7.3 Intensive mutton and wool production in the tropics

1981 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 407-410
Author(s):  
Marca Burns
Keyword(s):  
Dry Season ◽  
Kitchen Waste ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Sheep And Goats ◽  
Wool Production ◽  
Door Opening ◽  
Small Family ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Tropics

As with other species, traditional methods of sheep husbandry in the tropics are almost all extensive, usually involving shepherding on unfenced pastures in bush or even desert grazings. However, in both Nigeria and Ghana, it is not uncommon for small family flocks of sheep, or sheep and goats, to be confined to the compound behind the house. A room with a door opening on to the compound (either a part of the house or in another corner) is set aside to provide shelter from rain. The flock is fed partly on kitchen waste, such as plantain and cassava peelings, and partly on cut grass or the leaves of trees, the latter particularly in the dry season.

Reproduction in the northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) in the Australian Wet Tropics

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Vernes ◽  
Lisa Claire Pope
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Wild Population ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Timing Of Reproduction ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Wet Tropics ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Tropics

We investigated timing of reproduction in a wild population of northern brown bandicoots (Isoodon macrourus) in the Australian Wet Tropics. Almost all births occurred during the late dry season and early wet season, and most adult females (78–96%) were carrying pouch young during those times. Litter sizes ranged from 1 to 6 pouch young (mean = 3.1) and was not influenced by season. Adult males had significantly larger testes in the late dry and early wet seasons, corresponding with the peak in births. Daylength was the only environmental factor that predicted the presence of a litter; when daylength exceeded 12 h, more than 70% of captured females were carrying pouch young, and most (94%) births were estimated to have occurred on days with >12 h of daylight. Various environmental factors have been proposed as a cue for breeding in I. macrourus, with daylength though to be the primary cue initiating breeding in temperate Australia, but temperature and rainfall thought to be more important in the tropics. Our data suggest that in the Australian Wet Tropics, increasing daylength in the late dry season acts as the primary cue for breeding.

Rising ecosystem water demand exacerbates the lengthening of tropical dry seasons

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Xu ◽  
Xu Lian ◽  
Ingrid Slette ◽  
Hui Yang ◽  
Yuan Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Demand ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Dry Seasons ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Factor Governing

Abstract The timing and length of the dry season is a key factor governing ecosystem productivity and the carbon cycle of the tropics. Mounting evidence has suggested a lengthening of the dry season with ongoing climate change. However, this conclusion is largely based on changes in precipitation (P) compared to its long-term average (P ̅) and lacks consideration of the simultaneous changes in ecosystem water demand (measured by potential evapotranspiration, Ep, or actual evapotranspiration, E). Using several long-term (1979-2018) observational datasets, we compared changes in tropical dry season length (DSL) and timing (dry season arrival, DSA, and dry season end, DSE) among three common metrics used to define the dry season: P < P ̅, P < Ep, and P < E. We found that all three definitions show that dry seasons have lengthened in much of the tropics since 1979. Among the three definitions, P < E estimates the largest fraction (49.0%) of tropical land area likely experiencing longer dry seasons, followed by P < Ep (41.4%) and P < P ̅ (34.4%). The largest differences in multi-year mean DSL (> 120 days) among the three definitions occurred in the most arid and the most humid regions of the tropics. All definitions and datasets consistently showed longer dry seasons in southern Amazon (due to delayed DSE) and central Africa (due to both earlier DSA and delayed DSE). However, definitions that account for changing water demand estimated longer DSL extension over those two regions. These results indicate that warming-enhanced evapotranspiration exacerbates dry season lengthening and ecosystem water deficit. Thus, it is necessity to account for the evolving water demand of tropical ecosystems when characterizing changes in seasonal dry periods and ecosystem water deficits in an increasingly warmer and drier climate.

Foliar habit in mistletoe–host associations

Botany ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Glatzel ◽  
Hanno Richter ◽  
Mohan Prasad Devkota ◽  
Guillermo Amico ◽  
Sugwang Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Woody Plants ◽  
Wood Anatomy ◽  
Southern South America ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Nutrient Conservation ◽  
Large Vessels ◽  
Host Associations

Foliar habit in parasite–host associations of mistletoes and trees is a neglected aspect in the discussion of foliar habit of woody plants. Almost all of the world’s mistletoe species are evergreen, regardless of the foliar habit of their hosts. Deciduous mistletoes are rare and confined to the northern fringes of Loranthaceae in Eurasia, and to Misodendraceae and the monotypic genus Desmaria (Loranthaceae) in southern South America. There are no deciduous mistletoes in the tropics and subtropics. Based on existing information and hypotheses on foliar habit, we asked why the majority of mistletoe species is evergreen, even on deciduous hosts, and why seasonality is apparently no driver for the evolution of deciduousness in parasite–host systems. We postulate that nutrient conservation is the main driver for evergreenness in mistletoes. Based on our own observations of wood anatomy in the host–haustorium–mistletoe continuum we hypothesize that the phenomenon of deciduousness in northerly Loranthus species is a consequence of interrupted water supply in large vessels after frost. In South America we could not find a consistent correlation between wood anatomy and deciduousness. We assume that deciduousness in these mistletoes evolved long ago in Antarctic forests under climatic and ecological conditions quite different from today.

scholarly journals The relation between the crude fibre content of food and the milk production.

1955 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-39
Author(s):  
P. Schoorl
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Feeding Practices ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Fibre Content ◽  
Crude Fibre ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Crude Fibre Content

The Friesian cow in Indonesia gives about 1, 500 1. milk in about 240 days compared with 3, 800 1. in 300 days in the Netherlands. The author believes that the main reason for the low production in the tropics is not climate, but faulty feeding practices. A cow fed a typical Indonesian ration of reedy grass and fibrous concentrates gave 1, 003 1. milk in the first no days of her first lactation, but increased to 1, 870 1. in the first 102 days of her second lactation when given a diet containing much less crude fibre, in spite of the fact that the former lactation was in the wet and the latter in the dry season. G.F.S. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)

Comparative effects of three seasons on seed population and viability of cattle, sheep and goat dungs in South-West Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-101
Author(s):  
A. O. Jolaosho ◽  
J. A. Olanite ◽  
B. O. Oduguwa ◽  
E. A. O. Adekunle
Keyword(s):  
Rainy Season ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Sheep And Goats ◽  
South West ◽  
Three Samples ◽  
Seed Population ◽  
Higher Weights ◽  
Ruminant Animals ◽  
Viable Seeds ◽  
Number Of Seeds

An experiment to determine the effects of seasonal variations on population and viability of seeds in the faeces of ruminant animals was conducted between April to December 2001 using two breeds of cattle, sheep and goats. Three samples were collected per breed from three animals that were tagged for uniformity of data collection. Sampling took place weekly, in the mornings before the animals were taken out for grazing. The highest (P<0.05) total number of seeds, seeds/g dry weights and total number of viable seeds were recovered from cattle, while the least were from goats, but the reverse was the case for percentage viability. The weights of the faeces were significantly (P<0.05) higher in the rainy season than the dry season. The weights of the faeces reduced gradually as the dry season sets in. Likewise, there were more seeds in the early rain than in the late rain and early dry season, with the percentage viability higher in the late rains and early dry season than the early rainy season. There were more broadleaved weeds and sedges in the early rain than late rain and early dry season but the reverse was the case for grasses. In conclusion, although there were more faeces and consequently more seed production in the rainy season, however, but the viability was lower than in the dry season. Also, seeds of broadleaved plants were more in the rainy season while those of grasses were more in the dry season. More seeds and number of viable seeds were recovered from the faeces of cattle than sheep and goats in all the seasons due to the higher weights of faeces but the percentage viability was higher for sheep and goat than cattle. 

The Atmospheric Component of Biogeochemical Cycles in the Amazon Basin

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Artaxo
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Trace Gases ◽  
Biogeochemical Cycles ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Earth System ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Tropics

Tropical forests, with their high biological activity, have the potential to emit large amounts of trace gases and aerosol particles to the atmosphere. The accelerated development and land clearing that is occurring in large areas of the Amazon basin suggest that anthropogenic effects on natural biogeochemical cycles are already occurring (Gash et al. 1996). The atmosphere plays a key role in this process. The tropics are the part of the globe with the most rapidly growing population, the most dramatic industrial expansion and the most rapid and pervasive change in land use and land cover. Also the tropics contain the largest standing stocks of terrestrial vegetation and have the highest rates of photosynthesis and respiration. It is likely that changes in tropical land use will have a profound impact on the global atmosphere (Andreae 1998, Andreae and Crutzen 1997). A significant fraction of nutrients are transported or dislocated through the atmosphere in the form of trace gases, aerosol particles, and rainwater (Keller et al. 1991). Also the global effects of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other trace gases have in the forest ecosystems a key partner. The large emissions of isoprene, terpenes, and many other volatile organic compounds could impact carbon cycling and the production of secondary aerosol particles over the Amazon region. Vegetation is a natural source of many types of aerosol particles that play an important role in the radiation budget over large areas (Artaxo et al. 1998). There are 5 major reservoirs in the Earth system: atmosphere, biosphere (vegetation, animals), soils, hydrosphere (oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater), and the lithosphere (Earth crust). Elemental cycles of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and other elements interact with the different reservoirs of the Earth system. The carbon cycle has important aspects in tropical forests due to the large amount of carbon stored in the tropical forests and the high rate of tropical deforestation (Jacob 1999). In Amazonia there are two very different atmospheric conditions: the wet season (mostly from November to June) and the dry season (July-October) (see Marengo and Nobre, this volume). Biomass burning emissions dominate completely the atmospheric concentrations over large areas of the Amazon basin during the dry season (Artaxo et al. 1988).

scholarly journals Forests as ‘sponges’ and ‘pumps’: Assessing the impact of deforestation on dry-season flows across the tropics

2019 ◽  
Vol 574 ◽  
pp. 946-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge L. Peña-Arancibia ◽  
L. Adrian Bruijnzeel ◽  
Mark Mulligan ◽  
Albert I.J.M. van Dijk
Keyword(s):  
Dry Season ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
The Impact

Fate of urea-nitrogen from cattle urine in a pasture-crop sequence in a seasonally dry tropical environment

1985 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 809 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Vallis ◽  
DCI Peake ◽  
RK Jones ◽  
RL McCown
Keyword(s):  
Soil Depth ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Seasonally Dry ◽  
15N Urea ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Crop Sequence

The fate of urea-N in cattle urine applied during the dry season (in August) to the pasture phase of a pasture-crop sequence at Katherine, N.T., was investigated. Cattle urine labelled with 15N-urea was applied to three sets of microplots to measure the following parameters: (a) amount and distribution of 15N remaining in the microplots during the remainder of the dry season with 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 t ha-1 of pasture residues present initially; (b) the effect of placing the urine 5 cm below the soil surface on the amount of 15N remaining during the dry season; (c) uptake of 15N by the pasture during the early part of the wet season (October to December) and uptake by sorghum sown directly into the killed pasture in January. Residual 15N in the surface soil (0-15 cm) after the sorghum crop was also measured. Of the applied 15N, 26% was lost after 1 day, 32% after 7 days and 46% after 63 days. Losses were not affected by the amount of pasture residues on the microplots when the urine was applied. Almost all of the I5N remaining in the microplots was in the 0-7.5-cm layer of soil, and 65-75% of this was mineral N. The dry-season losses of 15N were presumably through volatilization of ammonia, because leaching was absent and no loss of 15N occurred when the urine was placed 5 cm below the soil surface. Pasture growth killed at the end of December contained 6.2% of the applied 15N, the sorghum crop recovered only a further 2.1%, and after harvest of the sorghum crop the 0-15.0-cm layer of soil contained 23%. Thus about half of the 15N remaining in the soil-plant system to the 15.0 cm soil depth at the end of the dry season disappeared during the following wet season, either as a gaseous loss or by leaching deeper into the soil.

Intake, digestibility and microbial-N synthesis in Creole goats fed grass/forage tree silage

2002 ◽  
Vol 2002 ◽  
pp. 139-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Sol ◽  
FJ Solorio-Sanchéz ◽  
CA Sandoval-Castro
Keyword(s):  
Present Experiment ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Animal Performance ◽  
Supplementary Feed ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Microbial N ◽  
Feeding Systems

Forage trees are commonly used in the tropics as supplementary feed for ruminants. However, during the dry season where grass is of poor quality, many trees also shed their leaves and are no longer available. Adequate strategies are to be evaluated to allow forage trees to be introduced into feeding systems as good quality supplements along the year. Silage might be an adequate technology if the resultant product allow similar animal performance as those achieved using commercial concentrate as supplement, but few studies have been conducted with forage tree silages. The objective of the present experiment was to evaluate intake, digestibility and microbial-N synthesis of diets supplemented with grains or forage tree silage.

7.5 Urea and Poultry Manure as Protein Supplement to Low Grade Grass for Sheep in the Accra Plains

1982 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 151-153
Author(s):  
F. K. Fianu ◽  
R. K. G. Assoku
Keyword(s):  
Forest Type ◽  
Poultry Manure ◽  
Nutrient Deficiency ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
West African ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Low Protein ◽  
Retarding Effect ◽  
The Tropics

The low protein content of dry season forage and its growth retarding effect on livestock has long been recognised as one of the main technical bottlenecks in ruminant livestock production in the tropics (Oyenuga, 1957; Lansbury, 1958; Rose-Innes, 1960). Such nutrient deficiency results in as much as 15% live-weight loss in grazing animals during the dry season, this delaying their maturity (Rose-Innes, 1960; Otchere, Dadzie, Erbynn and Abyebo, 1977). To help solve this problem, nitrogenous feedstuffs such as urea, poultry manure, groundnut cake and copra cake have been examined. Reported here is work on urea and poultry manure tested on West African Forest Type lambs at Legon, Ghana.

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