Search Results (227)

Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis L.) is a competitive herbaceous perennial weed that reduces productivity in irrigated pastures. Grazing might reduce competition by field bindweed when it begins growth in the spring, thereby encouraging encroachment by desirable grass species during the summer. To test this hypothesis, a two-year study was conducted in two adjacent, privately owned, irrigated, warm-season perennial grass pastures (replicates) that were heavily infested with field bindweed. Study sites were near Tucumcari, NM, USA. The fields were grazed with exclosures to evaluate ungrazed management. Aboveground biomass of field bindweed, other weeds, and perennial grass were measured, and field bindweed plants were counted in May of 2018 and 2019. There was no difference between years for any variable. Other weed biomass and field bindweed biomass and plant numbers were reduced (p < 0.05) by grazing (61.68 vs. 41.67 g bindweed biomass m⁻² for ungrazed and grazed management, respectively, and 108.5 and 56.8 bindweed plants m⁻² for ungrazed and grazed management, respectively). Otherwise, perennial grass production was unaffected by either year or management. These results indicate that grazing can be an effective tool to reduce field bindweed competition in warm-season perennial grass pastures. Full article

To accurately assess the water quality, ecosystem status, distribution of large benthic organisms, and ecological restoration under human intervention, an analysis of benthic organisms on Caofeidian in September and November 2023 and January and May of the following year was conducted in this work. By performing CCA (canonical correspondence analysis) and cluster and correlation coefficient (Pearson) analyses, the temporal variation characteristics of benthic abundance, dominant species, community structure and biodiversity were analyzed. A total of 79 species of macro-benthic animals were found in four months, including 32 species of polychaetes, cnidarians, 1 species of Nemertean, 19 species of crustaceans, and 24 species of molluscs. The use of conventional grab-type mud collectors revealed that the Musculus senhousei dominated the survey (Y > 0.02). While only a small number of Ruditapes philippinarum were collected from bottom-dwelling species, a certain number of bottom-dwelling species (Ruditapes philippinarum and Scapharca subcrenata) were also collected during the trawl survey. Additionally, a significant population of Rapana venosa was found in the area. It is speculated that the dual effects of predation and competition are likely the primary reasons for the relatively low abundance of bottom-dwelling species. The density and biomass of macro-benthos were consistent over time, which was the highest in May, the second highest in January, and the lowest in September and November. The main environmental factors affecting the large benthic communities in the surveyed sea areas were pH, DO, NO₂⁻-N, T, SAL and PO₄³⁻-P. Combined with historical data, it was found that although the environmental condition in the Caofeidian sea area has improved, the Musculus senhousei has been dominant. In addition, the abundance of other species is much less than that of the Musculus senhousei, and the diversity of the benthic community is still reduced. Our work provides valuable data support for the management and improvement of bottom Marine pasture and promotes the transformation of Marine resources from resource plunder to a sustainable resource. Full article

Urochloa ruziziensis (R. Germ. and C.M. Evrard) Crins (synonym Brachiaria ruziziensis) Poales: Poaceae) pastures are often attacked by spittlebugs, compromising their biomass for livestock usage. A sustainable control method involves the use of entomopathogenic fungi. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of controlling Mahanarva spectabilis Distant, 1909 (Hemiptera: Cercopidae), in greenhouse and field conditions via endophytic entomopathogenic fungi. In the greenhouse, the mortality of nymphs and adults was 100%, and more than 53% of the nymphs and 59% of the adults that fed on plants inoculated with Fusarium multiceps and Metarhizium anisopliae presented with these fungi in their cadavers. In the field, more than 45% of the insect cadavers that had fed on plants grown from fungus-treated seeds were found to contain the fungi. F. multiceps was found to be endophytic in more than 60% of the plants up to 90 days after seed treatment, and M. anisopliae was found in more than 70% of the plants up to 120 days after treatment. The damage scores of the control plants, both in the greenhouse and in the field, were greater than those of the plants inoculated with the fungi. F. multiceps and M. anisopliae in the endophytic pathway of U. ruziziensis are therefore efficient at controlling spittlebugs. Full article

Salinity stress is a major environmental challenge that adversely impacts the physiological and biochemical processes of pasture, consequently resulting in reduced yields and compromised quality. Biochar amendment has recently emerged as a promising strategy to alleviate the deleterious effects of salinity stress. However, the interactive influences of salinity stress and wheat straw biochar on the physiological, biochemical, and growth characteristics of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) remain underexplored. A factorial experiment was conducted using a randomized complete design with five salinity levels (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mM NaCl) and three application rates of biochar (0, 25, and 50 g kg⁻¹) to evaluate wheat straw biochar’s potential in alleviating salinity stress in alfalfa. Results showed that salinity stress increased oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde) and reduced chlorophyll fluorescence (maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II by 1–27%), leading to decreasing photosynthetic parameters, thereby constraining biomass accumulation by 9–77%. Wheat straw biochar amendment under the highest salinity stress, particularly at 25 g kg⁻¹, mitigated oxidative stress by reducing H₂O₂ and MDA levels by 35% and 33%, respectively, while decreasing the antioxidant enzymes activities of CAT, POD, and SOD by 47%, 42%, and 39%, respectively, compared to the control (non-biochar addition). Concurrently, biochar restored the osmoregulatory substance concentrations of proline and soluble sugar by 59% and 33%, respectively, compared to the control. Furthermore, wheat straw biochar amendment increased the net CO₂ assimilation rate by 98%, thereby increasing biomass by 63%. Our study demonstrates that wheat straw biochar can contribute to protecting alfalfa against salinity stress by modulating physiological and biochemical responses. These findings demonstrate that the 25 g kg⁻¹ wheat straw biochar application had the best performance, suggesting this amendment could be a viable strategy for improving alfalfa productivity in salt-affected soils. Future research should explore long-term field applications and the underlying mechanisms of biochar–plant–soil–plant interactions under diverse saline-alkali environments. Full article

The escalation in the population of livestock coupled with inadequate precipitation has caused a reduction in pasture biomass, thereby resulting in diminished grassland carrying capacity (GCC) and pasture degradation. In this research, net primary productivity (NPP) data, sourced from the Global Land Surface Satellite (GLASS) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) datasets from 1982 to 2020, were initially transformed into aboveground biomass (AGB) estimates. These estimates were subsequently utilized to evaluate and assess the long-term trends of GCC across Mongolia. The MODIS data indicated an upward trend in AGB from 2000 to 2020, whereas the GLASS data reflected a downward trend from 1982 to 2018. Between 1982 and 2020, climatic analysis uncovered robust positive correlations between AGB and precipitation (R > 0.80) and negative correlations with temperature (R < −0.60). These climatic alterations have led to a reduction in AGB, further impairing the regenerative capacity of grasslands. Concurrently, livestock numbers have generally increased since 1982, with a decrease in certain years due to dzud and summer drought, leading to the increase in the GCC. GCC assessment found that 37.5% of grasslands experienced severe overgrazing and 31.9–40.7% was within sustainable limits. Spatially, the eastern region of Mongolia could sustainably support current livestock numbers; the western and southern regions, as well as parts of northern Mongolia, have exhibited moderate to critical levels of grassland utilization. A detailed analysis of GCC dynamics and its climatic impacts would offer scientific support for policymakers in managing grasslands in the Mongolian Plateau. Full article

Grasslands and livestock are essential to support the diversity of soils, plants, and animals. This study analyzes changes that occurred from 2019 to 2022 in two protected pasture areas of the Italian Apennines, designated as UNESCO (area 1) and NATURA2000 (area 2). In each area, three sampling sites were identified and georeferenced, and the soil was studied. Forage quality and productivity were assessed from botanical and chemical perspectives using biomass samples. Adult bovine unit and grazing index were calculated. Soils, classified as Phaeozems in area 1 and Fluvisols in area 2, exhibit a weak structure with an increased risk of compaction and erosion. The height of forage species and vegetal diversity increased during the study, and variations in botanical and chemical composition were observed. Forage productivity averaged 2760 (±1380 SEM) kg DM/ha in area 1 and 3740 (±1160) kg DM/ha in area 2. Animal population declined by 11.4% in area 1 and by 1.14% in area 2, along with a decrease in the number of livestock farms. From a multidisciplinary perspective, improving management would enhance the ecosystem services of pasture areas, including promoting the role of soil as a carbon sink. The results present means of resilience to enhance cultural and naturalistic values of sites in inner Mediterranean ecosystems. Full article

The establishment of artificial grasslands is a highly effective strategy for the rapid restoration of degraded grasslands. To investigate the dynamics of biomass production and plant diversity—two critical objectives of grassland restoration—and their relationship during the early stages of artificial grassland establishment, we conducted an experiment in Menyuan County, located in the northeastern region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The experiment involved sowing different combinations of species (one, three, six, and nine species). Using data collected over three years (2021–2023), we found that biomass production generally increased over time. Specifically, in the second year, biomass production exhibited a unimodal relationship with the number of sown species, while in the third year, it increased linearly with the number of sown species. Plant diversity, which includes both sown and naturally occurring species, initially increased with the number of sown species in the first year but decreased in mixed sown plots in the third year. In the first year, biomass production was not correlated with plant diversity, whereas in the second and third years, biomass production decreased as plant diversity increased. This pattern was primarily driven by the accelerated growth of Gramineae. These results highlight the complex dynamics between biomass production and plant diversity during the early stages of artificial alpine grassland establishment. Our findings suggest that a trade-off between biomass and biodiversity should be carefully considered when designing restoration strategies, as achieving both high productivity and biodiversity may require a more nuanced approach. Full article

This study investigated the effects of plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) disturbances and altitude on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage characteristics, including SOC content and SOC density (SOCD). In this study, plateau pika outbreak areas and non-outbreak areas at different altitudes were compared in terms of vegetation biomass, soil physicochemical properties, SOC content and SOCD to establish the relationship between vegetation and soil characteristics (including SOC content and SOCD). The results showed that SOC and SOCD decreased significantly (p < 0.01) in plateau pika outbreak areas, but SOCD increased first and then decreased with elevation in non-outbreak areas. Soil total nitrogen (TN) content decreased significantly (p < 0.01) with elevation in both plateau pika outbreak and non-outbreak areas. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) in total phosphorus (TP) at low elevations and nitrate nitrogen (NO₃⁻-N) at high elevations between outbreak and non-outbreak areas, but other nutrients did not differ hugely between outbreak and non-outbreak areas at the same elevation. Correlation analysis revealed that belowground biomass (BGB) in the plateau pika outbreak area was significantly and positively correlated with SOC (p < 0.01); structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that altitude had a direct effect on SOC (path coefficient = −0.882, p < 0.001) in the plateau pika outbreak area, but only a reduced influence on SOC and SOCD in the non-outbreak area; nitrate nitrogen in the plateau pika outbreak area and TN were the key influencing factors, which exerted a strong direct influence on SOC and SOCD (path coefficient = −0.666 and 0.639 (p < 0.001), respectively). Therefore, increasing vegetation biomass and nitrogen nutrient content through reseeding pasture and fertilization can facilitate the accumulation and recovery of SOC and SOCD in the ecological restoration of degraded alpine meadows, and it is especially important to quickly enrich soil nitrogen content in the outbreak area of plateau pika populations at high altitudes. Full article

This study evaluates the effectiveness of agroecological practices—organic fertilization and biofertilization—in enhancing ecosystem services in agroforestry and pasture systems. A field experiment was conducted over three years, comparing these practices to a control treatment and a natural ecosystem as a reference. Soil chemical, physical, and biological parameters were assessed, including soil organic carbon (SOC), microbial respiration, root density, and gene abundances of key microbial groups (Archaea, Bacteria, and Fungi). Organic fertilization resulted in a significant increase in SOC, phosphorus, microbial biomass, and root density, indicating improved soil structure and fertility. Biofertilization showed selective effects, promoting archaeal abundance but reducing bacterial and fungal diversity. Seasonal variation influenced nutrient cycling, with organic fertilization buffering against dry-season declines in microbial activity and nutrient availability. Aboveground dry biomass and litter deposition were highest in the natural ecosystem, followed by organic fertilization treatments in agroforestry and pasture systems. Despite improvements under agroecological management, the natural ecosystem consistently maintained superior soil quality and biological resilience. The findings highlight that organic inputs and diversified cropping systems enhance soil health but do not fully replicate the ecological benefits of undisturbed forests. In conclusion, agroecological practices provide viable alternatives to mitigate soil degradation and sustain ecosystem services in tropical Oxisols. Organic fertilization emerges as the most effective strategy, fostering long-term improvements in soil fertility and microbial dynamics. However, continued research is needed to optimize these practices for greater resilience and sustainability in Amazonian agroecosystems. Full article

The economic impact of obtaining biomass could become significant to U.S. rural economies via the establishment of a bioeconomy. In 2023, the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory provided a road map to obtain over a billion tons of biomass for conversion to bioenergy and other products. Using information from this roadmap, this study estimates the potential positive and negative economic impacts that occur because of land use change, along with increased technological advances. This is achieved by using the input–output model, IMPLAN, and impacting 179 Bureau of Economic Analysis regions in the conterminous United States. Biomass included in the analysis comprises dedicated energy crops, crop residues, and forest residues. The analysis found that managing pastures more intensively could result in releasing land to produce dedicated energy crops on 30.8 million hectares, resulting in the production of 361 million metric tons of biomass. This, coupled with crop residues from barley, corn, oats, sorghum, and wheat (162 million metric tons), plus forest residues (41 million metric tons), provide 564 million dry metric tons of biomass. Assuming the price for biomass in 2023 dollars was USD 77 per dry metric-ton, this additional production results in an economic benefit for the nation of USD 619 billion, an increase from the Business As Is scenario (Baseline) of almost USD 100 billion per year, assuming a mature biomass industry. An additional 700,000 jobs are required to grow, harvest/collect, and transport the biomass material from the land. Full article

Controlling forage quality and grazing are crucial for sustainable livestock production, health, productivity, and animal performance. However, the limited availability of reliable handheld sensors for timely pasture quality prediction hinders farmers’ ability to make informed decisions. This study investigates the in-field dynamics of Mombasa grass (Megathyrsus maximus) forage biomass production and quality using optical techniques such as visible imaging and near-infrared (VIS-NIR) hyperspectral proximal sensing combined with machine learning models enhanced by covariance-based error reduction strategies. Data collection was conducted using a cellphone camera and a handheld VIS-NIR spectrometer. Feature extraction to build the dataset involved image segmentation, performed using the Mahalanobis distance algorithm, as well as spectral processing to calculate multiple vegetation indices. Machine learning models, including linear regression, LASSO, Ridge, ElasticNet, k-nearest neighbors, and decision tree algorithms, were employed for predictive analysis, achieving high accuracy with R² values ranging from 0.938 to 0.998 in predicting biomass and quality traits. A strategy to achieve high performance was implemented by using four spectral captures and computing the reflectance covariance at NIR wavelengths, accounting for the three-dimensional characteristics of the forage. These findings are expected to advance the development of AI-based tools and handheld sensors particularly suited for silvopastoral systems. Full article

The transformation of the Cerrado biome into areas with different levels of activity and anthropic pressure negatively impacts biodiversity. This study evaluated the response of the dung beetle community to changes in land use systems: forests, rubber trees, pastures, and soybeans. Five areas were sampled in each system with a minimum distance of 2 km between them. Dung beetles were collected using pitfall traps, and both local (vegetation density, basal area of wooded vegetation, fractal dimension, litter height, electrical conductance (mV), water content in the soil (%), and soil resistance (kPa)) and landscape-related environmental variables (land use and overall composition and configuration of the landscape surrounding the sampling areas) were measured. In total, 2294 specimens were collected and distributed among 34 species and 18 genera. There was no significant difference in abundance between the systems, but differences in the number of species and biomass were observed between forest and soybean systems, as well as a separation of communities between the tree-covered (forest and rubber tree) and open (pasture and soybean) systems. Density and arboreal basal area were the main predictive variables for the diversity of the dung beetle community, reinforcing the importance of vegetation cover for maintaining diversity, whereas local and landscape-related variables influenced community composition. Full article

Pasture dieback is a disorder that causes the deterioration and death of susceptible tropical grass pastures in Eastern Australia. Previous reports from the Australian dry subtropics have suggested that biostimulants may be effective in mitigating the effects of pasture dieback. In this study, in two experiments (1 and 2), biostimulant products were applied to dieback-affected pastures, and pasture growth biomass and nutritional attributes (neutral detergent fiber and crude protein) were assessed 30 days after application compared to a control (water application only) treatment. In a third experiment (exp 3), biostimulant products were applied to a pasture prior to dieback incursion, and plant symptoms were assessed 16 days after application. In experiments 1 and 2, after 30 days, there was no significant difference in biomass production or nutritional attributes between any biostimulant treatments and the control, with mean biomass yields of 471 ± 61 kg ha⁻¹ at site 1 and 1371 ± 78 kg ha⁻¹ at site 2. In experiment 3, plant dieback symptoms progressed evenly across all plots, with no significant effect between treatments 16 days after treatment application. There was no evidence that the tested biostimulants were effective in preventing the spread of dieback or improving pasture recovery from dieback. Full article

This study tackles the challenge of accurately estimating pasture biomass by integrating proximal sensing, remote sensing, and machine learning techniques. Field measurements of vegetation height collected using the PaddockTrac ultrasonic sensor were combined with vegetation indices (e.g., NDVI, MSAVI2) derived from Landsat 7 and Sentinel-2 satellite data. We applied the Boruta algorithm for feature selection to identify influential biophysical predictors and evaluated four machine learning models—Linear Regression, Decision Tree, Random Forest, and XGBoost—for biomass prediction. XGBoost consistently performed the best, achieving an R² of 0.86, an MAE of 414 kg ha⁻¹, and an RMSE of 538 kg ha⁻¹ using Landsat 7 data across multiple years. Sentinel-2’s red-edge indices did not substantially improve predictions, suggesting a limited benefit from finer spectral resolutions in this homogenous pasture context. Nonetheless, these indices may offer value in more complex vegetation scenarios. The findings emphasize the effectiveness of combining detailed ground-based measurements with advanced machine learning and remote sensing data, providing a scalable and accurate approach to biomass estimation. This integrated framework provides practical insights for precision agriculture and optimized pasture management, significantly advancing efficient and sustainable rangeland monitoring. Full article

Ozonation of irrigation water is a promising technology that improves the efficiency of irrigation systems. However, it is necessary to investigate the potential adverse effects of the continuous application of this technology on pastures, particularly on Mombaça grass (Panicum maximum cv. Mombaça), to ensure that its benefits are not outweighed by negative impacts. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of ozonated irrigation water on the production of Mombaça grass under different fertilization management practices. The experiment was conducted in a controlled environment using 4.5 L pots, following a completely randomized design with five replications. The experimental setup employed a factorial arrangement, involving two irrigation water sources (with and without ozonation) and two fertilization managements (with and without N and K₂O), resulting in 20 experimental units. A 60-day uniformity cycle and three 30-day cycles were performed, assessing water consumption as well as the morphogenic and agronomic characteristics of Mombaça grass. Fertilization with N and K₂O increased water consumption and improved the agronomic characteristics of Mombaça grass, promoting greater development and growth in line with its morphogenic traits. Regardless of fertilization, ozonation of irrigation water did not cause harm to growth and biomass yield. Therefore, the technique of ozonating irrigation water can be used in the cultivation of Mombaça grass. Full article