IMPROVEMENT OF SOUTHEASTERN ALBERTA RANGE WITH FERTILIZERS

1967 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 671-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Johnston ◽  
S. Smoliak ◽  
A. D. Smith ◽  
L. E. Lutwick
Keyword(s):  
Total Yield ◽  
Bouteloua Gracilis ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Vegetation Changes ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Agropyron Smithii ◽  
Artemisia Frigida ◽  
Hordeum Jubatum ◽  
Mixed Prairie ◽  
Prairie Vegetation

Mixed Prairie vegetation in fair condition was fertilized with various rates of P, N, and NP. Rates of application by an increasing-rate spreader were: low, 10–185 kg/ha N, 10–155 kg/ha P; medium, 375–705 kg/ha N, 300–550 kg/ha P; and high, 870–1095 kg/ha N, and 680–820 kg/ha P. Total yield increased as a result of all fertilizer treatments. Palatability of fertilized vegetation was increased. Character of vegetation, unchanged by low rates, was changed by medium and high rates of N and NP. Bouteloua gracilis (HBK.) Lag., Stipa comata Trin. and Rupr., Koeleria cristata (L.) Pers., and Selaginella densa Rydb. decreased; Agropyron smithii Rydb., A. dasystachyum (Hook.) Scribn., and Artemisia frigida Willd. increased; and fertilized plots were invaded by Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb, Chenopodium leptophyllum Nutt., and Hordeum jubatum L. Fertilizer application increased rangeland production by about 300% at low rates and about 900% at high rates; the latter were accompanied by major vegetation changes. Since long-term effects of vegetation changes are unknown, only low rates of fertilizer application, which had little effect on the vegetation, can be recommended.

Production characteristics of the mixed prairie: constraints and potential

1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 765-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. D. Willms ◽  
P. G. Jefferson
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Bouteloua Gracilis ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Canadian Prairies ◽  
Mixed Prairie

The mixed prairie represents the most arid region of the Northern Great Plains in Canada. Approximately 6.5 M ha of the original total of 24 M ha have retained their native character. The native prairie supports about 5.3 M animal–unit–months or about 15% of all beef cattle present on the Canadian prairies. A large portion of the area is dominated by either needle-and-thread (Stipa comata Trin. + Rupr.) or western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii Rydb.), both cool season grasses, and associated with blue grama [Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. ex Steud.] a warm season grass. These species define the major plant communities of the mixed prairie and determine their production potential. However, their production is limited by available water during the growing season and by soil nutrients; factors which also influence their species composition. Grazing imposes a significant impact on the grasslands by altering the water and nutrient cycles, through defoliation and reduced plant litter, and eventually by affecting the species composition. Removing litter may reduce forage production by up to 60% and repeated defoliation will favour the more drought tolerant but less productive species. Forage production may be increased by seeding introduced species, which have a greater shoot to root ratio than native grasses, or with fertilizer application. Livestock production may be increased with the use of grazing systems. However, the benefits of each practice on the mixed prairie must be assessed in terms of their cost, their impact on the environment, and the reduced or lost value for other users. Key words: Biomass, above-ground, below-ground, water-use efficiency, reseeding, soil fertility, grazing efficiency

Wheat Crops and Native Prairie in Relation to the Nutritional Ecology of Camnula pellucida (Scudder) (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in Saskatchewan

1963 ◽  
Vol 95 (7) ◽  
pp. 764-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Pickford
Keyword(s):  
Dominant Role ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
Bouteloua Gracilis ◽  
Field Cage ◽  
Agropyron Smithii ◽  
Native Prairie ◽  
Prairie Grasses ◽  
Complete Life Cycle ◽  
Stipa Comata ◽  
Mixed Prairie

AbstractField cage experiments conducted through the complete life cycle of Camnula pellucida (Scudder) demonstrated that wheat, the major cereal crop grown in Saskatchewan, played the dominant role in the nutritional ecology of this grasshopper. A native sod mixture, comprising Stipa comata, Bouteloua gracilis, Agropyron smithii, and Carex eleocharis, four of the dominant species of the mixed prairie association, was consistently unfavourable during all stages of grasshopper growth and development. Grasshoppers reared on wheat survived better, were considerably larger and laid up to 20 times more eggs than those reared on the native prairie grasses. The presence of the native sod with wheat contributed nothing nutritionally to the food combination. The unfavourable qualities of the native grasses, although resulting in small adults, low fecundity and small pods, did not affect the hatchability of eggs laid or the development and survival of nymphs that hatched from them.

scholarly journals LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF GRAIN LEGUMES ON RAINY-SEASON SORGHUM PRODUCTIVITY IN A SEMI-ARID TROPICAL VERTISOL

2000 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. REGO ◽  
V. NAGESWARA RAO
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Central India ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Carthamus Tinctorius ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Total N ◽  
Sorghum Grain

In southern and central India, farmers crop Vertisols only in the post-rainy season, to avoid land management problems in the rainy season. In 1983 ICRISAT established a long-term trial seeking to intensify cropping. The trial included intercrops, sequential crops and appropriate Vertisol management technology to allow consecutive rainy-season and post-rainy season crops to be grown. Benefits provided by legumes to succeeding rainy-season sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) were analysed in relation to a non-legume system of sorghum + safflower (Carthamus tinctorius). Rainy-season sorghum grain yield production was sustained at about 2.7 t ha−1 over 12 years within a continuous sorghum–pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) intercrop system. With a cowpea–pigeonpea intercrop system, succeeding sorghum benefitted each year by about 40 kg N ha−1 (fertilizer nitrogen (N) equivalent). Without N fertilizer application the sorghum grain yield was around 3.3 t ha−1. Legume benefits were less marked in the chickpea (Cicer arietinum)-based rotation than in the pigeonpea system, in which a 12-year build up of soil total N (about 125 μg g−1) was observed. Although sorghum benefitted from this system, pigeonpea yields declined over time due to soil-borne fungi and nematodes. Wider rotations of crops with pigeonpea may help to overcome these problems, while sustaining sorghum production.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF ROW SPACING AND FERTILIZER ON THE PRODUCTIVITY OF RUSSIAN WILD RYEGRASS

1968 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Lawrence ◽  
D. H. Heinrichs
Keyword(s):  
Ammonium Phosphate ◽  
Phosphate Fertilizer ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Forage Yield ◽  
Row Spacing ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Bare Ground ◽  
Drought Period

A study was conducted from 1947 to 1966 to determine the long-term effects of row spacings and applications of ammonium phosphate fertilizer (16–20–0) on the productivity and persistence of Russian wild ryegrass, Elymus junceus Fisch.The optimum row spacing for highest seed production was 0.9 m, whereas for highest forage production it was 0.6 m. The 280-kg/ha rate of fertilizer significantly increased the seed and forage yield over the 151-kg/ha rate, which in turn significantly increased the yield over the zero fertilizer treatment.Increases in precipitation in August and September increased the seed yield of Russian wild ryegrass the following year. Significant positive correlations were found between forage yields and precipitation during March, April, May, and the previous September for practically all treatments.Width of row increased with age of stand. During the 19-year period there was still bare ground between the grass rows seeded 0.9 and 1.2 m apart. These areas of bare ground were slightly narrower when fertilizer was used, indicating that fertilizer application tended to accelerate row-width development.Russian wild ryegrass was found to have excellent cold tolerance, drought tolerance and persistence. It survived through a long drought period and resisted invasion by weeds and volunteer grass seedlings after the third crop year.

EFFECT OF HERBICIDE TREATMENTS ON DANDELION, ALFALFA AND SAINFOIN YIELDS AND QUALITY

1990 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 1105-1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. MOYER ◽  
R. HIRONAKA ◽  
G. C. KOZUB ◽  
P. BERGEN
Keyword(s):  
Protein Content ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Protein Digestibility ◽  
Dry Matter Digestibility ◽  
Untreated Check ◽  
Increase Protein Content ◽  
Hordeum Jubatum ◽  
Medicago Sativa L ◽  
Control Protein ◽  
In Sacco

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciaefolia Scop.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) were seeded in 1978 and 1979, respectively. Weed control treatments initiated in sainfoin in 1979 and in alfalfa in 1980 included annual applications of terbacil, metribuzin, simazine, hexazinone and chlorsulfuron until 1985 plus an untreated check. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber) was the main weed infesting check plots in the sainfoin and alfalfa stands. Quackgrass (Agropyron repens L. Beauv.) and nonpalatable weeds such as foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum L.) produced 4.5 and 4.0% of the total yield, respectively, where chlorsulfuron selectively controlled broadleaf weeds. In hexazinone, metribuzin and chlorsulfuron treatments, alfalfa and sainfoin stands were almost free of dandelions. In sainfoin plots, dandelion control produced large increases in sainfoin and total herbage yield. In alfalfa plots, dandelion control had no effect on alfalfa yield or total yield. In sacco dry matter digestibility in a 72-h experiment was higher for dandelions than for alfalfa, whereas protein digestibilities were similar for these herbages. The protein content was less in dandelions than in alfalfa at the first harvest. Thus, dandelion control in sainfoin may increase yield, whereas dandelion control in alfalfa does not seem to increase yield but may increase protein content and marketability.Key words: Control, protein, digestibility, hexazinone, terbacil, metribuzin

Effects of Grazing on Abundance and Distribution of Shortgrass Steppe Consumers

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel G. Milchunas ◽  
William K. Lauenroth
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Carbon Allocation ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Bouteloua Gracilis ◽  
Shortgrass Steppe ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Grazing Effects

Although livestock are the most obvious consumers on the shortgrass steppe, they are certainly not the only consumers. However, livestock may influence the other consumers in a number of different ways. They may directly compete for food resources with other aboveground herbivores. There is behavioral interference between livestock and some species of wildlife (Roberts and Becker, 1982), but not others (Austin and Urness, 1986). The removal of biomass by livestock alters canopy structure (physiognomy) and influences microclimate. Bird, small-mammal, and insect species can be variously sensitive to these structural alterations (Brown, 1973; Cody, 1985; MacArthur, 1965; Morris, 1973; Rosenzweig et al., 1975; Wiens, 1969). There are both short- and long-term effects of grazing on plant community species composition, primary production, and plant tissue quality. Belowground consumers can also be affected by the effects of grazing on soil water infiltration, nutrient cycling, carbon allocation patterns of plants, litter accumulation, and soil temperature. The overall effects of livestock on a particular component of the native fauna can be negative or can be positive through facilitative relationships (Gordon, 1988). In this chapter we assess the effects of cattle grazing on other above- and belowground consumers, on the diversity and relative sensitivity of these groups of organisms, and on their trophic structure. We first present some brief background information on plant communities of the shortgrass steppe and on the long-term grazing treatments in which many of the studies reported herein were conducted. Details on the plant communities are presented by Lauenroth in chapter 5 (this volume), grazing effects on plant communities by Milchunas et al. in chapter 16 (this volume); and grazing effects on nutrient distributions and cycling by Burke et al. in chapter 13 (this volume). The physiognomy of the shortgrass steppe is indicated in its name. The dominant grasses (Bouteloua gracilis and Buchloë dactyloides), forb (Sphaeralcea coccinea), and carex (Carex eleocharis) have the majority of their leaf biomass within 10 cm of the ground surface. A number of less abundant midheight grasses and dwarf shrubs are sparsely interspersed among the short vegetation, but usually much of their biomass is within 25 cm of the g round. Basal cover of vegetation typically totals 25% to 35%, and is greater in long-term grazed than in ungrazed grassland. Bare ground (more frequent on grazed sites) and litter-covered ground (more frequent on ungrazed sites) comprise the remainder of the soil surface (Milchunas et al., 1989).

Studies on the cutting management of grass-clover swards. III. The effects of prolonged close and lax cutting on herbage yields and quality

1962 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Reid
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Rest Period ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Rye Grass ◽  
Leaf Formation ◽  
Grass Sward ◽  
Strip Grazing

1. The effects of two heights of cutting—down to either 1 in. or 2–2½ in. from ground level—on herbage yields were studied for five seasons with a perennial rye-grass-white clover mixture and for three seasons with a timothy-white clover mixture. Superimposed on these height-of-cutting treatments were treatments simulating strip grazing with and without a back-fence, and also three fertilizer nitrogen treatments.2. Over the 5-year period the rye-grass mixture consistently gave greater dry-matter and crude-protein yields of herbage when cut to 1 in. than it did when cut to 2–2½ in. from ground level, the mean dry-matter yield difference being 34%. The decline in the total yield per season with increasing age of the grass sward was similar under both heights of cutting.3. The effects of the height-of-cutting treatments on the timothy mixture were similar to those noted on the rye-grass mixture in the first three seasons of the experiment, but in the third year the beneficial effects of close cutting were much reduced. It is suggested that this resulted from the rest period between cuts being insufficient for timothy to recover fully from the close defoliation.4. The effects of the height-of-cutting treatments on the botanical composition of the sward were slight, particularly on plots of the rye-grass mixture.5. Possible factors leading to the observed effects of the height-of-cutting treatments are discussed with reference to the results of other workers and to the results from a preliminary study of the differential effects of the treatments on stem and leaf formation in perennial rye-grass.6. A simulation of strip grazing with and without a back-fence showed that the herbage yields from both seeds mixtures under both height-of-cutting treatments were considerably reduced by the removal of the regrowth which could take place in the absence of a back-fence.7. The effects of delaying the first nitrogenoua fertilizer application of the season noted in an earlier experiment were fully confirmed in this experiment.

Slope, aspect, and slope position as factors controlling grassland communities in the coulees of the Oldman River, Alberta

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 1371-1378 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. J. Lieffers ◽  
P. A. Larkin-Lieffers
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Bouteloua Gracilis ◽  
Slope Position ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Artemisia Frigida ◽  
Energy Aspect ◽  
Koeleria Macrantha ◽  
Stipa Comata ◽  
Direct Ordination ◽  
Oldman River

Vegetation and environmental variables were examined in some coulees of the Oldman River near Lethbridge, Alta. Principal components analysis of environmental variables indicated that solar energy, aspect, soil Mg2+, [Formula: see text], and moisture were related to the first axis of variation. Slope position, soil [Formula: see text], moisture, K+, [Formula: see text], and amount of bare ground were related to a second axis of variation. There was a large range in species diversity among plots; most diverse plots were on north-facing slopes. Direct ordination of vegetation data indicated that slope position and aspect were most important in describing distribution of species. Koeleria macrantha, Bouteloua gracilis, Stipa comata, and Artemisia frigida were found on most coulee positions. Hymenoxys richardsonii, Machaeranthera grindeloides, Astragalus spatulatus, and Eriogonum flavum were mostly restricted to summit and upper slope positions. Anemone patens, Geum triflorum, Thermopsis rhombifolia, and others were most abundant on north- and east-facing slopes. Fewer species (e.g., the C4 Aristida longiseta and the cactus Coryphantha vivipara) were mostly confined to south-facing positions.

HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS AND GRASSHOPPER COMMUNITY DYNAMICS ON MIXED-GRASS RANGELAND

1991 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Quinn ◽  
R.L. Kepner ◽  
D.D. Walgenbach ◽  
R.A. Bohls ◽  
P.D. Pooler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Detrended Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Bouteloua Gracilis ◽  
Community Change ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Agropyron Smithii ◽  
Spatial Gradients ◽  
Mixed Grass ◽  
The Difference

AbstractA study was conducted in Butte County of western South Dakota to determine the relationships between habitat characteristics and spatial and temporal changes in community structure of grasshoppers on mixed-grass rangeland. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) of 29 undisturbed grasshopper communities and correlation analysis of DCA axis values and habitat variables denned specific spatial gradients underlying the community structure of grasshoppers. Results indicated that grasshopper communities changed along a primary gradient of percentage of coverage of grasses, particularly Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm., and a secondary gradient of percentage composition of clay and sand in the soil.DCA of 24 grasshopper communities sampled in 1986 and 1987, multiple regression analysis, and factor analysis were used to determine the relationships between specific habitat characteristics and changes in communities of grasshoppers treated with either a nonselective insecticidal spray (malathion) or a selective insecticidal bait (bran bait with carbaryl). Results indicated that between-year change in community composition, or the difference between post-treatment communities in 1986 and 1987, was positively correlated with percentage of coverage of total grasses and forbs. Community malleability, defined as the tendency of a community to return to its predisturbed state, was greater in habitats with high coverages of Agropyron smithii Rydb. and Carex spp., low coverage of Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. ex Steud., and low species richness of grasses. Our results emphasize the importance of habitat characteristics in structuring undisturbed grasshopper communities and in community change after perturbation with insecticides.

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