scholarly journals Grazing Seasons and Stocking Rates Affects the Relationship between Herbage Traits of Alpine Meadow and Grazing Behaviors of Tibetan Sheep in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Xiao ◽  
Tao Zhang ◽  
Jay Peter Angerer ◽  
Fujiang Hou
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Intake Rate ◽  
Fiber Concentration ◽  
Grazing Behavior ◽  
Tibetan Sheep ◽  
Stocking Rates

Under the combined effect of stocking rate and grazing season, it is very significant to ascertain whether there is a quantitative relationship between plant community characteristics, chemical composition of forage, and grazing behaviors of Tibetan sheep to better utilize native pasture in the northeast region of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP). The two consecutive year observation experiments on Tibetan sheep’s grazing behavior were conducted to evaluate the above-stated relationships between stocking rates of 8 sheep/ha and 16 sheep/ha stocking rates in the both the warm and cold seasons. The results demonstrated that at 8 sheep/ha or in the warm season, due to better forage quality, Tibetan sheep had higher herbage mass, forage crude protein (CP) concentration, CP intake, dry matter intake (DMI), and interval between feed boluses and total number of steps, as well as lower fiber concentration than that at 16 sheep/ha or in the cold season. Diurnal intake rate and walking velocity while intaking increased as both average daylight ambient temperature and relative humidity rose. Using the CP concentration, acid detergent fiber (ADF) concentration, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentration, and forage metabolic energy (ME) to predict grazing behavior yielded the best fit equation for Tibetan sheep. For local herdsmen to sustainably use the alpine meadow, 8 sheep/ha in the warm season should be considered as the better grazing condition for preventing grassland degradation.

Recovery and germinability of seeds ingested by yaks and Tibetan sheep could have important effects on the population dynamics of alpine meadow plants on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojun Yu ◽  
Changlin Xu ◽  
Fang Wang ◽  
Zhanhuan Shang ◽  
Ruijun Long
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Passage Time ◽  
Total Recovery ◽  
Tibetan Sheep ◽  
Seed Width ◽  
Meadow Species

Seed dispersal by livestock in lowland rangelands has received attention from researchers in recent decades while there has been little research into the dispersal of alpine meadow plants’ seed after ingestion by yaks and Tibetan sheep. This study assessed the recovery and germination of seeds by feeding known quantities of seeds from 20 alpine meadow species to yaks and Tibetan sheep. Seeds from 18 out of 20 of the plant species fed to Tibetan sheep survived ingestion and defecation. All of the species fed to the yaks survived. The recovery rate of undamaged seed ranged from 0.4 to 58.4% for yaks and 0.0 to 28.1% for Tibetan sheep. In general, total recovery of ingested seeds from yaks (28.1%) was significantly higher than that from the sheep (9.4%). Passage time of seeds through the digestive tract ranged from 12 to 96 h for yaks and from 12 to 84 h for Tibetan sheep. Seed recovery was negatively related to seed length (yak, r = –0.59; Tibetan sheep, r = –0.52) but was not related to seed width, seed thickness and seed mass. Seeds defecated by yaks and Tibetan sheep were found to have a range of germination rates which were both higher and lower compared with undigested seed depending on the plant species. It is argued that ingestion of seed by grazing yak or Tibetan sheep may have important effects on the population dynamics of alpine plant species of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

4Flowering Responses of Alpine Meadow Plant in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau to Extreme Drought Imposed in Different Periods

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengxiang MOU ◽  
Geng SUN ◽  
Peng LUO ◽  
Zhiyuan WANG ◽  
Guangrong LUO
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Extreme Drought

scholarly journals 87 Evaluation of two stocking rates for grazing heifers on mixed sward native warm-season grass pastures in the Black Belt Prairie region

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 27-27
Author(s):  
Jane A Parish ◽  
Kalisha C Yankey ◽  
Libby S Durst
Keyword(s):  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Sorghastrum Nutans ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
Little Bluestem ◽  
Year Effect ◽  
Plant Persistence ◽  
Stocking Rates

Abstract Optimal use of native warm-season grasses in pasture systems involves stocking grazing livestock at suitable rates. The study objective was to evaluate forage nutritive value and heifer ADG at two stocking rates on mixed-sward pastures of big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi Vitman), little bluestem (Andropogon scoparius), and indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans L.). Pastures (3 replications) were stocked for 56 d during June and July in 2 yr with crossbred (Bos taurus) heifers (n = 24 heifers/year) stratified by initial BW (288.3 ± 1.7 kg) to one of two continuous stocking rates: 1.9 heifers/ha (HIGH) and 1.2 heifers/ha (LOW). Mean forage nutritive values on a DM basis were not different between HIGH and LOW stocking rates, respectively, for CP (7.0 ± 0.2% vs 6.7 ± 0.2%; P = 0.27), ADF (41.0 ± 0.6 vs. 41.4 ± 0.6; P = 0.64), NDF (69.9 ± 0.5 vs. 68.7 ± 0.5; P = 0.09), or relative feed value (RFV) (76.0 ± 1.0 vs. 76.9 ± 1.0; P = 0.53). There was a year effect (P < 0.01) and stocking rate x day effect (P < 0.01) for TDN. At LOW, TDN decreased from day 0 to day 28 (P = 0.02) and day 28 to day 56 (P = 0.02). At HIGH, TDN decreased (P < 0.01) from day 0 to day 28 but remained steady until day 56 (P = 0.21). There was a stocking rate x day interaction (P < 0.01) with ADG: LOW day 28 to 56 (1.20 ± 0.08 kg/day), HIGH day 0 to 28 (0.89 ± 0.08 kg/day), HIGH day 28 to 56 (0.44 ± 0.08 kg/day), and LOW day 0 to 28 (0.30 ± 0.08 kg/day). Further assessment of cattle ADG using more divergent stocking rates and plant persistence measures is warranted to inform ideal native grass stocking rate recommendations.

Effects of drought and heat on the productivity and photosynthetic characteristics of alpine meadow plants on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 2079-2093
Author(s):  
Li Ma ◽  
Zhong-hua Zhang ◽  
Bu-qing Yao ◽  
Zhen Ma ◽  
Xiao-tao Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Photosynthetic Characteristics ◽  
Effects Of Drought

Responses of ecosystem respiration and its components to fertilization in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 101-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Jiang ◽  
Ning Zong ◽  
Minghua Song ◽  
Peili Shi ◽  
Weiling Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Ecosystem Respiration ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau

scholarly journals Modification of the summative equation to estimate daily total digestible nutrients for bermudagrass pasture

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prem Woli ◽  
Francis M Rouquette ◽  
Charles R Long ◽  
Luis O Tedeschi ◽  
Guillermo Scaglia
Keyword(s):  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Cynodon Dactylon ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽  
Systematic Bias ◽  
Grazing Season ◽  
Nutritive Values ◽  
Plant Maturity ◽  
Daily Total

Abstract In forage-animal nutrition modeling, diet energy is estimated mainly from the forage total digestible nutrients (TDN). As digestibility trials are expensive, TDN is usually estimated using summative equations. Early summative equations assumed a fixed coefficient to compute digestible fiber using the lignin-to-neutral detergent fiber (NDF) ratio. Subsequently, a structural coefficient (φ) was added to the summative equations to reflect an association between lignin and cell wall components. Additional modifications to the summative equations assumed a constant φ value, and they have been used as a standard method by many commercial laboratories and scientists. For feeds with nutritive values that do not change much over time, a constant φ value may suffice. However, for forages with nutritive values that keep changing during the grazing season owing to changes in weather and plant maturity, a constant φ value may add a systematic bias to prediction because it is associated with the variable lignin-to-NDF ratio. In this study, we developed a model to estimate φ as a function of the day of the year by using the daily TDN values of bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.], a popular warm-season perennial grass in the southern United States. The variable φ model was evaluated by using it in the TDN equation and comparing the estimated values with the observed ones obtained from several locations. Values of the various measures of fit used—the Willmott index (WI), the modeling efficiency (ME), R2, root mean square error (RMSE), and percent error (PE)—showed that using the variable φ vis-à-vis the constant φ improved the TDN equation significantly. The WI, ME, R2, RMSE, and PE values of 0.94, 0.80, 0.80, 2.5, and 4.7, respectively, indicated that the TDN equation with the variable φ model was able to mimic the observed values of TDN satisfactorily. Unlike the constant φ, the variable φ predicted more closely the forage nutritive value throughout the grazing season. The variable φ model may be useful to forage-beef modeling in accurately reflecting the impacts of plant maturity and weather on daily forage nutritive value and animal performance.

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