Response of forage plants to alteration of temperature and spring thaw date: implications for geese in a warming Arctic

Mammalian metabolism of plant phenolics, initially studied in monogastric animals, gave an emphasis to their toxic and antinutrient effects. Subsequent studies in tropical ruminants and wild herbivores have highlighted the high levels than can occur in some diets and the extensive microbial modification and degradation that can occur in the tract. This paper reviews aspects of plant phenolics as they relate to ruminant nutrition in tropical or semi-arid environments in which some forage plants contain high levels of phenolic compounds. Effects range from occasional acute toxicity of hydrolysable tannins, to acetate-releasing microbial degradations that apparently enable certain phenolics to act as nutrients. The most important and complex effects are those due to tannin-protein interactions. Although these can clearly reduce feed intake, nutrient digestibilities, and protein availability, many of the interactions are still not understood. The diverse effects of plant phenolics on nutrient flow probably result from the balance between adverse effects on some organisms and the rate at which they are degraded or inactivated by other organisms, and improved animal performance can likely be obtained by manipulation of rumen microbial metabolism.

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Forage Plants in a Montana High Altitude Nursery

Journal of Range Management ◽

10.2307/3894505 ◽

1953 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 240

Author(s):

Roald A. Peterson

Keyword(s):

High Altitude ◽

Forage Plants

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Forage quality declines with rising temperatures, with implications for livestock production and methane emissions

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-14-1403-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 1403-1417 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Mark A. Lee ◽

Aaron P. Davis ◽

Mizeck G. G. Chagunda ◽

Pete Manning

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Methane Production ◽

Nutritive Value ◽

Elevated Temperatures ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Forage Quality ◽

Livestock Farming ◽

Forage Plants ◽

Model Average ◽

Enteric Methane

Abstract. Livestock numbers are increasing to supply the growing demand for meat-rich diets. The sustainability of this trend has been questioned, and future environmental changes, such as climate change, may cause some regions to become less suitable for livestock. Livestock and wild herbivores are strongly dependent on the nutritional chemistry of forage plants. Nutrition is positively linked to weight gains, milk production and reproductive success, and nutrition is also a key determinant of enteric methane production. In this meta-analysis, we assessed the effects of growing conditions on forage quality by compiling published measurements of grass nutritive value and combining these data with climatic, edaphic and management information. We found that forage nutritive value was reduced at higher temperatures and increased by nitrogen fertiliser addition, likely driven by a combination of changes to species identity and changes to physiology and phenology. These relationships were combined with multiple published empirical models to estimate forage- and temperature-driven changes to cattle enteric methane production. This suggested a previously undescribed positive climate change feedback, where elevated temperatures reduce grass nutritive value and correspondingly may increase methane production by 0.9 % with a 1 °C temperature rise and 4.5 % with a 5 °C rise (model average), thus creating an additional climate forcing effect. Future methane production increases are expected to be largest in parts of North America, central and eastern Europe and Asia, with the geographical extent of hotspots increasing under a high emissions scenario. These estimates require refinement and a greater knowledge of the abundance, size, feeding regime and location of cattle, and the representation of heat stress should be included in future modelling work. However, our results indicate that the cultivation of more nutritious forage plants and reduced livestock farming in warming regions may reduce this additional source of pastoral greenhouse gas emissions.

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Nutritional influences on enzyme activities in saliva of Asian and African elephants

Journal of Comparative Physiology B ◽

10.1007/s00360-021-01378-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Carolin Boehlke ◽

Sabrina Schuster ◽

Lucas Kauthe ◽

Oliver Zierau ◽

Christian Hannig

Keyword(s):

Enzyme Activities ◽

African Elephants ◽

Salivary Amylase ◽

Asian Elephants ◽

Forage Plants ◽

Specific Effects ◽

Morphological Adaptations ◽

Nutritional Influences ◽

Temporary Decrease ◽

Species Specific

AbstractAsian and African elephants show morphological adaptations to their ecological niche including the oral cavity. Variety and preferences of forage plants differ between both herbivorous elephant species. Diet can affect salivary enzymes. Asian elephants were shown to have a higher salivary amylase activity than African elephants. Species-specific differences were presumed to be influenced by feeding during collection procedure. This study aimed to determine the influence of feeding on enzyme activities in saliva of both elephant species to differentiate from species-specific effects. Additionally, season and housing conditions on salivary enzyme activities in non-fed elephants of both species were investigated. Salivary amylase (sAA), lysozyme (sLYS) and peroxidase (sPOD) activity were measured photometrically or fluorometrically. Results of this study reinforce previous observations of higher basic sAA activity in Asian elephants compared to African elephants. Salivary LYS and sPOD activity showed neither species-specific nor housing-specific differences. Independent from season, most elephants of both species revealed a lack of or low sPOD activity. Feeding caused a temporary decrease of sAA, sLYS and sPOD activity in both elephant species kept in four of eight tested zoos. Furthermore, sAA activity in Asian elephants was higher and sLYS activity lower in Spring than in Autumn. This study summarizes that sAA and sLYS are components of Asian and African elephant saliva in an active conformation in contrast to sPOD. Diet varying between season and zoos might influence sAA and sLYS activities primarily in Asian elephants but temporary low effects suggest sufficient buffer capacity of elephant saliva of both species.

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Genetic Improvement of Perennial Forage Plants for Salt Tolerance

Saline and Alkaline Soils in Latin America ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-52592-7_20 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 399-414

Author(s):

Gustavo E. Schrauf ◽

Flavia Alonso Nogara ◽

Pablo Rush ◽

Pablo Peralta Roa ◽

Eduardo Musacchio ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Salt Tolerance ◽

Genetic Improvement ◽

Forage Plants

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Art in the service of agriculture: John Buchanan’s nature printing of ‘The Indigenous Grasses of New Zealand’

Back Story Journal of New Zealand Art, Media & Design History ◽

10.24135/backstory.vi1.10 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 23-36

Author(s):

Linda Tyler

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

New Zealand ◽

Art History ◽

Government Service ◽

Science History ◽

Scientific Illustration ◽

Forage Plants ◽

New Knowledge ◽

Scientific Papers ◽

Annual Publication

To disseminate new knowledge about scientific discoveries in New Zealand in the nineteenth century, draughtsmen were employed to convey the characteristics of a specimen using techniques of lithography, occasionally assisted by photography and microscopy. The Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute was an annual publication of scientific papers presented by experts at the various provincial branches throughout the country, and was first published in Wellington in 1868 and issued in 1869.1 Until his retirement from government service in 1885, it was primarily illustrated by John Buchanan (1819-1898). This paper aims to give a broader understanding of Buchanan’s significance for both New Zealand’s science history and its art history by considering his relationship to the emergent techniques of photography and lithography. His isolated use of nature printing for the production of the three volume guide to forage plants, The Indigenous Grasses of New Zealand, is placed in the context of the nineteenth century approach to scientific illustration as evidence.

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Spatial variability of soil phosphorus of a low productivity Brachiaria brizantha pasture

Scientia Agricola ◽

10.1590/s0103-90162003000300022 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 60 (3) ◽

pp. 559-564 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Edemar Joaquim Corazza ◽

Michel Brossard ◽

Takashi MuraokaI ◽

Maurício Antonio Coelho Filho

Keyword(s):

Spatial Variability ◽

Soil Phosphorus ◽

Organic Matter Content ◽

Fertilizer Application ◽

Matter Content ◽

Soil Samples ◽

Brachiaria Brizantha ◽

Soil P ◽

Forage Plants ◽

P Application

Studies on soil phosphorus (P) of low productivity cultivated pastures in Cerrado (Brazilian Savanna) areas and surveys on other possible problems related to P are scarce. The spatial variability of soil phosphorus content of a Rhodic Ferralsol was studied in a low productivity pasture of Brachiaria brizantha (BB) grown for 10 years, without fertilizer application, in an experimental area at Planaltina (GO), Brazil. Soil samplings were performed on a regular grid of 10 by 10 meters, with 98 sampling points before (between tussocks and under tussocks) and after the establishment of the experiment (after fertilizing). On the same grid, forage plants were collected and separated into fractions for N and P content analyses. Soil available phosphate was determined by the resin method (Pr) and complemented by the 32P isotopic exchange kinetics analysis. Descriptive statistical and geostatistical analyses were utilized to describe the spatial variability. The Pr content on soil samples under tussocks presented mean and median values 45% larger than in soil samples taken between tussocks. The higher variation is probably related to the greater concentration of BB roots, soil organic matter content and soil P recycled through the plants tussocks. The spatial variability of Pr in this soil was high especially after fertilizer application. This variable did not present spatial dependence for the regular 10 m sampling. The generated knowledge on P variability of soils under low productivity cultivated pastures revealed problems related to the sampling methodology traditionally utilized and to P application.

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IRRIGAÇÃO DE PASTAGENS VIA PIVÔ CENTRAL, NA BOVINOCULTURA DE CORTE.

Irriga ◽

10.15809/irriga.2009v14n4p492-503 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 492-503 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Leonardo Pretto de Azevedo ◽

João Carlos Cury Saad

Keyword(s):

Solar Radiation ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Irrigation System ◽

Economic Feasibility ◽

Forage Production ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Forage Plants ◽

Matter Production ◽

Tropical Forage ◽

Center Pivot

Irrigação de pastagens via pivô central, na bovinocultura de corte. Leonardo Pretto de Azevedo1; João Carlos Cury Saad21 Instituto Federal de São Roque, São Roque, SP, [email protected] de Engenharia Rural, Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 1 RESUMO O presente trabalho teve como objetivo apresentar o sistema de irrigação de pastagens via pivô central na bovinocultura de corte brasileira, bem como discutir a viabilidade econômica desta prática em diferentes regiões do país. Foram apresentados fatores importantes na produção de massa seca de forrageiras tropicais, como temperatura, radiação solar, adubação e água. Também foram apresentadas as vantagens e desvantagens do sistema, bem como uma breve discussão de sua viabilidade econômica. Concluiu-se que a irrigação de pastagens pode ser uma técnica economicamente viável para regiões específicas do Brasil, considerando-se os fatores envolvidos e esclarecendo que apenas o fornecimento de água às culturas não resolve o problema da estacionalidade durante o inverno. UNITERMOS: pivô central, forrageiras, viabilidade econômica AZEVEDO, L. P.; SAAD, J. C. C. Pasture irrigation under center pivot for beef cattle. 2 ABSTRACT The aims of this work were to show the pasture irrigation system by center pivot with Brazilian cattle and to discuss the economic feasibility of this technique in different regions of the country. Important parameters to dry matter production of tropical forage plants, as temperature, solar radiation, fertilization, and water requirement were shown Also, the system advantages and disadvantages and a discussion about economic feasibility of this technique were presented. It was concluded that pasture irrigation is a feasible and economical technique to some specific Brazilian regions, depending on appropriated parameters. This work also concludes that just water supply is not enough to assure forage production avoiding reduction in dry production in the winter. KEYWORDS: center pivot, pasture, economic feasibility

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Nutritional characteristics of cattle forage plants in the eutrophic nature reserve Oostvaardersplassen, Netherlands.

Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.18174/njas.v39i4.16536 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 263-272 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J.T. Vulink ◽

H.J. Drost

Keyword(s):

Energy Content ◽

Minimum Energy ◽

Early Summer ◽

Mineral Contents ◽

Cu Content ◽

Forage Plants ◽

Nutritional Characteristics ◽

Poa Trivialis ◽

Mg Content ◽

Salix Spp

During 1982-88 the nutritional value of the main cattle forage plants in the terrestrial part of the eutrophic wetland, the Oostvaardersplassen (dominated by Phragmites australis and Cirsium arvense, with small amounts of Urtica dioica, Poa trivialis and Salix spp.) was studied. Cattle diets were dominated by grass in early summer and autumn, P. australis in July and Aug., and browse in winter. DOM content and the chemical composition of the forage classes grasses, reed, forbs and browse varied seasonally. The DOM content of all forage classes decreased from spring to winter. However, the assumed minimum energy content for cattle maintenance (about 450 g DOM/kg DM) was reached at different moments in the different forage classes. Reed reached it in autumn, grasses in winter, forbs (living parts) remained the entire year above this level and browse remained the entire year below this level. Grazing delayed the maturation of P. trivialis, P. australis and U. dioica. The protein, K, Ca, P, Cu content of the 4 forage classes exceeded the cattle maintenance levels for these nutrients the whole year. The Na and Mg content of grasses, reed and browse were marginal in some periods of the year. Due to their high mineral contents, the forbs were an important mineral source in cattle diets. When compared with data from oligotrophic and mesotrophic habitats, the Poa-Phragmites eutrophic habitat offered comparable feed quality in spring, summer and autumn, but was inferior in winter. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)

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