Search Results (54)

Consumers expect ruminants to graze outdoors and flocks to be of a reasonable size. Dairy goats can be kept outdoors (natural) or indoors. There are few pasture-grazed-system goat farms. The farms we studied in the centre-west of France were either organic or conventional, and all used pastures and tended to meet consumer demand for naturalness. We obtained information through semi-directed interviews. Dairy goats are susceptible to gastrointestinal infections when using pastures and this was one of the main health problems mentioned by organic farmers. There are a very limited number of medicines available for lactating dairy goats and farmers can use complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM), where they are completely autonomous in their choice. The use of CAVM has also been driven by organic labels and protected designation of origin (PDO) regulations for goat cheese. Homeopathy, phytotherapy, and aromatherapy were used for various health problems on almost all the farms surveyed. Herd size and farm area were negatively associated with the complex use of CAVM, possibly due to the workload on larger farms. Some CAVMs were used more in relation to the management of farms: aromatherapy in organic farms and homeopathy in cheese-making farms. The farmers with higher levels of education were more likely to employ phytotherapy. The farmers were autonomous in the choice of CAVM and did not rely on the advice of veterinarians. Full article

The scarcity of information on agricultural development in the semi-arid region of Alagoas limits the spatial understanding of this activity. Government data are generally numerical and lack spatial detail. Remote sensing emerges as an efficient alternative, providing accessible visualization of agricultural areas. This study evaluates the performance of MapBiomas in monitoring agricultural areas in the semi-arid region of Alagoas, comparing it to a Random Forest model adjusted for the region using higher-resolution images. The first methodology is based on land use and land cover (LULC) data from MapBiomas, an initiative that provides information on land use and land cover in Brazil. The second method employs the Random Forest model, calibrated for the region’s dry season, addressing cloud cover issues and allowing for the identification of irrigated agriculture. LULC data were subjected to a precision analysis using 200 points generated within the study areas, extracting LULC information for each coordinate. These points were overlaid on high-resolution images to assess model accuracy. Additionally, field visits were conducted to validate the identification of agriculture. The irrigated area data from the Random Forest model were correlated with irrigation records from SEMARH. MapBiomas presented a Kappa index of 0.74, with precision exceeding 90% for classes such as forest, natural pasture, non-vegetated area, and water bodies. However, the agriculture class obtained an F1 score of 0.56. The Random Forest model achieved a Kappa index of 0.82, with an F1 score of 0.79 for agriculture. The correlation between the total annual irrigated area data from Random Forest and SEMARH records was high (R = 0.85). The Random Forest model yielded better results in classifying agriculture in the semi-arid region of Alagoas compared to MapBiomas. However, classification limitations were observed in lowland areas due to spectral confusion caused by soil moisture accumulation. Full article

To safeguard an agricultural landscape with high biodiversity, livestock grazing on semi-natural pastures is crucial, and steers are well suited to such production systems. This study compared meat quality, including technological traits, sensory attributes, and fatty acid composition, of purebred dairy steers (D) and dairy × beef crossbreed steers (C), reared in two distinct production systems. Sixty-four steers (thirty-two per breed type) were included. Half were kept in a production system that had relatively high feed intensity (H), with one grazing summer on semi-natural pastures and slaughtered at 21 months of age. The other half were kept in a production system that had low feed intensity (L), with two grazing summers on semi-natural pastures and slaughtered at 28 months. Colour, water holding capacity, Warner–Bratzler shear force, sensory attributes, and fatty acid profiles were measured on the Musculus longissimus lumborum. Meat from L steers with two grazing seasons was darker (p = 0.003) and contained a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids (p = 0.006) than meat from more intensively reared H steers. Meat from C steers was perceived as having a coarser fibre structure (p = 0.022) with an acidic odour (p = 0.040) compared to D steers. Additionally, cooked meat from L steers was evaluated as having a pinker appearance by an analytical sensory panel (p = 0.008). In summary, breed type and production system had no major effect on technological and sensory attributes for forage and pasture-fed steers, but fatty acid composition was improved with more unsaturated lipids in meat from L steers. Full article

In Europe, intensive agriculture threatens species-rich semi-natural communities that have emerged from traditional agricultural activities. To protect these communities, subsidies are given to farmers through agri-environmental schemes (AESs). However, after nearly twenty years in operation, the uniform support system for farmers has not produced the expected results. Therefore, we conducted 15 semi-structured, in-depth qualitative interviews with beef cattle farmers in Estonia and identified the socio-ecological aspects of their activities. We found that small-scale farmers cannot compete with intensive farmers in the meat market because many breeds with slower weight gain and smaller body weights are grazed in semi-natural grasslands. Although two food quality schemes have been created in Estonia to value extensively grown meat, the permanent agricultural grasslands are under-supported, and the family farmers managing these areas feel the unfair distribution of subsidies. Moreover, family farms cannot compete with large farms, as the availability of pastures on family farms limits the number of livestock, and European Union animal welfare requirements and extreme weather conditions in 2023 have limited the number of herds. Since AESs have a large impact on farmers, we recommend that they be more flexible and consider the socio-cultural background of farmers and their impact on local communities when defining support. Full article

Ticks pose a significant threat due to their ability to lay thousands of eggs, which can persist in the environment for extended periods. While the impact of various compounds on adult and larval ticks has been studied, research on their efficacy against tick eggs is limited. This study evaluated the ovicidal activity of commercial acaricides, disinfectants, and natural products against Rhipicephalus annulatus eggs using the egg hatch assay (EHA). Deltamethrin and cypermethrin caused a non-significant inhibition of hatching (IH%), even at concentrations higher than the recommended levels. By contrast, the acaricides chlorpyrifos, phoxim, and amitraz significantly inhibited hatching at all tested concentrations. Ivermectin also demonstrated significant IH% at various concentrations but did not fully inhibit the hatching process. Among the disinfectants tested, Virkon-S^®, TH4, and Chlorox showed insignificant effects, whereas formalin achieved an IH% of only 34.1% at a high concentration of 200 mg/mL. Natural products, carvacrol and thymol, exhibited significant ovicidal activity, with a significant IH%. In a semi-field application, phoxim (0.5 mg/mL) and deltamethrin (0.05 mg/mL) were sprayed on tick eggs on pasture soil from a farm. The results indicated that phoxim-treated eggs had a 40% IH%, while deltamethrin-treated eggs showed only an 8.79% IH%. In conclusion, the acaricides amitraz, phoxim, and chlorpyrifos, as well as the natural products carvacrol and thymol, caused significant toxicity to R. annulatus eggs. Full article

Caatinga is a typical Brazilian biome facing severe threats despite its ecological and socio-economic importance. Conservation strategies are essential in protecting ecosystems and ensuring natural resource sustainability. Mata da Pimenteira State Park (PEMP), launched in 2012, is an example of such a strategy. The current study aims to use orbital remote sensing techniques to assess human impacts on changes in land use and land cover (LULC) after the establishment of PEMP in the semi-arid region known as Caatinga, in Pernambuco State. The effects of this unit on vegetation preservation were specifically analyzed based on using data from the MapBiomas Brasil project to assess trends in LULC, both in and around PEMP, from 2002 to 2020. Man–Kendall and Pettitt statistical tests were applied to identify significant changes, such as converting forest areas into pastures and agricultural plantations. Trends of the loss and gain of LULC were observed over the years, such as forest areas’ conversion into pasture and vice versa, mainly before and after PEMP implementation. These findings highlight the importance of developing conservation measures and planning to help protecting the Caatinga, which is a vital biome in Brazil. Full article

The degradation of pastures and meadows is a global problem with a wide range of impacts. It affects farmers in different ways, such as decreases in cattle production, milk yield, and forage quality. Still, it also has other side effects, such as loss of biodiversity, loss of resources, etc. In this study, the degradation of a semi-natural pasture near the village of Obichnik, Bulgaria, was evaluated using machine learning algorithms, and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) obtained visual spectrum images. A high-quality (HQ) orthomosaic of the area was created and numerous regions of interest were manually marked for training and validation purposes. Three machine learning algorithms were used—Maximum likelihood, Random trees (RT), and Support Vector Machine (SVM). Furthermore, object-based and pixel-based approaches were utilized. The obtained results indicate that the object-based RT and SVM models provide significantly better accuracy, with their Cohen’s Kappa reaching 0.86 and 0.82, respectively. The performed classification showed that approximately 61% of the investigated pasture area is covered with grass, which indicates light-to-medium degradation. Full article

Groundwater is the main clean water resource in northern China, and its quality is critical for both human health and social sustainable development. Due to complex anthropogenic and/or geogenic processes, the sources of groundwater contaminants are not easy to determine. The Tabu River Basin, located in northern China, is an agriculture and pasture interlaced area in which phreatic groundwater is the predominant water resource for domestic and agricultural purposes. Groundwater with abnormally high levels of NO₃⁻, F⁻, and TDS was observed here based on 87 groundwater samples collected from the phreatic aquifer in 2022. In this study, hydrogeochemical and isotopic methods were used to trace groundwater contaminants in the phreatic aquifer, and a risk assessment was conducted to analyze their threat to human health. The results indicated that NO₃⁻ in the phreatic groundwater primarily originated from manure, the high concentration of TDS was highly associated with irrigation, and the enrichment of F⁻ was mainly controlled by geogenic factors, including alkaline condition, competitive adsorption, the dissolution of fluorine-bearing minerals, and cation exchange. A principal component analysis (PCA) showed that both anthropogenic (PC1, 50.7%) and geogenic (PC2, 19.9%) factors determined the quality of the phreatic groundwater in the study area. The human health risk assessment demonstrated that 98.9%, 92.0%, and 80.5% of the groundwater samples exceeded the permissible limit of the total noncarcinogenic risk for children, adult females, and adult males, respectively. The monitoring results from 2022 to 2023 suggested that phreatic groundwater contamination could not be mitigated through natural attenuation under the existing external pressures. Measures need to be taken to decrease the contamination of phreatic groundwater and enhance the groundwater sustainability in the Tabu River Basin. The findings of this study can provide a reference for sustainable groundwater development in the Tabu River Basin and other arid and semi-arid regions worldwide. Full article

Rising platemeters are commonly used in Ireland and New Zealand for managing intensive pastures. To assess the applicability of a commercial rising platemeter operating with a microsonic sensor to estimate herbage mass with its own equation, the objectives were (i) to validate the original equation; (ii) to identify possible factors hampering its accuracy and precision; and (iii) to develop a new equation for heterogeneous swards. A comprehensive dataset (n = 1511) was compiled on the pastures of dairy farms. Compressed sward heights were measured by the rising platemeter. Herbage mass was harvested to determine reference herbage availability. The adequacy of estimating herbage mass was assessed using root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean bias. As the adequacy of the original equation was low, a new equation was developed using multiple regression models. The mean bias and the RMSE for the new equation were overall low with 201 kg dry matter/ha and 34.6%, but it tended to overestimate herbage availability at herbage mass < 500 kg dry matter/ha and underestimate it at >2500 kg dry matter/ha. Still, the newly developed equation for the microsonic sensor-based rising platemeter allows for accurate and precise estimation of available herbage mass on pastures. Full article

The topicality of our research topic is justified by the significant change in traditional grassland management in the grassland areas of the Pannonian Basin. Due to several factors, the proportion of fallow grassland, and in parallel of over-exploited pastures, is continuously increasing. In the medium term (11 years), the effects of fallowing (Z), annual mowing (M), mowing and grazing (meadow treatment M + G), and permanent overgrazing (OG) as treatments on the population structure of grassland plants were investigated in a semi-natural grassland community in the Solonyec soil. It was found that the lowest degradation rates in the studied grassland biotope were obtained for the treatment presenting the utilisation pattern of mowing the main grassland phytomass followed by sheep grazing of the coltgrass. The highest degradation levels, which threatened the condition of the grassland community, were measured for the treatment presenting overgrazing with sheep at the end of the experimental period. Full article

The agricultural sector is currently confronting multifaceted challenges such as an increased food demand, slow adoption of sustainable farming, a need for climate-resilient food systems, resource inequity, and the protection of small-scale farmers’ practices. These issues are integral to food security and environmental health. Remote sensing technologies can assist precision agriculture in effectively addressing these complex problems by providing farmers with high-resolution lenses. The use of vegetation indices (VIs) is an essential component of remote sensing, which combines the variability of spectral reflectance value (derived from remote sensing data) with the growth stage of crops. A wide array of VIs can be used to classify the crops and evaluate their state and health. However, precisely this high number leads to difficulty in selecting the best VI and their combination for specific objectives. Without thorough documentation and analysis of appropriate VIs, users might find it difficult to use remote sensing data or obtain results with very low accuracy. Thus, the objective of this review is to conduct a critical analysis of the existing state of the art on the effective use of VIs for the discrimination and monitoring of several important agricultural crops (wheat, corn, sunflower, soybean, rape, potatoes, and forage crops), grasslands and meadows. This data could be highly useful for all the stakeholders involved in agricultural activities. The current review has shown that VIs appear to be suitable for mapping and monitoring agricultural crops, forage crops, meadows and pastures. Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data were the most utilized sources, while some of the frequently used VIs were EVI, LAI, NDVI, GNDVI, PSRI, and SAVI. In most of the studies, an array of VIs needed to be employed to achieve a good discrimination of crops or prediction of yields. The main challenges in using VIs are related to the variation of the spectral characteristics during the vegetation period and to the similarities of the spectral signatures of various crops and semi-natural meadows. Thus, further studies are needed to establish appropriate models for the use of satellite data that would prove to have greater accuracy and provide more relevant information for the efficient monitoring of agricultural crops. Full article

Soil organisms are the biological drivers of processes and functions that maintain soil properties and ecosystem services. Soil fauna contribute to nutrient turnover, decomposition and other important biogeochemical processes. This investigation assessed the diversity and abundance of soil arthropods (0.1–4 mm) along a chronosequence of land use types covering a relatively small geographical distance but with the same underlying soil type and climatic conditions. The compared habitats and the approximate ages since anthropogenic disturbance were ancient woodland (>200 y), old woodland (<200 y), unimproved semi-natural grassland (>50 y), willow/poplar coppice (>30 y), unimproved permanent pasture (<20 y), improved permanent pasture (<10 y), and recently grazed and reseeded grassland (>2 y), and the soil types of all habitats were the same within a 5 km radius. Land use type and age since anthropogenic disturbance significantly (p < 0.05) influenced the community composition of soil fauna, with richer arthropod communities found in woodlands compared with recently managed grassland. This study has confirmed a significant effect of land use type and age since disturbance on soil faunal diversity and community structure. Full article

Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. (Rhamnaceae) (Chinee Apple, Indian Jujube, or Ber) is a significant woody weed in the drier tropics of northern Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory. Throughout these regions, its densely formed thickets influence the structure, function, and composition of rangeland ecosystems by outcompeting native pasture species. Despite this, the recent literature is heavily focused on the horticultural value of domesticated Ziziphus species in South Asia (China, India, and Pakistan), particularly its potential for poverty alleviation in arid or semi-arid areas. In fact, there has been comparatively little research undertaken on its invasiveness or associated ecological factors in pastoral contexts. Currently, the management of Z. mauritiana is limited to the application of synthetic herbicides or mechanical clearing operations. There is also considerable interest in the exploitation of host-specific, natural enemies (biological control agents, herbivorous insects, fungi, bacteria, or viruses) for limiting the vigour, competitiveness, or reproductive capacity of Z. mauritiana in northern Australia. The development of a “bioherbicide” in lieu of synthetic counterparts may foster a more resilient coexistence between agricultural systems and the natural environment owing to its reduced environmental persistence and increased target specificity. This review summarises the current literature on the weediness, ecological impacts, and current management of this problematic weed, thereby identifying (i) opportunities for further research and (ii) recommendations for improved management within its invasive range. Full article

The growing population, the transition dietary towards animal-based products, and the preference for the brand of grass-feeding livestock are bringing increasing pressure on natural grasslands, especially for dry-land areas. The Xilingol League of China is famous for its free-range livestock product, however, overgrazing and herders’ benefits damage are always serious issues for this semi-arid grassland region. This study focuses on the relationship between the supply of natural grassland and the consumption of free-range livestock in the Xilingol League, and this study employed the grassland carrying capacity as the index to judge the sustainability states and its trends of the local grass-feeding system. Satellite data production of net primary production was used for grassland production, statistical livestock data and the consumption model were used for actual forage consumption, and empirical key informant interview data were used to obtain a more comprehensive understanding. The results show that: (1) the natural grassland carrying capacity of the Xilingol League fluctuated, showing improvement from 2000 to 2021; (2) the grassland management needs to be more diversified in different regions with different natural conditions; and (3) while the demand for free-range, high-quality beef is increasing, attention should be paid to the carrying capacity of natural pastures and more consideration should be taken of the benefits of balancing the livelihood of herders, policy strategies, and the customers’ preferences. Potential ways of doing this include employing technologies to improve livestock production, and further exploring and promoting the economic value of the free-range livestock and the geographical indication to get the economic–ecological win-win situation. The research framework and results would be beneficial to reveal the potential threats in pastoral areas and provide support for the optimization of the regional grass-feeding breeding system, especially in middle-income countries. Full article

Silvipastoral agroforestry in the form of forest grazing and wooded semi-natural pastures has historically been very important for the Swedish supply of food and wood products for local use. Since the end of the 1800s, this form of combined production system has greatly decreased and now covers only 1% of Sweden’s land area. However, in recent decades it has gained increased relevance for reasons of landscape, biodiversity and climate. Agroforestry’s decline and possible future increase are described through reviews of statistics and the literature read by farmers and politicians whose decisions are behind the development. Especially when it comes to biodiversity and climate, this review also includes the scientific literature. Surveys on Swedish citizens’ valuation of silvipastoral agroforestry landscapes compared to treeless pasture and closed forest are also reviewed. It is possible that efforts to increase Sweden’s low self-sufficiency in beef and lamb meat, the coming requirements according to the EU’s nature restoration law and the need to limit climate change through carbon sequestration in trees may again increase the area of silvipastoral agroforestry. For this to be economically feasible, large grazing areas can be created out of remaining small scattered wooded semi-natural pastures and intervening forestland, which historically may have been grazed forests. Full article