with species. The bacterial and fungal diversity among four types of different plant communities in the WLFZ significantly changed such that the bacterial and fungal explanations of principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) was at 42.45% and 28.17%, respectively, and the anosim analysis of bacteria and fungi showed the p was 0.001 and the R was at 0.6995 and 0.7491. The bacterial and fungal co-occurrence network patterns presented that the bacterial community structure of the C. dactylon and P. hysterophorus treatments were the most complicated under the Z. mauritiana and Z. mays treatments, whereas the communities stability of C. dactylon and P. hysterophorus treatments were notably lower than that of their Z. mauritiana and Z. mays treatments. Lastly, the CCA, mantel test and intermediary analysis indicated pH served as the primary direct driver in the Z. mauritiana community, soil moisture exerted dominant effects in Z. mays and P. hysterophorus, while in C. dactylon, bacterial stability was indirectly modulated by pH mediated through SMC changes. This study highlights the major role of soil nutrients and enzyme activities in driving ecosystem stability of bacterial and fungal communities in four different plant communities in the WLFZ. Full article

Root functional traits are critical predictors for vegetation-mediated slope stabilization in reservoir drawdown zones. This study quantified the biomechanical linkage between single-root tensile traits and macro-scale soil shear strength for three dominant herbaceous species (Cynodon dactylon, Digitaria sanguinalis, and Imperata cylindrica) in the Three Gorges Reservoir. Single-root tests ($n=15$) revealed a robust diameter-dependent trade-off between tensile load capacity ($F_{max}$) and material efficiency (${\sigma }_t$). Direct shear tests on undisturbed root–soil composites demonstrated that root reinforcement significantly enhanced soil stability, primarily by increasing apparent cohesion (c) rather than internal friction. Cynodon dactylon exhibited the highest reinforcement efficacy, increasing cohesion by >50 kPa compared to root-free soil, supported by its superior tensile strength. These findings establish a trait-based mechanistic framework for species selection, suggesting that prioritizing species with high intrinsic tensile efficiency can effectively mitigate shallow erosion under fluctuating hydrological conditions. Full article

Autumn overseeding with cool-season turfgrass species is a widely adopted practice under Mediterranean climatic conditions to mitigate winter dormancy and loss of green color in bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon). This study evaluated, over two consecutive winter seasons (2022–2023 and 2023–2024), the performance of five cool-season turfgrass cultivars used for autumn overseeding on bermudagrass (‘Arden 15’) in Valencia, eastern Spain. The cultivars included Lolium multiflorum ‘Upstart’, Lolium perenne ‘CT7’ and ‘Sirtaky’, Poa pratensis ‘Liberator’, and Poa trivialis ‘Dasas’. Turf performance was assessed weekly from December to April using visual green color ratings, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) measured with two hand-held sensors (GreenSeeker and CropCircle), and normalized difference red edge index (NDRE). The area under the progress curve (AUPC) was calculated as an integrative indicator of turf performance over time. Winter temperature differences significantly influenced bermudagrass dormancy duration and overseeding response. Among the evaluated cultivars, ‘CT7’ consistently showed the highest winter greenness and vigor but exhibited a darker green color than bermudagrass, potentially reducing visual uniformity. The L. perenne ‘Sirtaky’ and P. pratensis ‘Liberator’ cultivars provided a closer chromatic match, although ‘Liberator’ established more slowly. The NDVI and NDRE measurements supported the visual assessments, though correlations between sensors varied among cultivars and seasons, with the GreenSeeker sensor detecting larger cultivar differences than the CropCircle sensor, particularly during colder winters. In addition, the AUPC proved to be an effective integrative metric for comparing cultivar performance over a defined period. Overall, overseeding effectively reduced winter discoloration of bermudagrass, with ‘Sirtaky’ emerging as the most balanced option for Mediterranean sports overseeding management on C. dactylon (‘Arden 15’). Full article

The spring transition in bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) overseeded with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) remains a major challenge in turf management due to persistent competition from the cool-season species. Conventional practices such as core cultivation can damage bermudagrass stands and delay recovery. This study evaluated a novel, non-damaging approach using a yeast-based fertilizer to enhance bermudagrass regrowth during the transition period. The fertilizer consisted of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and glucose applied as a soil drench. A greenhouse experiment was conducted over two years (2023–2024) using “Yangjiang” bermudagrass overseeded with “Wintergame” perennial ryegrass. Five treatments were compared: control (0 g·m⁻² yeast + 0 g·m⁻² glucose), yeast alone (200 g·m⁻²), and yeast combined with glucose at 100, 200, or 400 g·m⁻². Growth parameters were assessed at 7, 14, and 28 days after treatment. The application of 200 g·m⁻² yeast + 200 g·m⁻² glucose yielded the most significant improvements. At 14 days, bermudagrass shoot density and turf cover significantly (p < 0.05) increased by 45.81% and 129.51%, respectively, compared to the control. By 28 days, aboveground and belowground biomass significantly (p < 0.05) increased by 308.14% and 51.35%, respectively. Root system architecture was also significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced, with total root length, surface area, and volume rising by 62.05%, 40.59%, and 63.51%. These results demonstrate that yeast fertilizer strongly promotes bermudagrass shoot and root growth during spring transition, likely by generating CO₂ to improve soil porosity without physical turf injury. This method provides a practical and complementary strategy for managing overseeded turfgrass systems. Full article

Semantic segmentation and deep learning methods have rarely been applied to fractional vegetation cover (FVC) segmentation tasks due to the lack of publicly available datasets for training deep learning models. FVC is a key indicator for assessing vegetation distribution, crop density, and crop responses to water availability and fertilizer application, yet conventional field-based measurement methods are time consuming, costly, labor intensive, and may lack the accuracy required for critical applications such as drought stress evaluation and water productivity. In this paper, we introduced causality-based deep learning techniques for FVC segmentation on a publicly available RGB dataset that consists of four ground cover crops: Phyla nodiflora L., Cynodon dactylon, Frankenia thymifolia Desf., and Oxalis stricta L. By separating causal from spurious correlations in pretrained features, using the stepwise intervention and reweighting (SIR) method at different encoder stages reduced confounding bias and enabled the models to learn more generalizable and task-relevant features. Extensive experiments on the FVC dataset, conducted with and without causality learning, showed that the proposed FCN + ResNet-50 model with causality learning and data augmentation achieved an accuracy of 94.80%, a precision of 94.97%, a recall of 94.35%, and an F1-score of 94.62%, which outperformed non-causal baselines and state-of-the-art transformer-based models including SegFormer and Mask2Former. Full article

Radiometric calibration of multispectral imagery plays a critical role in the determination of vegetation-related features. This radiometric calibration strongly depends on a proper sensor configuration when acquiring images, the shutter speed being a critical parameter. The objective of the present study was to appraise the influence of shutter speed on the reflectance in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectral regions registered by a low-cost multispectral sensor (MAPIR Survey3) on a homogeneous field of turfgrass (Cynodon dactylon L.—Poaceae) and on the vegetation index (VI) values calculated from them, under different solar radiation conditions. For this purpose, 10 shutter speed configurations were tested in field campaigns with variable solar radiation values. The main results demonstrated that the reflectance in the green spectral region was more sensitive to shutter speed than that of the red and NIR spectral regions, particularly under high solar radiation conditions. Moreover, VIs calculated using the green band were more sensitive to slow shutter speeds, thus presenting a higher probability of providing meaningless artifact values. In conclusion, this study provides shutter speed recommendations under different illumination conditions to optimize the reflectance and the VI sensitivity within the image, which can be applied as a simple method to optimize image acquisition from unmanned aerial vehicles under varying solar radiation conditions. Full article

Nitrogen (N) uptake of managed turfgrasses in sand rootzones is of particular importance as it relates to reducing N leaching, reducing or maximizing N fertilizer applications, and optimizing overall plant quality. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine if the inclusion of a one-time application of soil surfactant tank-mixed with ammonium sulfate fertilizer (FERT) improved fertilizer longevity and bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L. Pers. × C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy, cv. ‘TifEagle’) quality (TQ), yield, leaf N content, N uptake (NUP), chlorophyll index (CI), and volumetric water content (VWC) under deficit irrigation. An untreated, fertilizer-only (Fert) (49 kg N·ha⁻¹), and non-ionic alkylpolyglycoside/ethylene oxide-propylene oxide (AEP) was tank-mixed with fertilizer at two rates, Fert+AEP(L) (1.17 L·ha⁻¹) or Fert+AEP(H) (1.75 L·ha⁻¹), to determine rate efficacy. In 2015, Fert and Fert+AEP(L) significantly increased TQ and CI, while in 2016, both AEP (L and H) significantly increased only TQ. VWC was significantly greater in untreated in 2015. At the end of the trials in 2015 and 2016, yield and NUP were significantly greater in Fert+AEP(H) and Fert+AEP(L), respectively, but leaf N content was not statistically significant between all fertilizer treatments. The role of surfactants in prolonging fertilizer effectiveness under deficit irrigation warrants further investigation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Animal health remains a critical issue that directly impacts economic sustainability through animal welfare and production. In small ruminants, the gastrointestinal parasite Haemonchus contortus can lead to anemia and possibly mortality, since parasite burden can be considerable and is challenging to control. Small ruminant health can be affected by poor diet and environmental conditions that lead to changes in the metabolic balance. The link between animal health and metabolic profiles has been investigated in the past. These studies have shed important light on physiological changes by identifying dietary and disease biomarkers. This study aimed to correlate the metabolite signature of feces from goats, having two levels of Haemonchus contortus infection, grazing on two different forages (Bermudagrass and Sunn Hemp). Methods: Fecal samples were taken from goats grazing either Sunn Hemp or Bermudagrass pastures, with naturally variable Haemonchus contortus loads. Samples were evaluated using ¹H-NMR and LC/MS methods to describe and compare metabolic patterns under varied forage conditions between low and high Fecal Egg Count (FEC). Results: Our findings indicated no significant difference using univariate analyses but identified 10 discriminatory features using multivariate analyses for Bermudagrass and Sunn Hemp using ¹H-NMR. With LC-MS, we found 14 significantly different features (p < 0.05, FC > 2), 115 discriminatory features for Bermudagrass and 113 in Sunn Hemp from multivariate analyses. Combining the findings of the two approaches suggested that Haemonchus contortus influenced several pathways associated with the metabolism of amino acids and energy conversion. Conclusions: The analysis of metabolome changes across both forages may help in revealing novel knowledge and accurate identification of possible biomarkers for gastrointestinal parasites. Further study is needed to validate the potential biomarker before deploying diagnostic tools based on the metabolomics indicators for early parasite diagnosis. Full article

Antimony (Sb) is a toxic metalloid and has become an increasingly prevalent contaminant in ecosystems. Previous studies have reported that Sb has severe toxic effects on plant growth. However, the molecular mechanisms of the response to Sb stress in plants still remain unclear. In the present study, common bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers.), ‘Yangjiang’ cultivar, was treated with 200 mg/mL of antimony potassium tartrate solution. Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis was conducted to investigate the mechanisms of the Sb stress response of bermudagrass. The results showed that, after Sb stress treatment, soluble protein content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and catalase (CAT) activity increased by 180.56%, 280%, and 112.61%, respectively, compared to the control. Meanwhile, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses identified numerous differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) that were involved in the Sb stress response of bermudagrass, and many pathways, such as the carbon metabolism, photosynthesis and alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism pathways, were also identified to be related to the Sb stress response of the bermudagrass plant by KEGG and GO enrichment. Overall, the present study revealed that photosynthesis and amino acid metabolism pathways play important roles in the Sb stress response of bermudagrass. Full article

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) forage production recommendations are often developed in natural environments with available water limitations, often resulting in highly variable responses and lower average responses. As farmland ownership changes and agriculture and irrigation technologies become more affordable the amount of irrigated hay production has increased. While much of the agronomic management does not differ between rain-fed and irrigated environments, nutrient use and uptake dynamics may. This requires a reevaluation and potential adjustment of current recommendations to allow for increased yield potential of irrigated production systems without detrimental impacts on the system. The objective of this study was to identify the need for further investigation of nitrogen application rates for forage bermudagrass production under irrigated conditions. Nitrogen applications of 0 to 280 kg N ha⁻¹, in 56 kg increments, were applied at spring green-up and following the first and second harvests. Dry matter biomass, crude protein, and total digestible nutrients increased with increasing nitrogen application rate, while yield and profit maximizing rates both exceeded the typical recommended rate for bermudagrass hay production. The responses noted for increased nitrogen application rates indicate the need for further investigation of N requirements of non-moisture-limited hay production. Full article