Short-term effects of shrub control on two different plant communities in Argentina

The aim of this work was to study the effect of controlling jarilla (Larreaspp.), nonforage shrubs for livestock, on two plant communities with different forage production in the arid mid-west of Argentina. Total vegetation cover, forage species cover and carrying capacity were determined during three growing seasons, for cleared and uncleared plots. At the end of the study, significant differences were found in theLarrea cuneifoliacommunity, where average forage species cover increased by 156% over the control, and greater carrying capacity (129%) was also obtained from the cleared treatment. No significant differences were found in theLarrea divaricatacommunity. Data lead us to recommend shrub control as an improvement practice only in areas with low forage species cover and poor carrying capacity.     

普兰县农牧结合潜力分析（英文）

农牧结合是高寒牧区放牧系统的一项重要的实践,具有实现农业和牲畜业可持续生产的重大潜力。然而,目前青藏高原的农牧业分离已经导致集约化农业、草地退化和饲料短缺的问题产生。因此,为探索高山放牧系统中农牧结合的潜力,本研究以中国普兰县为例,基于多数据源,分析了牧草生产潜力和牲畜产量,并从饲草供给角度评估了农牧结合的潜力。结果表明:普兰县可用于人工种草的潜在边际土地约560公顷,基本位于环境条件较好的普兰镇周边。而积温是牧草种植的主要环境限制因子,今后牧草种植应注重品种的抗寒性和生长周期,同时也要注意人工草地建立后的退化和沙化问题。另外,虽然2012–2016年普兰县牲畜数量明显下降,但高寒草地放牧牲畜数量依然高于农牧景观的牲畜放牧数量。该地区目前放牧牲畜数量一般维持在约11万只羊单位,而人工草地和作物秸秆能够提供约1.1万只羊单位的饲料,约占农牧景观中牲畜数量的一半。普兰县农牧结合可以适当补充放牧条件下牲畜饲料的缺额,尤其是在农牧区的普兰镇。本研究结果对未来牧草生产和发展农牧结合具有重要的指导意义。     

Short- and medium-term response of Atriplex halimus L. to repeated seasonal grazing in south-eastern Spain

Atriplex halimus L. is a valuable fodder shrub that has been widely used in arid Mediterranean regions. However, its response to several cumulative years of grazing management remains uncertain. Accordingly, we conducted a three-year experiment in south-eastern Spain to analyze the influence of repeated seasonal (winter-spring) sheep browsing on young A. halimus plants. Shrub growth, fodder and wood production, plant compactness and shoot moisture content were assessed through regular monitoring of the size of shrubs, sampling of summer shoots, and destructive procedures at the end of the experiment. Shrubs were on two closely located sites but where soil quality and water availability were different. At the better location, browsed shrubs grew less and were significantly smaller (P < 0.001) than the non-browsed saltbushes. In contrast, differences between groups were minimal where the growth conditions were poorer. In all cases, shrubs resprouted vigorously and maintained fodder production throughout the experiment. Browsing affected shrub structure, resulting in smaller but more compact plants (2.20 vs. 1.24 g dm⁻³, P < 0.001), but their proportion of fodder remained similar. The spring grazing increased shrub-shoot moisture content in the summer (62.5% vs. 56.0%, P < 0.001). Overall, this species responded very positively to repeated seasonal grazing.     

The piosphere revisited: plant species patterns close to waterpoints in small, fenced paddocks in chenopod shrublands of South Australia

The Waite–Nicolson rangeland management method for semi-arid chenopod shrublands predicts that smaller paddocks with medium to moderate stocking rates help to preserve the native vegetation. Vegetation cover around waterpoints in three small paddocks (<2000 ha) from Middleback Station, South Australia was studied using multivariate analysis. Data from quadrats sampled along radiating transects were tested for correlations with a number of site features and grazing history factors. Two significant associations were detected: quadrats with an abundance of Rhagodia parabolica and less palatable species such as Maireana pyramidata, and Atriplex stipitata were correlated positively with proximity to water points, paddock age and stocking rate, and negatively with paddock size. In contrast, quadrats with species such as Rhagodia ulicina and the more palatable M. sedifolia were correlated with increasing distance from the water points and paddock size, but negatively with age and stocking rates. Transect direction was not correlated with either group. Twelve of the 20 species examined, including the important forage species A. vesicaria, also were not correlated with those paddock and grazing features included here. These results suggest that the distribution of some chenopod shrub species in fenced paddocks is still possibly affected by a combination of these factors in the long term by grazing at densities of 6 ha sheep⁻¹ and that the method, although maintaining the fodder species, may not be preserving biodiversity at these grazing levels, although further study is needed.     

华北平原7种人工牧草不同气候条件下的耗水规律

本文主要目的是研究华北平原不同气候条件下7种人工牧草的耗水规律。试验于2005-2009年在中国科学院禹城综合试验站进行,牧草品种有一年生牧草黑麦（Secale cereale L.）、小黑麦（× Triticosecale Wittmack）、高丹草（Sorghum biolor × Sorghum Sudanense c.v.）、青饲玉米（Zea mays L.）和籽粒苋（Amaranthus paniculatus L.）,多年生牧草苜蓿（Medicago sativa L.） 和串叶松香草（Silphium perfoliatum L.）。结果显示,苜蓿的Kc值为1.08,其他牧草在0.79-0.94。不同气候条件下的Kc值大小规律为,越年生牧草：湿润〉干旱〉平常;一年生牧草：干旱〉平常〉湿润;多年生牧草：平常〉干旱〉湿润。本文建议青饲玉米和高丹草为夏季播牧草的优选牧草,籽粒苋对气候变化最敏感,干旱和平常季节会减产一半以上。黑麦和小黑麦蒸是冬闲田种植的优选牧草,小黑麦因为耗水量较小,优于黑麦。苜蓿在干旱季节的表现优于串叶松香草,但当降雨达592.9mm以上反而会引起减产。该研究的结果能为牧草在华北平原的种植布局提供科学依据。     

Range and livestock production in the Monte Desert,Argentina

This article reviews and analyzes the available information on range and livestock production in the Monte Desert. Cow–calf operations, goats for meat, and sheep for wool are the dominant production systems under continuous grazing. Rest-rotational grazing systems improved the efficiency of the current cow–calf production. Forage resources are primarily composed of perennial grasses and woody species. Rain-use efficiency for the total vegetation ranged from 3.9 to 4.8 kg DM ha^?1 year^?1 mm^?1. Carrying capacity showed a broad range: 18.7, 4.5–64.5, and 21.6–89.3 ha AU^?1 in the north, central, and south portions of the Monte, respectively. Mean crude protein (CP) content of grasses varied from 8.4 to 10.3 (wet season) and 7.1–3.7% DM (dry season) in the central west and Patagonia, respectively. Grasses predominated in the cattle diet, while the sheep diet was highly diverse because they ate most of the available plant species, and there was no unanimity as to the fact that goats are strictly browsers. Livestock diseases have lower prevalence indices than those recorded in other areas of the country. The high variability in carrying capacity values could be attributed to differences in rangeland condition and to the different methods used for its estimation. The CP levels in forage could meet cattle requirements provided that a proper-stocking rate were used. The most promising species for land rehabilitation are Opuntia, Atriplex spp., Eragrostis curvula and Cenchrus ciliaris. Priorities for future research should include topics such as assessment of the carrying capacity for most of the areas and nutrient content of the components of livestock diet, the livestock intake values, the economic feasibility of the use of complementary feeds and the development of seeding technology for valuable forage resources as Trichloris crinita, among others.     

Coping with land scarcity. Farmers' changing land-use and management practices in two mountain watersheds of Nepal

In this study some light is shed on farmers' changing land-use and management practices in two mountain watersheds located in the Western Hills of Nepal. The study is based on a survey of 300 households, group discussion, interviews of key informants, and field observation in project and non-project watersheds conducted from April to September 1999. Confronted with shrinking landholding size, owing to a steadily growing population and scarcity of non-farming employment opportunities, farmers in both watersheds have gradually intensified land use and cultivated new crops to increase farm production and income. They are shifting from cereal crops to livestock husbandry, particularly along the road in the project watershed, and to vegetables and other cash crops in the accessible foothills of the non-project watershed. They have also adopted various structural and biological measures to control soil erosion, landslides, gully expansion and soil nutrient loss in order to maintain or enhance land productivity. The degree of adoption of the structural and biological measures is higher in the project watershed than in the non-project watershed. Contrary to the traditionally held belief of some researchers, population pressure on a finite land resource has brought about positive changes in land-use and management practices. Farmers have innovated and adopted different land management technologies to increase farm production as they are exposed to the risk of food insecurity because of shrinking landholding size and land degradation.     

中国生态脆弱带人地关系行为机制模型及应用

以农牧交错带为研究对象,通过建立人地关系行为机制模型,探讨外部社会经济因素影响土地退化的机制,并重点就当前正在实施的退耕还林还草政策所带来的生态经济效果进行分析。模型拟合结果显示,利用玉米及农作物秸秆作为饲料,扩大舍饲动物饲养,或者扩大种植葵花或油料作物等商品作物以替代自给性作物糜子,将可以在不加剧水土流失的前提下增加农户收入。模型结果还显示,非农就业机会增加时,农户会减少坡地垦殖。这表明推进农村工业化和城镇化发展,增加农民非农就业机会,鼓励农民进城的政策对于黄土高原的水土保持也是有促进作用的。     

Water requirements for cultivatingSalicornia bigeloviiTorr. with seawater on sand in a coastal desert environment

The forage and oilseed halophyte,Salicornia bigeloviiTorr., was grown in gravity-drained lysimeters set in open plots of the same crop over two seasons in a coastal desert environment in Sonora, Mexico. The lysimeters were irrigated daily with seawater (40 g l⁻¹salts) at rates ranging from 46–225% of potential evaporation. Biomass and seed yields increased with increasing irrigation depth over the range of treatments. Biomass yields ranged from 13·6–23·1 t DM ha⁻¹, equivalent to conventional forage crops, on seasonal water application depths of 2·3–3·8 m, but were markedly lower at lower irrigation depths. Increasing the irrigation depth lowered the soil solution salinity, resulting in greater growth and water use, and hence leaching fractions that were nearly even over irrigation treatments, averaging 0·5. Evapo-transpiration rose in direct proportion to the irrigation depth. Potential evaporation was estimated by site pan evaporation and by the Blaney-Criddle and Penman models using climatological data; the methods agreed within 15%. The ratio of evapo-transpiration to potential evaporation increased over the growing season and approached 1·5 by pan on the highest irrigation treatment due to the combined effects of high transpiration and high evaporation from the permanently moist soil surface. The best field predictor of biomass yield was the salinity of the soil moisture in the top 15 cm of soil profile, which constitutes the root zone for this crop. Root zone salinity must be kept at 70–75 g l⁻¹for high yields. Although irrigation and drainage requirements were high compared to conventional crops, seawater irrigation appears to be feasible in medium sand and could augment crop production along coastal deserts. The possibility of using this crop for animal production is discussed.     

延津沙地草食畜饲养管理技术及发展模式探索

在对延津沙区引入的鲁西高腿有角小尾寒羊的饲养、管理和繁育技术试验基础上,探讨了集约化的养殖模式、发展模式和经营模式,并进行了乔灌草三结合的饲草料基地建设和粮经饲三元种植结构的尝试及饲草料加工的技术示范,为豫北沙区发展小尾寒羊的规模养殖和肉羊生产开辟了新的途径。     

Nutritive value of twoTamarixspecies in Egypt

Shoots ofTamarix niloticaandT. aphyllawere collected from north Sinai, the Nile Delta and North Western Desert of Egypt and analysed forin vitrototal digestible nutrients, nutritive value, gross energy and element contents. Pronounced differences were recorded between the two species for all the estimated variables. Variation in gross energy in the tissues of both species in relation to different locations was insignificant. The two evaluated species have relatively low contents of N, K, Ca and crude protein and high contents of P, Mg and Na. There was a moderate positive correlation between the N–NDF, K–CF and EE–NDF ofTamarix aphylla. The present study evaluated the nutrient status of both species as poor forage.     

Book Reviews

Boris, Eileen and Prugel, Elisabeth (eds.), Homeworkers in Global Perspective: Invisible No More Chrisman, Nicholas R., Exploring Geographic Information Systems Cox, Kevin R. (ed.), Spaces of Globalization: Reasserting the Power of the Local. Cullingworth, Barry, Planning in the USA: Policies, Issues and Processes Elliott, David, Energy, Society and Environment Hood, Christopher and Jones, David K. C. (eds.), Accident and Design: Contemporary Debates in Risk Management Jones, John Paul, III; Nast, Heidi J. and Roberts, Susan M. (eds.), Thresholds in Feminist Geography: Difference, Methodology, Representation Longley, Paul and Batty, Michael (eds.), Spatial Analysis: Modelling in a GIS Environment Masudpiloto, Felix Roberto, From Welcomed Exiles to Illegal Immigrants: Cuban Migration to the U.S., 1959–1995 Monmonier, Mark, Cartographies of Danger: Mapping Hazards in America Phelps, Nicholas A., Multinationals and European Integration: Trade Investment, and Regional Development Short, Nicholas M. and Blair, Robert W., Jr. (eds.), Geomorphology From Space: A Global Overview of Regional Landforms Sorenson, John L. and Raish, Martin H., Pre-Columbian Contact with the Americas across the Oceans: An Annotated Bibliography Thompson, Gary L., Shelley, Fred M., and Wije, Chand (eds.), Geography, Environment, and American Law Thompson, Russell D. and Perry, Allen (eds.), Applied Climatology: Principles and Practice Williams, Colin C., Consumer Services and Economic Development     

Root tensile strength relationships and their slope stability implications of three shrub species in the Northern Apennines (Italy)

The role of root strength is important in stabilising steep hillslopes which are seasonally affected by storm-induced shallow landslides. In the Italian Apennines, steep (25–40°) slopes underlain by mudstone are generally stable if they are covered by shrubs whose roots anchor into the soil mantle. To quantify the mechanical reinforcement of roots to soil, the root tensile breaking force and the root tensile strength of three autochthonous shrub species commonly growing on stiff clay soils of the Northern Italian Apennines, Rosa canina (L.), Inula viscosa (L.) and Spartium junceum (L.), were measured by means of field and laboratory tests. For each test approximately 150 root specimens were used. The tensile force increases with increasing root diameter following a second-order polynomial regression curve. The tensile strength decreases with increasing root diameter following a power law curve. The field in situ tensile force required to break a root is always smaller than that obtained from laboratory tests for the same root diameter, although their difference becomes negligible if the root diameter is smaller than 5 mm. The influence of root tensile strength on soil shear strength was verified based on the infinite slope stability model. The root reinforcement was calculated using the number and mean diameter of roots. The factor of safety was calculated for three different soil thickness values (0.1, 0.3, and 0.6 m) and topographic slopes between 10° and 45°. The factor of safety for the combination of 0.6 m soil thickness, slopes smaller than 30°, and vegetation of I. viscosa (L.) or S. junceum (L.) is always larger than 1. If a slope is steeper, the factor of safety may be smaller than 1 for I. viscosa (L.), although it is still larger than 1 for S. junceum (L.). In the stiff clayey areas of the Northern Italian Apennines, I. viscosa (L.) mainly colonizes fan/cone/taluses and stabilises these zones up to a topographic gradient < 30° for a soil 0.6 m thick. S. junceum (L.) colonizes not only fan/cone/taluses but also headwalls and cliffs and, for a 0.6 m thick soil, it stabilises these areas up to 45°. The effectiveness of this reinforcement, however, depends strongly on the frequency of soil and seasonal grass vegetation removal due to shallow landsliding before the entrance of the shrub species.     

Environmental Governance Meets Reality: A Micro-Scale Perspective on Sustainability Certification Schemes for Oil Palm Smallholders in Jambi,Sumatra

Abstract

Multi-stakeholder sustainability certification schemes have become a favorite instrument for applying good governance, though studies indicate their inefficiency at the producer level. In this study, we used a mixed-method approach to first, map the institutional context of independent oil-palm smallholders in rural Sumatra while, second, reflecting upon the impact of the Smallholder Standard proposed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil on smallholder management practices. We hold that non-recognition of micro-scale perspectives within governance processes may partially explain noncompliance with certification principles among smallholders. The Smallholder Standard appears unable to mitigate challenges important for smallholders, who in turn cannot properly comply with it, due to problems including weather instability and high management costs. We suggest that certification schemes need to work on some overlooked but essential preconditions of good governance, namely gaining micro-level visibility and acceptance.     

豫北沙地优质高产饲草料生产与发展模式研究

优质高产饲草料的生产是豫北沙地草食畜牧业经济有效发展的重要环节之一。根据本地区资源状况以及草食畜牧业的特点,饲草料的发展将影响着草食畜牧业发展规模、成效及在本区农业经济中所占据的地位。为此,我们着重探讨适合本区优质高产饲草料生产与有效利用模式,为地区草食畜牧业经济有序发展奠定良好的基础。     

A Nutritive Value of Iranian Mangrove Ecosystems,Northern Part of the Persian Gulf

Exploitation of mangrove leaves and branches as fodder for domestic animals by rural populations was the main reason for undertaking this study on nutritive values of Avicennia merina as a forage species for feeding domestic animals. The objective of this research was to determine the forage quality of leaves, branches, and roots of A. merina from the Bordekhoon, northern part of the Persian Gulf. Samples (leaf, root, and branch) of plants were selected using the randomized sampling method in the A. merina area. Samples were dried and analyzed at the laboratory by standard methods to determine the following parameters: dry matter, nitrogen, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, dry matter digestibility, dry matter intake, metabolizable energy, and relative forage quality index. Statistical methods, including analysis of variance and principal component analysis, were used for analyzing forage quality data. The results showed that different parts of the plant had significantly different forage qualities (P < 0.05). The leaves and branches of A. merina species had relatively high nutritive values.     

Studies on the transfer of mineral nutrients from feed, water, soil and plants to buffaloes under arid environments

Studies were conducted at a Livestock Farm in an arid region of Pakistan, to determine the uptake of mineral nutrients from the food of buffaloes. Samples of feed, water, forage, soil as well as blood, milk, urine, and faeces of the animals were collected and analysed for K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Fe²⁺ during summer and winter. The results showed that the concentrations of K⁺ and Ca²⁺ in plants were low, whereas that of Fe²⁺ was high. In animals, K⁺ was not found in the milk in significant amounts, rather it was excreted in the urine. The calcium taken in by the animals was used for the synthesis of milk, as a result of which low Ca²⁺ concentrations were detected in urine. Mineral nutrient concentrations (K⁺ and Ca²⁺) in forage plants and water were lower than the optimum requirement of the animals, as a result of which blood plasma contained lower amounts of minerals (K⁺ and Fe²⁺) than that of the normal animals or critical limits. From the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that the buffaloes raised at the livestock farm had a severe deficiency of mineral nutrients, particularly K⁺ in lactating and Fe²⁺ in both lactating and non-lactating animals. Feed supplements, that can overcome these deficiencies, should be used for the optimum growth, milk production and resistance to diseases.     

Growth response of the saltbush Atriplex nummularia L. to inoculation with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices

Plantlets of Atriplex nummularia were inoculated with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Glomus intraradices in a pot experiment. Plants were grown in a low P soil. Highly significant growth response of a Chenopodiaceae was recorded for the first time. Mycorrhizal colonization of roots was well developed, internal hyphae and vesicles were observed, but not arbuscules. These observations suggest that arbuscules are not necessary to obtain significant growth stimulation from mycorrhizal inoculation. Atriplex nummularia is already used as forage crops, its high mycorrhizal dependency offers possibilities to develop this production and revegetation strategies.     

Grazing effects on forb diversity and abundance in a honey mesquite parkland

Livestock grazing is the most common use of rangelands, and overgrazing by domestic livestock has stirred much debate concerning the continued use of public rangelands for livestock production. With the increase of wildlife-related enterprises on south Texas rangelands, there are little data available on the compatibility of livestock and wildlife management and in particular the effects of livestock grazing on plant communities in the semi-arid portions of the western South Texas Plains. The objective of this study was to compare forb diversity and density on rangelands subjected to various grazing under a high-intensity, low-frequency grazing system and nongrazed rangelands under controlled conditions. Four rangeland sites that were moderately grazed during the dormant season and 4 rangeland sites receiving long-term deferment from grazing were selected on the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area, Dimmit and La Salle Counties, Texas. Forb density was estimated with 20×50 cm² quadrats during early spring 2000 and 2001. Forb diversity was greatest on grazed sites. Important annuals such as hooker plantain (Plantago hookeriana) and Rough buttonweed (Diodia teres) were more prevalent on grazed sites. Lazy daisy (Aphanostephus spp.) was more frequently encountered on nongrazed sites. Golden dalea (Dalea aurea), a beneficial perennial, was more common on grazed sites. Long-term deferment from livestock grazing appears detrimental to forb communities. A high-intensity, low-frequency grazing system utilizing moderate stocking rates employed during the dormant season is recommended for enhancing forb diversity and abundance.