Clearcutting Brazilian caatinga: assessment of a traditional forest grazing management practice

This study was conducted to compare orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) cultivar performance under contrasting management systems (hay vs. rotational grazing) during the first two production years. The trial consisted of eight orchardgrass cultivars broadcast seeded in a randomized complete-block design, with three replications. The perimeter of each replication was fenced, and the area was divided into two sections. The first section was managed as a simulated hay production system. The second section was managed by simulating a rotational grazing system using crossbred ewes. Dry matter (DM) yield was determined before harvesting or grazing. Tiller density (TD) and leaf area index (LAI) were measured on four cultivars prior to harvesting and grazing. Excellent DM yield and persistence were obtained from all cultivars in both years under hay management but varied considerably under grazing management. Cultivar ranking according to DM yield under hay management was different from ranking based on performance under pasture management. One group of four cultivars had a decrease in yield of 19.9% in the second year of grazing, over the first year, but yield of the remaining group increased by 5.7% (SED = 9.83). Production of hay was similar for both groups. Early-maturing cultivars yielded 7% more DM and had higher crop growth rates (CGR), LAI and TD than late-maturing cultivars. Growth characteristics of orchardgrass cultivars as measured by DM yield, CGR, LAI and TD were modified by management practice. As a result, evaluating orchardgrass varieties under a hay management system was not effective in determining their performance under grazing. Key words:Dactylis glomerata, cultivar evaluation, cultivar development, grazing, yield, yield components

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Livestock grazing management and biodiversity conservation in Australian temperate grassy landscapes

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar03024 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 279 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

J. Dorrough ◽

A. Yen ◽

V. Turner ◽

S. G. Clark ◽

J. Crosthwaite ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biodiversity Conservation ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Management Practices ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Management Practice ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Livestock Grazing ◽

Grazing Management ◽

Grazing Strategies

There is an increasing interest in the development of livestock grazing management strategies that achieve environmental sustainability and maintain or improve the long-term production capacity of commercial grazing systems. In temperate Australia, these strategies are generally focussed on reducing perennial pasture decline, soil loss, acidity, and salinity. An additional challenge facing land managers and researchers is developing grazing strategies that also maintain and enhance local and regional biodiversity. However, few studies have assessed the compatibility of management practices for maintaining long-term productivity and biodiversity conservation. We still have only a very basic understanding of the effects of different grazing strategies and pasture management on biodiversity and this is a major impediment to the development of appropriate and compatible best management practice. We argue that although there is an increasing desire to find management strategies that protect and enhance biodiversity without hindering long-term agricultural production, in many cases this may not be possible. Current knowledge suggests that compatibility is most likely to be achieved using low-input systems in low productivity (fragile) landscapes, whereas in highly productive (robust) landscapes there is less opportunity for integration of productive land-use and biodiversity conservation. There is an urgent need for improved communication and collaboration between agronomic and ecological researchers and research agencies to ensure that future programs consider sustainability in terms of biodiversity as well as pasture and livestock productivity and soil and water health.

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Chemical Composition and Grazing Value of Napier Grass, Pennisetum Purpureum Schum., Grown under a Grazing Management Practice 1

Agronomy Journal ◽

10.2134/agronj1942.00021962003400020008x ◽

1942 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 167-174 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

R. E. Blaser ◽

W. G. Kirk ◽

W. E. Stokes

Keyword(s):

Chemical Composition ◽

Management Practice ◽

Napier Grass ◽

Grazing Management ◽

Pennisetum Purpureum ◽

Pennisetum Purpureum Schum

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Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and greater lotus (Lotus uliginosus) in perennial pastures in eastern Australia. 1. Effects of grazing management on persistence

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1071/ea04241 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 503 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

J. F. Ayres ◽

M. J. Blumenthal ◽

J. W. O'Connor ◽

L. A. Lane ◽

H. I. Nicol

Keyword(s):

Management Practice ◽

Lotus Corniculatus ◽

Grazing Management ◽

South Coast ◽

North Coast ◽

Birdsfoot Trefoil ◽

Severe Drought ◽

Grazing Experiment ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

Lotus Uliginosus

A study was undertaken in the Perennial Pasture Zone in New South Wales, Australia, to investigate the potential of lotus-based pastures (greater lotus, Lotus uliginosus Schukr.; birdsfoot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus L.) to improve grazing production. The study was based on a methodology that combined a grazing experiment to determine the effects of grazing management on lotus persistence, with a co-learning phase to assess the adaptation and applications of lotus across the high rainfall zone. The present paper reports on the grazing experiment that was replicated in 4 regions (North Coast, South Coast, Northern Tablelands, Southern Tablelands) and that included combinations of grazing strategy (summer rest, autumn rest, 14-day spell or 28-day spell), grazing intensity (low or high herbage mass), Lotus species and cultivar (L. uliginosus cvv. Grasslands Maku, Sharnae; L. corniculatus cv. Grasslands Goldie or ‘Spanish’ breeding line) and companion grass (sown or volunteer) treatments. The experiment provided results for the establishment and botanical presence of both Lotus species, and the expression of their persistence mechanisms in these 4 environments. Greater lotus cv. Grasslands Maku established best under coastal conditions and birdsfoot trefoil cv. Grasslands Goldie established best under tablelands conditions. The degree of nodulation of greater lotus cv. Sharnae and birdsfoot trefoil cv. Grasslands Goldie was less than nodulation of greater lotus cv. Grasslands Maku, but nodulation had no apparent effect on seedling vigour. The population density of all Lotus cultivars declined substantially at the North Coast, South Coast and Southern Tablelands sites during severe drought conditions. However, both birdsfoot trefoil cv. Grasslands Goldie and greater lotus cv. Grasslands Maku remained relatively stable at the Northern Tablelands site with greater lotus cv. Grasslands Maku maintaining 20–40% presence and birdsfoot trefoil cv. Grasslands Goldie retaining 30–50% presence, depending on time of year. In general, there was little effect of grazing management practice on arresting the decline in lotus presence due to drought, or on enhancing the regeneration processes associated with lotus persistence.

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Effect of aboveground mass removal on toxicity of Geyers larkspur, with important implications for grazing management

10.1101/492900 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Kevin Jablonski ◽

Paul J. Meiman

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Management Practice ◽

Grazing Management ◽

Western United States ◽

Poisonous Plants ◽

Ongoing Research ◽

Mass Removal ◽

Best Management ◽

Practice Recommendations ◽

The Many

The many species of larkspur (Delphinium spp. L.) are among the most dangerous poisonous plants on rangelands in the western United States, causing death losses estimated at 2-5% (up to 15%) per year for cattle grazing in larkspur habitat. Other effects, such as altered grazing management practices and consequent lost forage quantity and quality, are significant but poorly understood. Current best management practice recommendations are based on seasonal avoidance, with little evidence that this is practical or effective. Our ongoing research has presented evidence that instead it may be possible to manage grazing such that all cattle eat some larkspur, but none eat a fatal dose. This raises the question of the potential response of larkspur to being grazed. In this study we examine the response of Geyers larkspur (D. geyeri Greene ) to two seasons of 25% or 75% aboveground plant mass removal. The 75% treatment led to significantly lower alkaloid concentrations (mg/g) and pools (mg per plant), while the 25% treatment had a lesser effect. Combined with lessons from previous studies, this indicates that Geyers larkspur plants subject to aboveground mass removal such as may occur via grazing can be expected to become significantly less dangerous to cattle. We suggest that the mechanisms for this reduction are both alkaloid removal and reduced belowground root mass, as significant evidence indicates that alkaloids are synthesized and stored in the roots. These results continue to build support for our theory that the solution to the seemingly intractable challenge of larkspur poisoning lies not in avoidance but in the skill of managers and the wisdom of herds.

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Sensitivity of Winter-Active Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) to Different Grazing Regimes

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy8070124 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 124 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Vivianne Burnett ◽

Jeff Hirth ◽

Kym Butler ◽

Meredith Mitchell ◽

Steve Clark ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medicago Sativa ◽

Plant Density ◽

Management Practice ◽

New South ◽

Management Program ◽

Grazing Management ◽

Rotational Grazing ◽

South Wales ◽

Medicago Sativa L ◽

Summer Growth

Lucerne (alfalfa; Medicago sativa L.) is the key forage for grazing in dryland temperate regions around the world. While rotational grazing of lucerne is recommended, in southern Australia the intervals between grazing events are often chosen in an opportunistic manner, to meet livestock production targets and utilise excessive spring and summer growth. To assess whether the persistence of lucerne is sensitive to variations in rotational grazing management practice, we report on an experiment with four sheep grazing treatments that was conducted for 2.5 years, including three summers, in southern New South Wales. The grazing management treatments were a crash-grazing control, frequent grazing, feed-based rotational grazing and time-based rotational grazing, replicated four times. The number of grazing events, percentage of time under grazing, lucerne top dry matter (DM) at the beginning and end of grazing periods and plant density were measured. The results relating to number of grazing events, percentage of time grazing and DM removed during grazing indicated that four grazing practices had been achieved. The treatments all had significant periods of rest for at least 73% of time and were empirically different in their approach but resulted in similar grazing pressures, in terms of overall pasture removed during grazing. Nevertheless, there was little difference in lucerne densities between grazing treatments over the life of the experiment. We conclude that there is flexibility in the rotational management of grazed lucerne provided adequate rest periods are part of the management program.

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Prohibited, but still present: local and traditional knowledge about the practice and impact of forest grazing by domestic livestock in Hungary

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine ◽

10.1186/s13002-020-00397-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Anna Varga ◽

László Demeter ◽

Viktor Ulicsni ◽

Kinga Öllerer ◽

Marianna Biró ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Traditional Knowledge ◽

Management Practice ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Livestock Grazing ◽

Native Forest ◽

Ecological Knowledge ◽

Forest Grazing ◽

Local And Traditional Knowledge ◽

Forest Use ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Forests have been grazed for millennia. Around the world, forest grazing by livestock became a controversial management practice, gradually restricted in many countries over the past 250 years. This was also the case in most Central and Eastern European countries, including Hungary, where forest grazing was a legally prohibited activity between 1961 and 2017. Until the 2010s, ecologists and nature conservationists considered it merely as a historical form of forest use. As a result, there is little contemporary scientific information available about the impact of forest grazing on vegetation and the traditional ecological knowledge associated with it. Our aim was to explore and summarize this type of knowledge held by herders in Hungary. Methods We interviewed 58 knowledgeable herders and participated in forest grazing activities in 43 study locations across the country. The results were analysed qualitatively. Results We revealed a living ecological knowledge tradition and practice of forest grazing in native and non-native forest stands. The impact of livestock grazing on native and non-native forests is not considerably different, in the view of the herders. For both forest types, the greatest impact of grazing was the suppression of the shrub layer, while grazing also increased the dominance and palatability (“tameness”) of the grasses. Livestock could cause significant damage to seedlings during forest grazing, but if done with care, grazing could also be an integral part of forestry management. Conclusions Sustainability of current forest grazing practices depends on the depth of local and traditional knowledge applied and herders’ stewardship. We stress the importance of collaborating with holders of local and traditional knowledge in order to gain a better understanding of the effects of livestock grazing on vegetation in temperate forests.

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