The spatial dimension of pastoral herding: A case study from the northern Negev

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 129-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Arnon ◽  
Tal Svoray ◽  
Eugene David Ungar
Keyword(s):  
Slope Angle ◽  
Spatial Dimension ◽  
Movement Speed ◽  
Semiarid Region ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Gis Tools ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Gps Devices ◽  
Grazing Ecology

Sustainable management of heterogeneous grazing systems requires better understanding of the spatial dimension of grazing ecology. We deployed animal-borne GPS devices to map the daily foraging excursions of a shepherded flock of 200 goats under traditional Bedouin management, on a study site in the semiarid region of the northern Negev, Israel. A total of 88 daily foraging excursions were mapped during the herbaceous growing seasons of 2002 and 2003, and the spatial dimension was analyzed with GIS tools. A typical foraging excursion lasted 5.5 h, during which the flock moved across the landscape at an average speed of 0.3 m/s (1.1 km/h) and traveled 5.4 km. The foraging route was highly elongated in shape and reached a distance of 1.5 km from the night corral. Flock movement speed was affected significantly by distance from the night corral, being greatest at shortest and longest distances. Speed decreased with increasing slope angle and differed between aspects. The frequency of flock presence across the study site deviated significantly from random with respect to aspect but not to slope angle and distance from the corral. The effect of aspect changed slightly between the study years. The product of daily distance traveled and flock path width yielded a rate of area coverage of 0.122 km2 per day. The average amount of herbage dry matter removed on any one pass of the flock is therefore in the order of just a few grams per square meter. The use of the area available to the flock was highly non-uniform, which suggests that better planning of grazing management could mitigate negative effects of grazing.

scholarly journals Geographic Information Systems and the Sustainable Development of Rural Areas

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Krystyna Kurowksa ◽  
Renata Marks-Bielska ◽  
Stanisław Bielski ◽  
Audrius Aleknavičius ◽  
Cezary Kowalczyk
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Spatial Dimension ◽  
Geographic Information ◽  
Spatial Analyses ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Current State ◽  
Gis Tools ◽  
Political Economic

Sustainable development is socioeconomic growth that integrates political, economic, and social measures alongside environmental protection to meet the needs of communities and citizens without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The sustainable development concept was initially based on three main pillars: environment, economy, and society. In successive years, this concept has been expanded to include new pillars. The awareness of these changes has influenced our research interests. The main research objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of geographic information system (GIS) tools (data, tools, and multidimensional analyses) to the implementation of sustainable development principles in rural areas. The study covered rural and nonurbanized areas in Poland, especially farmland, forests, fisheries, and farms. The study presents the results of our research into environmental, economic, and social determinants of growth in the spatial dimension. GIS tools continue to evolve, which improves access to information and increases database managers’ awareness that highly accurate data are needed for spatial analyses. GIS systems allow us to formulate, in a structured and formal way, models that reflect both the current state and forecast changes that will occur in space. It is a very useful tool in the sustainable development of rural areas.

scholarly journals Facilitation Effects of Haloxylon salicornicum Shrubs on Associated Understory Annuals, and a Modified “Stress-Gradient” Hypothesis for Droughty Times

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1726
Author(s):  
Nasr H. Gomaa ◽  
Ahmad K. Hegazy ◽  
Arafat Abdel Hamed Abdel Latef
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Stress Gradient ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Annual Species ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Dry Seasons ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Haloxylon Salicornicum

Perennial shrub-annual plant interactions play key roles in desert regions influencing the structure and dynamics of plant communities there. In the present study, carried out in northwestern Saudi Arabia, we examined the effect of Haloxylon salicornicum shrubs on their associated understory annual species across four consecutive growing seasons, along with a record of the seasonal rainfall patterns. We measured density and species richness of all the annual species in permanent quadrats located beneath individual shrubs, as well as in the spaces between shrubs. During wet growing season H. salicornicum shrubs significantly enhanced the density and species richness of sub-canopy species, whereas in the relatively dry seasons they exerted negative effects on the associated species. In all growing seasons, the presence of shrubs was associated with enhanced soil properties, including increased organic carbon content, silt + clay, and levels of nutrients (N, P and K). Shrubs improved soil moisture content beneath their canopies in the wet growing season, while in the dry seasons they had negative effects on water availability. Differences in effects of H. salicornicum on understory plants between growing seasons seem due to the temporal changes in the impact of shrubs on water availability. Our results suggest the facilitative effects of shrubs on sub-canopy annuals in arid ecosystems may switch to negative effects with increasing drought stress. We discuss the study in light of recent refinements of the well-known “stress-gradient hypothesis”.

scholarly journals Energy balance measurements over a banana orchard in the Semiarid region in the Northeast of Brazil

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (11) ◽  
pp. 1365-1373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Antonio Costa dos Santos ◽  
Bernardo Barbosa da Silva ◽  
Tantravahi Venkata Ramana Rao ◽  
Christopher Michael Usher Neale
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Energy Balance ◽  
Eddy Covariance ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Irrigation District ◽  
Semiarid Region ◽  
Energy Balance Closure ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Eddy Covariance System

The objective of this work was to evaluate the reliability of eddy covariance measurements, analyzing the energy balance components, evapotranspiration and energy balance closure in dry and wet growing seasons, in a banana orchard. The experiment was carried out at a farm located within the irrigation district of Quixeré, in the Lower Jaguaribe basin, in Ceará state, Brazil. An eddy covariance system was used to measure the turbulent flux. An automatic weather station was installed in a grass field to obtain the reference evapotranspiration (ET0) from the combined FAO-Penman-Monteith method. Wind speed and vapor pressure deficit are the most important variables on the evaporative process in both growing seasons. In the dry season, the heat fluxes have a similar order of magnitude, and during the wet season the latent heat flux is the largest. The eddy covariance system had acceptable reliability in measuring heat flux, with actual evapotranspiration results comparing well with those obtained by using the water balance method. The energy balance closure had good results for the study area, with mean values of 0.93 and 0.86 for the dry and wet growing seasons respectively.

scholarly journals APLICAÇÃO DE NITROGÊNIO COMPLEMENTAR VIA FOLIAR NA CULTURA DO MILHO SUBMETIDO AO DESPENDOAMENTO

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-132
Author(s):  
CRIZ RENÊ ZANOVELLO ◽  
FABIANO PACENTCHUK ◽  
JAQUELINE HUZAR-NOVAKOWISKI ◽  
GUILHERME ZAMBONIN ◽  
ANTHONY HASEGAWA SANDINI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yield ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Maize Yield ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Maize Crop ◽  
Yield Increase ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Negative Effect

RESUMO – O milho é uma planta monoica, e a geração de novos híbridos exige a remoção do pendão das plantas.Sabe-se que a remoção do pendão possui efeito negativo na produtividade da cultura. Contudo, a aplicação de Ncomplementar, via foliar, poderia minimizar essas perdas. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar como o Ncomplementar afeta a produtividade e os componentes de rendimento da cultura do milho submetida ao despendoamento.O estudo foi conduzido em delineamento de blocos casualizados em esquema fatorial 2 x 3 x 5, sendo duas safras(2014/15 e 2015/16), três momentos de despendoamento (sem despondoamento, arranquio de 2-3 folhas e arranquiode 4-5 folhas antes do pendoamento) e cinco doses de N complementar (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 L ha-1) aplicadas no estádio depré-pendoamento (VT). Não foi verificada interação N complementar X despendoamento para nenhuma das variáveisestudadas. A menor produtividade foi verificada no despendoamento de 4-5 folhas. A aplicação de N complementaraumentou a produtividade da cultura do milho, e a aplicação de 11,5 L ha-1 incrementou a produtividade em 448 kgha-1. O despendoamento diminuiu a produtividade da cultura do milho, quanto mais precoce o despendoamento, maisnegativo é o efeito na produtividade.Palavras-chave: Melhoramento genético, N complementar, pendoamento, produção de sementes, Zea mays.FOLIAR APPLICATION OF COMPLEMENTARY NITROGEN,IN MAIZE SUBJECTED TO DETASSELINGABSTRACT – Maize is a monoic plant and the generation of new hybrids requires the removal of the tassel from theplants, which has a negative effect on crop yield. However, the use of complementary leaf nitrogen (N) fertilization,could minimize the yield losses. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect os the application ofcomplementary N affects on yield of the maize crop subjected to detasseling. The study was carried out in a randomizedcomplete block design, with a 2 x 3 x 5 factorial scheme and four replications. Two growing seasons (2014/15 and2015/16), three detasseling moments (without detasseling, detasseling of 2-3 leaves, and detasseling of 4-5 leaves)and five doses of complementary N (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 L ha-1) applied at the VT stage. There was no interaction betweencomplementary N and detasseling for any of the variables studied. The lowest yield was verified with the detasselingof 4-5 leaves. The application of complementary N showed a positive effect on maize yield, and the application of 11.5L ha-1 of complementary N provided yield increase of 448 kg ha-1. The detasseling technique had negative effects onmaize crop yield, the earlier is the detasseling, the more negative is the effect on yield.Keywords: Genetic improvement, Seed production, tasseling, Zea mays.

scholarly journals Revival of traditional best practices for rangeland restoration under climate change in the dry areas

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 643-659
Author(s):  
Azaiez Ouled Belgacem ◽  
Farah Ben Salem ◽  
Mouldi Gamoun ◽  
Roukaya Chibani ◽  
Mounir Louhaichi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Human Pressure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Dry Areas ◽  
Southern Tunisia ◽  
Grazing Systems

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the benefits of reintroducing traditional grazing systems practices for improving arid rangelands. Grazing is the most extensive land use in southern Tunisia, but the rangelands have suffered many decades of severe degradation due to profound socioeconomic changes and the emergence of an agro-pastoral society in place of the former pastoral one. Traditional grazing systems (gdel and herd mobility), which had historically allowed for grazing deferment and control of grazing livestock were abandoned. Yet grazing management strategies are important tools to sustain integrated livestock rangeland production systems in dry areas in the face of ongoing climate change and human pressure. Design/methodology/approach This study assesses the revival of traditional best practices of rangeland resting in a representative community. Total plant cover, species composition, flora richness and range production were determined in six rangeland sites subjected respectively to one, two and three years of rest; one and two years of light grazing after rest; and free grazing (control). Findings Results showed that dry rangelands keep their resilience to the negative effects of climate change once human pressure is controlled. A maximum of two years of rest is enough to sustainably manage the rangelands in southern Tunisia, as this protection showed considerable and positive effects on the parameters scored. Originality/value The revival of the traditional best practices under new arrangements adapted to current biophysical and socioeconomic conditions would be an excellent tool to mitigate the negative effects of frequent droughts and reduce the animal feed costs that poor farmers face.

scholarly journals The onset in spring and the end in autumn of the thermal and vegetative growing season affect calving time and reproductive success in reindeer

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amélie Paoli ◽  
Robert B Weladji ◽  
Øystein Holand ◽  
Jouko Kumpula
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Plant Phenology ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Vegetation Growth ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Finnish Lapland ◽  
Reindeer Population

Abstract A developing trophic mismatch between the peak of energy demands by reproducing animals and the peak of forage availability has caused many species’ reproductive success to decrease. The match–mismatch hypothesis (MMH) is an appealing concept that can be used to assess such fitness consequences. However, concerns have been raised on applying the MMH on capital breeders such as reindeer because the reliance on maternal capita rather than dietary income may mitigate negative effects of changing phenologies. Using a long-term dataset of reindeer calving dates recorded since 1970 in a semidomesticated reindeer population in Finnish Lapland and proxies of plant phenology; we tested the main hypothesis that the time lag between calving date and the plant phenology in autumn when females store nutrient reserves to finance reproduction would lead to consequences on reproductive success, as the time lag with spring conditions would. As predicted, the reproductive success of females of the Kutuharju reindeer population was affected by both the onset of spring green-up and vegetative senescence in autumn as calves were born heavier and with a higher first-summer survival when the onset of the vegetation growth was earlier and the end of the thermal growing season the previous year was earlier as well. Our results demonstrated that longer plant growing seasons might be detrimental to reindeer’s reproductive success if a later end is accompanied by a reduced abundance of mushrooms.

scholarly journals Indicators to assess goat welfare on-farm in the semiarid region of Brazilian Northeast

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luana Oliveira Leite ◽  
Fabiana de Orte Stamm ◽  
Rita de Cassia Maria Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Semiarid Region ◽  
Dairy Goats ◽  
Brazilian Semiarid ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Meat Goat ◽  
Brazilian Northeast ◽  
On Farm

ABSTRACT: In 2015, AWIN Goat Protocol was published in Europe, with indicators that identify welfare level of lactating dairy goats; however, there are no welfare protocols for meat goat. Therefore, the objective of this study was to select animal and resource-based indicators to assess welfare in meat goat in different types of grazing systems in Brazilian semiarid Northeast. Eighteen indicators were selected to evaluate the welfare of meat goat. The knowledge of the welfare degree of these animals is the best way to make improvements and promote a better quality of life to meat goat.

scholarly journals In-furrow inoculation of soybean as alternative to fungicide and micronutrient seed treatment

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 1103-1112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubens José Campo ◽  
Ricardo Silva Araujo ◽  
Fábio Luís Mostasso ◽  
Mariangela Hungria
Keyword(s):  
Seed Treatment ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Biological N2 Fixation ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Grain Crop ◽  
First Time ◽  
Liquid Inoculant

Soybean is a major grain crop in Brazil, and yields can be considerably improved by inoculation with selected Bradyrhizobium strains. However, the incompatibility between inoculation and seed treatments with fungicides and micronutrients represents a major barrier to the achievement of high rates of biological N2 fixation. Inoculation practices that can alleviate the negative effects of agrochemicals must therefore be found and in-furrow inoculation seems to be an attractive alternative. This study reports the results of seven field experiments conducted in three growing seasons in Brazil; three in soils previously cropped with inoculated soybean (> 10(4) cells g-1 of soil of Bradyrhizobium), and four in areas where the crop was sown for the first time (< 10² cells g-1 of soil of Bradyrhizobium). The compatibility with fungicides and micronutrients was compared in seeds inoculated with peat or liquid inoculants, or treated with different doses of liquid inoculant in-furrow. In areas with established Bradyrhizobium populations, seed-applied agrochemicals did generally not affect nodulation, but also did not increase yields, while inoculation always increased N grain accumulation or yield, and N fertilizer decreased both nodulation and yield. Where soybean was sown for the first time, the seed treatment with agrochemicals affected nodulation when applied together with peat or liquid inoculant. In-furrow inoculation alleviated the effects of seed treatment with agrochemicals; the best performance was achieved with high Bradyrhizobium cell concentrations, with up to 2.5 million cells seed-1.

scholarly journals Covering Norway spruce container seedlings with reflective shading cloth during field storage affects seedling post-planting growth

New Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikko Tikkinen ◽  
Johanna Riikonen ◽  
Jaana Luoranen
Keyword(s):  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Grey Mould ◽  
Storage Conditions ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Test Field ◽  
Stem Water Potential ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Seedling Mortality ◽  
Container Seedlings ◽  
Growing Seasons

AbstractThe field storage of container seedlings is often a necessity after the seedlings have been transported from nurseries close to the regeneration area. Suboptimal storage conditions can lead to reduced growth or even seedling mortality. Supporting favourable conditions for the seedlings during storage requires labour, especially for the watering of seedlings, and therefore increases the costs of forest regeneration. In this study, we examined the effects of covering Norway spruce container seedlings with a reflective shading cloth and neglecting the watering during field storage. This was done by measuring the drying of the seedlings during field storage, the rooting of the seedlings when planting, and the subsequent survival and performance in the field two and three growing seasons after planting. The study comprised one-year-old Norway spruce container seedlings covered with reflective shading cloth and seedlings with no cover (subject to rainfall) in 2012 and 2013; additionally, in 2013, replicates from both treatments were stored in conditions where rainfall was impeded. The stem water potential was measured, a rooting test was carried out, and the seedlings were planted in the test field weekly over 42 days of field storage without watering. As a novel finding, the results indicate that covering the seedlings with a reflective shading cloth during the field storage increased the risk of grey mould in summer storage and led to negative effects regarding post planting seedling development. The application of a shading cloth directly on the seedlings cannot be recommended to prolong the watering intervals during field storage in the current climatic conditions in Southern Finland, where the risk of grey mould is high.

scholarly journals Assessing inland excess water risk in Kanjiza (Serbia)

Geografie ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imre Nađ ◽  
Vladimir Marković ◽  
Marko Pavlović ◽  
Uglješa Stankov ◽  
Gordana Vuksanović
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Images ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Risk Map ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Excess Water ◽  
Gis Tools ◽  
Water Hazard ◽  
Very High

Inland excess waters cause numerous considerable problems in economy, society and environment on a low lying parts of Serbia. The SEERISK methodology has been used for assessing the risk of inland excess water in Kanjiža municipality in Serbia. By applying the GIS tools, inland excess areas were extracted and categorization of different hazards level was done for following cover types: vegetable, orchard, crop, vineyard, grassland and forest. Analysing the satellite images for the selected period (March 2011, August 2012, April 2013 and June 2013), results show that four occurrences of inland excess water were recorded at 0.07% of territory, three occurrences at 0.53% of territory, two occurrences at 3.86%, one occurrence at 9.26% and there were no occurrences at 86.28% of territory. As the final result, the risk map shows four inland excess water risk level zones ranked from “Low”, “Medium”, “High” to “Very high” which can be used by the local authorities in order to design strategies for reducing negative effects from inland excess water hazard.

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