Search Results (176)

Timely estimation of pasture biomass in rotational grazing systems is difficult because field measurements, cloud-affected satellite observations, and process-based simulations differ in temporal support and responsiveness to grazing. We developed GRAZE-FUSE (Grazing-Informed APSIM–Sentinel Fusion Framework), which combines Sentinel-2 biomass estimates from the SPECTRA-FOR model with APSIM simulations using a farm-specific grazing-interval smoothing window and a linear fusion model. The analysis used 7312 field biomass records from five intensively managed dairy farms in Tasmania. GRAZE-FUSE was evaluated using nested leave-one-farm-out (LOFO) validation, in which each farm was withheld in turn, and model fitting and parameter selection were conducted using only the remaining farms. Across 520 pooled out-of-fold weekly predictions, GRAZE-FUSE achieved R² = 0.876, RMSE = 103.3 kg DM/ha, MAE = 82.5 kg DM/ha, and bias = −1.2 kg DM/ha. Farm-specific R² ranged from 0.814 to 0.893. Ablation analysis showed that a simple 50:50 APSIM–SPECTRA-FOR mean achieved R² = 0.819 and RMSE = 124.5 kg DM/ha, while OLS fusion without grazing information improved performance to R² = 0.872 and RMSE = 104.6 kg DM/ha. Incorporating farm-specific grazing intervals produced a further, smaller improvement to R² = 0.876 and RMSE = 103.3 kg DM/ha. These results indicate that most of the predictive improvement arose from integrating complementary process-model and satellite information, while grazing-informed temporal weighting provided additional refinement. GRAZE-FUSE therefore provides a transferable framework for continuous pasture biomass estimation across the study farms; however, validation across additional regions, management systems, and years is required before broader operational deployment. Full article

Fescue toxicosis results from ingestion of tall fescue infected with the ergot alkaloid (EA)-producing endophyte Epichloë coenophiala. The gastrointestinal microbiota is the first point of interaction with EAs and may be modulated by them. To investigate this, rumen and fecal samples were collected from steers grazing toxic (E+) or non-toxic fescue for 14 days, followed by a pasture switch. Microbial communities were characterized using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing (bacterial V4, archaeal V6-V8 regions). Short-term E+ grazing did not affect alpha diversity in either matrix, but beta diversity differences were significant, though of small magnitude (rumen: R² < 0.07; feces: R² < 0.06), consistent with the overlap of communities between treatments. Relative abundance (RA) of dominant taxa remained unchanged, but low-abundance taxa were enriched in E+. In the rumen, these included proteolytic, amino acid decarboxylating, and methyl-compound forming microbes (e.g., Clostridia, Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae (Butyrivibrio, Eubacterium), Streptococcaceae, and Gamma/Alphaproteobacteria), while fibrolytic taxa (e.g., Ruminococcus flavefaciens) declined. Hydrogenotrophic methanogens (Methanobrevibacter_A) decreased, while methylotrophic methanogens and hydrogen-utilizing bacteria (e.g., Selenomonadaceae) increased, indicating altered hydrogen flow in the rumen. Similar subtle but significant shifts were observed in fecal communities, including members of Lachnospiraceae (Eubacterium) and Rikenellaceae (Mucinivorans). Comparable RA of core (dominant) rumen and fecal microbiomes in steers previously exposed and never exposed to E+ fescue suggests no lasting effects on the dominant community. Short-term exposure to E+ tall fescue was associated with enrichment of low-abundance taxa whose previously described metabolic functions may contribute to maintaining rumen homeostasis under E+-induced dietary stress. Full article

Mixed crop–livestock systems remain central to sustainable intensification because they reconnect feed, biomass, soil cover, livestock productivity, and household livelihoods. However, forage integration benefits are neither automatic nor uniformly transferable across regions. This structured critical integrative review asks when forage integration generates net system-level gains. It also asks when integration merely shifts costs among production, labor, water, nutrients, emissions, household risk, or territorial nutrient balances. The review synthesizes evidence on forage legumes, tropical and temperate grasses, dual-purpose crops, grazed cover crops, pasture rotations, silvopastoral arrangements, and beyond-farm feed–manure exchanges. Examples from the Brazilian Cerrado, western São Paulo, and Minas Gerais illustrate tropical pathways involving Urochloa/Brachiaria integration, crop–pasture rotations, crop–livestock–forest systems, and habitat-mediated pest regulation. These examples are interpreted alongside evidence from African, Asian, European, and temperate systems to maintain regional balance. The review contributes a diagnostic framework for assessing system design, evidence strength, and scaling feasibility. The framework links forage portfolios to integration niches, management quality, resource constraints, gendered labor implications, external-input dependency, and adaptive scaling pathways. Forage integration can improve feed quality, animal performance, soil cover, nutrient cycling, biodiversity functions, and emission intensity. These gains require careful management of establishment, grazing, manure distribution, phosphorus and potassium balances, water demand, labor allocation, markets, and governance. Future research should move beyond short-term demonstrations toward causal inference, longitudinal whole-system accounting, transparent evidence-quality grading, and documentation of failed, partial, or discontinued interventions. Full article

Pastures are the main feed source for beef cattle production, a sector in which Brazil plays a prominent global role. This study aimed to develop predictive models for dry matter yield (DM yield, kg ha⁻¹), crude protein (CP), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) in Urochloa brizantha tropical pastures using laboratory VIS-NIR-SWIR spectroscopy, and to identify spectral patterns associated with these variables. Samples were collected from a commercial pasture area of approximately 200 ha, subdivided into 19 paddocks cultivated with Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu and managed under rotational grazing during 2023. Forage samples were oven-dried, ground, and spectrally measured using a FieldSpec spectroradiometer (350–2500 nm). Partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were calibrated and evaluated using cross-validation, and informative wavelengths were identified using Variable Importance in Projection (VIP) scores. DM variability was mainly associated with near-infrared regions, CP with visible and near-infrared regions, and NDF with the visible region. Models calibrated with VIP-selected wavelengths achieved acceptable performance for CP (R²CV = 0.74) and NDF (R²CV = 0.72), whereas the general full-spectrum models showed moderate performance for CP (R²CV = 0.57) and acceptable performance for NDF (R²CV = 0.75). Temporal transferability varied among sampling periods, with greater robustness for CP and NDF than for DM. Overall, DM prediction remained limited and showed poor temporal transferability. Full article

Mediterranean agroecosystems are highly vulnerable to climate change, soil degradation, and declining soil organic carbon (SOC), threatening long-term agricultural sustainability. Carbon farming and regenerative agriculture have emerged as complementary approaches to restore soil functionality while contributing to climate change mitigation. This review synthesizes peer-reviewed literature published between 2015 and 2025 to assess the agronomic effectiveness of key regenerative and carbon farming practices in Mediterranean systems. A structured bibliographic analysis using Scopus and Web of Science evaluated practices influencing SOC dynamics, erosion control, water regulation, and associated ecosystem services. Evidence indicates that the introduction of cover crops in the crop rotation and reduced or no-tillage are the most consistently effective practices for enhancing SOC stocks, particularly when combined with organic amendments and diversified rotations. Crop diversification, intercropping, and agroforestry further support SOC accumulation and erosion control, especially in perennial systems such as vineyards and olive orchards. Organic inputs stimulate microbial-mediated carbon stabilization, while regenerative grazing contributes to nutrient cycling under context-specific conditions. Across practices, integrated management consistently delivers greater and more stable benefits than single interventions. Regenerative agriculture thus provides a systems-based foundation for carbon farming in Mediterranean agroecosystems. Long-term field experiments and improved monitoring frameworks remain essential to quantify carbon persistence and support policy implementation. Full article

The intersection area between two arbitrarily rotated ellipses is a recurring geometric primitive in imaging, computer vision, and robotics. In the general case, its evaluation is often associated with intersection-point recovery, topology-dependent case handling, adaptive refinement, or dense boundary approximation. This study presents a fixed-cost computational framework for ellipse–ellipse intersection based on a rotated-frame slice formulation. A coordinate-frame rotation expresses one ellipse in axis-aligned form while representing the second as a general conic. This yields a hybrid formulation that reduces the intersection area to a one-dimensional overlap integral of vertical slice height over the admissible horizontal interval. The integral is evaluated using fixed-order quadrature, with optional sine mapping to improve conditioning near grazing configurations. Numerical evaluation on 100,000 synthetic ellipse pairs shows that the proposed formulation reaches a low-error regime earlier than polygonal approximation while remaining substantially faster across the tested range. The formulation is further examined through a tree-crown delineation case study on the BAMFORESTS dataset, a benchmark forest dataset of very-high-resolution UAV imagery. In this case study, ellipse proxies derived from axis-aligned and oriented bounding box detections are used for overlap computation during non-maximum suppression (NMS). Using ellipse-proxy overlap during NMS preserves nearly the same peak F1 score of 0.785 while modestly shifting NMS behavior toward lower thresholds and producing slightly broader near-peak intervals. Full article

Grazing lands are foundational for the United States (US) livestock industry. In Arkansas, pastures are essential for rotational grazing and dairy operations. Climate change is an increasing concern in agriculture due to anthropogenic activities promoting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, partly due to nutrient recycling that occurs from animal manure additions. The objective of this study was to quantify and evaluate the potential effects of grazing method (i.e., enhanced grazed (EG) and minimally grazed (MG))on carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) fluxes, season-long emissions, and global warming potential (GWP) over two consecutive growing seasons (i.e., 2024 and 2025) in the Ozark Highlands region of northwest Arkansas. In 2024, averaged over time, the CO₂ flux from the EG (880 mg m⁻² h⁻¹) was greater (p ≤ 0.05) than from the MG (687 mg m⁻² h⁻¹) treatment. Averaged across grazing treatment, season-long CO₂ emissions and GWP were at least 1.8 times greater (p ≤ 0.05) in 2025 than 2024, while season-long CH₄ emissions were 4.6 times greater (p ≤ 0.05) in 2024 than 2025. Averaged across year, season-long N₂O emissions were greater (p ≤ 0.05) from the EG (1.6 kg ha⁻¹) than from the MG (0.38 kg ha⁻¹) treatment. Two-year-cumulative, season-long CH₄ and N₂O emissions and GWP from only CH₄ and N₂O were greater (p ≤ 0.05) in the EG compared to the MG treatment. Considering the large land area devoted to various agricultural grazing operations throughout the US, understanding the magnitude of GHG emissions from different grazing strategies will contribute to improving GHG mitigation efforts in managed grazing lands. Full article

The effect of increasing levels of coconut oil (CO: 0, 100, 200, and 300 g/kg of supplement DM) on productive performance, feed intake, rumen fermentation, microbiota, and gene expression was evaluated in 24 calves (Bos indicus × Bos taurus; 180 ± 10 kg BW) on rotational grazing (Cynodon dactylon) in a completely randomized design (n = 6) for 112 days. Supplement intake (offer–refusal) and forage intake (external marker: chromium) were measured. On day 112, rumen fluid (fermentation profile, protozoa, and metagenomic analysis: 16S rRNA V3-V4) and total blood (DNA microarray: M22k) were collected. Genomic analyses were performed by comparing the control vs. the group with the best productive response. For statistical analysis, SAS PROC GLM (initial weight as a covariate), orthogonal polynomials, the Tukey test, and Spearman correlation were used, considering significant effects (p ≤ 0.05) and trend (p ≤ 0.1). The inclusion of 200 g CO/kg supplement DM showed the best average daily gain (p = 0.018; +0.139 kg/d) with the highest retained energy (p = 0.02; +0.631 Mcal/d) versus the control group. In the rumen, propionate increased (p ≤ 0.05), while protozoa decreased (p < 0.0001) and the methanogenic archaea tended to decrease (Methanobacteriaceae −44%, p = 0.08; Thermoplasmatales −35%, p = 0.06). At the transcriptional level, 19 hub genes were modulated by CO, suggesting a lower intracellular signaling (cAMP-PKA-CREB) associated with a lower stress condition and better energy metabolism regulation. In conclusion, 200 g CO/kg supplement DM is a viable strategy for improving the productive performance of livestock in tropical systems. Full article

Alpine shrub meadows on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau are key warm-season pastures that support pastoral production and ecosystem stability in fragile high-elevation regions. Due to low temperatures, short growing seasons, and slow vegetation recovery, these pastures are highly sensitive to inappropriate grazing management. However, the effects of different grazing–rest time configurations on plant community composition and leaf functional traits in alpine shrub meadows remain insufficiently understood. In this study, we evaluated five grazing treatments in an alpine shrub meadow in Sunan County, central–eastern Qilian Mountains: 10 days grazing–20 days rest (T1), 15 days grazing–15 days rest (T2), 20 days grazing–10 days rest (T3), continuous grazing (CG), and grazing exclusion (CK). In the third year of treatment implementation, we measured the community diversity, species importance values, and leaf functional traits of four dominant species: Elymus nutans, Carex tibetikobresia, Oxytropis kansuensis, and Bistorta vivipara. T1 and T2 significantly increased species richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity, and Simpson diversity compared with CG and CK. NMDS and PERMANOVA further showed significant differences in overall community composition among grazing treatments. Grazing generally reduced the leaf length, leaf width, and leaf area, whereas T2 showed relatively stronger leaf recovery among grazing treatments. Specific leaf area, specific leaf weight, and leaf length–width ratio showed higher variability and calculated plasticity than leaf thickness and leaf dry matter content, suggesting that resource-acquisition and morphological traits were more responsive to grazing than conservative structural traits. The coefficient of variation of leaf traits was positively associated with the plasticity index, although this association should be interpreted cautiously because both indices were calculated from the same underlying trait dataset. Overall, under the conditions of this three-year, single-site experiment and a target moderate grazing intensity, the 15-day grazing–15-day rest regime performed best among the tested treatments. This regime may provide a practical reference for rotational grazing management in similar warm-season alpine shrub meadows, but its broader applicability requires further validation across different grassland types, grazing intensities, climatic conditions, and longer monitoring periods. Full article

A key principle of the United States Roundtable for Sustainable Beef framework is striving for continuous improvement in grazing management operations, which includes a goal of having 385 million acres covered by written grazing management plans by 2050. However, the adoption of written grazing management plans (GMPs) is lagging behind expectations. The objectives of this analysis are to examine indicators of the adoption of GMPs and grazing patterns. Additionally, we examine the economic benefits associated with the adoption of GMPs and intensive grazing patterns. A National Grazing Management Survey was conducted during the summer of 2024, distributed electronically to cow-calf producers through cooperation with state membership associations. Producers were asked about operational demographics and grazing management. Respondents were provided definitions for the GMP hierarchy (no GMP, mental GMP, written GMP, written GMP with annual evaluation) and grazing patterns (continuous, rotational, adaptive multi-paddock). Respondents were also asked to rank GMP objectives, categorized as “economic” or “environmental”, in order of importance. Binary logit models were employed to examine the indicators of adoption of written GMPs and intensive grazing patterns. Findings indicate that producers utilizing intensive grazing patterns are more likely to adopt a written GMP, and producers with larger herd sizes are more likely to prioritize economic objectives. Results also indicate that producers who adopt a written GMP are more likely to earn positive returns over off-farm feed costs than those who do not adopt a GMP, providing evidence of the potential economic benefits associated with GMPs. Full article

The evolution of neutron scattering from reactor-based steady-state sources to high-power pulsed spallation sources has necessitated a paradigm shift in neutron optics. While pulsed sources offer high peak brilliance and energy-resolved measurements via the time-of-flight (TOF) technique, the intrinsic divergence and broad wavelength bandwidth of the incident beam pose significant challenges for focusing, particularly in the realm of very small-angle neutron scattering (VSANS, Q < 0.001 Å⁻¹). This review presents a comprehensive analysis of diverse focusing techniques, including converging multi-slit apertures, electrical and superconducting magnetic sextupole lenses, grazing-incidence focusing mirrors, compound refractive lenses with oscillation apertures, and a special multi-beam VSANS configuration. Special attention is given to the transition from permanent magnet systems to nested rotating sextupole permanent magnets (Nest-Rot-SPM) and modulated superconducting sextupoles (SSM), detailing the physical and engineering challenges involved. Furthermore, grazing-incidence reflective optics, notably toroidal Wolter mirrors, are discussed as an achromatic alternative. The integration of these technologies into world-leading pulsed neutron sources is reviewed to project the future landscape of extended Q-range coverage for SANS instruments. Full article

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in pasture quantity and nutritive value remains a major constraint to efficient nutritional management in grazing-ruminant systems. This critical narrative review was based on targeted searches of peer-reviewed literature on pasture heterogeneity, forage quality assessment, grazing management, animal monitoring, and data integration in grazing-ruminant systems, with emphasis on both recent studies and conceptually foundational work. Precision technologies have emerged as complementary tools that can improve the characterization of pasture resources, animal responses, and grazing dynamics, but their value depends on whether they support nutritionally relevant decisions under field conditions. This review examines current precision approaches, such as portable near-infrared spectroscopy, proximal and remote sensing, geospatial tools, animal-mounted sensors, and grazing-control technologies, and their capacity to improve decisions related to supplementation, stocking rate, grazing rotation, and pasture allocation. Across technologies, performance and applicability vary substantially with observational scale, calibration requirements, and validation context. This review also highlights persistent constraints, including calibration robustness, transferability across systems, field validation, interoperability, economic feasibility, and barriers to routine adoption. Precision tools can improve pasture-based nutritional management, but their practical contribution depends on how effectively they are validated, integrated, and translated into decision-support logic under commercial grazing conditions. Full article

The espinal agroforestry system is a valuable grazing resource for sheep and cattle in the Mediterranean region of central Chile. It is characterized by a woody stratum dominated by Vachellia caven and an herbaceous grassland stratum that together provide important ecological services. Despite its relevance for extensive livestock production, ongoing land-use change threatens the integrity of the espinal agroforestry system, underscoring the need for sustainable management strategies to enhance productivity. This study assessed the long-term impacts of improved management practices in a representative espinal agroforestry system, including annual fertilization, supplementary cereal crop integration, and progressive increases in stocking rate, on plant diversity and soil carbon storage in Cauquenes, Maule Region, Chile (35°58′ S, 72°17′ W), during 2014–2019. A production system was established on 10 ha of espinal grassland, complemented by 1 ha of supplementary crop rotation (oat–purple vetch intercropping and triticale). Due to the scale of the system, a single experimental unit was used; however, multiple sampling areas were evaluated over time to assess the botanical composition, forage yield, and soil carbon. Grasslands were annually fertilized with phosphorus, potassium, and boron. The forage yield in spring ranged from 2 to 4 t dry matter ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ over six years, with strong interannual variability driven by rainfall. The stocking rate increased progressively from 2 to 8 sheep ha⁻¹ and lamb live weight from 80 to 370 kg ha⁻¹ over six-years. The grassland botanical composition shifted markedly, with increased abundance of annual legumes (Trifolium subterraneum, Medicago polymorpha) and Leontodon leysseri. Supplementary crops yielded between 6.0 and 10.5 t DM ha⁻¹, while soil organic carbon increased from 1.6% to 2.2%. These results demonstrate that sustainable intensification of the espinal system can enhance productivity while maintaining environmental sustainability. Full article

Transparent and comparable evaluation of ecological restoration outcomes is essential for advancing performance-based environmental governance and ESG-aligned ecological compensation. However, existing grassland monitoring approaches in semi-arid regions often rely on single vegetation indices, which fail to capture ecosystem structure, functional recovery, and temporal dynamics. To address these limitations, this study proposes a process-oriented Restoration Index (RI) based on multi-source remote sensing data. By integrating spectral, textural, and phenological indicators, together with topographic and climatic factors, derived from Sentinel-2 and Landsat time-series imagery, the framework characterizes vegetation productivity, community structure, and seasonal ecological processes within a unified analytical framework. A case study in the Xilingol grassland of Inner Mongolia shows that different management strategies, including grazing exclusion, reseeding, and rotational grazing, are associated with distinct restoration trajectories and recovery performance. The results indicate that the RI captures both spatial heterogeneity and temporal evolution of ecosystem recovery, while the normalization procedure improves the relative comparability of restoration assessment results within the adopted framework. Quantitative evaluation shows positive agreement with field observations, providing preliminary support for the applicability of the approach within the study area. Overall, the RI framework provides a scalable and policy-relevant basis for ecological restoration assessment and may support ecological compensation evaluation, environmental auditing, and more transparent restoration governance. Full article

This study assessed the productive and structural traits of the forage canopy and the performance of heifers grazing Marandu grass pastures overseeded with winter forages during the dry–wet transition in a tropical region. A completely randomized split-plot design with three replicates was used to compare three systems: Marandu grass overseeded with Oats and Ryegrass; Marandu grass overseeded with Oats and Clovers; and Marandu grass in monoculture. Holstein × Gyr heifers, averaging nine months of age with an initial body weight of 225.42 ± 50.27 kg, were managed under irrigated rotational grazing, with two days of occupation and 28 days of rest. Measurements were taken over three grazing cycles. Total forage mass and Marandu grass mass increased in the final cycle, with no differences among systems. The proportion and mass of winter forages did not differ between treatments, although overseeded pastures maintained about one-third of their composition as winter species. Animal performance was similar across systems, with greater body weight observed at the end of the experimental period. In conclusion, overseeding winter forages in irrigated Marandu grass pastures does not increase forage production or animal performance but does promote botanical diversification, with Oats showing better adaptation under these conditions. Full article