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Short Grass (short + grass)
Selected AbstractsRisk factors for faecal sand excretion in Icelandic horsesEQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 4 2005L. HUSTED Summary Reasons for performing study: Sandy soil is often mentioned as a risk factor in the development of sand-related gastrointestinal disease (SGID) in the horse. There are other variables, but few studies confirm any of these. Objective: To investigate soil type, pasture quality, feeding practice in the paddock, age, sex and body condition score as risk factors for sand intake in the horse. Methods: Faeces were collected from 211 Icelandic horses on 19 different studs in Denmark together with soil samples and other potential risk factors. Sand content in faeces determined by a sand sedimentation test was interpreted as evidence of sand intake. Soil types were identified by soil analysis and significance of the data was tested using logistic analysis. Results: Of horses included in the study, 56.4% showed sand in the faeces and 5.7% had more than 5 mm sand as quantified by the rectal sleeve sedimentation test. Soil type had no significant effect when tested as main effect, but there was interaction between soil type and pasture quality. Significant interactions were also found between paddock feeding practice and pasture quality. Conclusion: To evaluate the risk of sand intake it is important to consider 3 variables: soil type, pasture quality and feeding practice. Pasture quality was identified as a risk factor of both short and long grass in combination with sandy soil, while clay soil had the lowest risk in these combinations. Feeding practice in the paddock revealed feeding directly on the ground to be a risk factor when there was short (1,5 cm) or no grass. Also, no feeding outdoors increased the risk on pastures with short grass, while this had no effect in paddocks with no grass. More than 50% of all horses investigated in this study had sand in the faeces. Potential relevance: The identification of risk factors is an important step towards prevention of SGID. Further research is necessary to determine why some horses exhibit more than 5 mm sand in the sedimentation test and whether this is correlated with geophagic behaviour. [source] The impact of land-cover modification on the June meteorology of China since 1700, simulated using a regional climate modelINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2003H. Wang Abstract A series of simulations was conducted using a regional climate model with a domain covering mainland China. Simulations were conducted for a single June using estimated land cover for 1700, 1750, 1800, 1850, 1900, 1950, 1970 and 1990. The conversion of land cover between these periods was extensive over mainland China, where large areas were altered from natural forests to either grass or crops, or from natural grasslands to crops. These land-cover modifications affect various characteristics of the land surface, which lead to changes in the way available energy and water are partitioned. Over areas where land cover was modified, substantial changes are simulated. The conversion from forests to grasses or crops leads to warming and to reductions in root zone soil moisture and latent heat fluxes. Regionally, the conversion from forest to grasses and crops leads to significant warming over large areas of China, but there is an area of cooling present that is coincident with the main location of a land-use change from short grass to crops. The changes in temperature propagate to about 1500 m above the surface and affect specific humidity throughout this part of the atmosphere. An analysis of daily average results shows a consistent impact of land-cover modification on temperature, latent heat flux and soil moisture. Therefore, we find large and consistent impacts over China resulting from historical land-cover modification that are sufficiently important to the regional-scale climate to warrant inclusion in future modelling efforts. Our results suggest that efforts to attribute warming patterns over China to any particular cause need to take into account the conversion of the land cover that has taken place over China over the last 300 years. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Comparative foraging and nutrition of horses and cattle in European wetlandsJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2002Catherine Menard Summary 1Equids are generalist herbivores that co-exist with bovids of similar body size in many ecosystems. There are two major hypotheses to explain their co-existence, but few comparative data are available to test them. The first postulates that the very different functioning of their digestive tracts leads to fundamentally different patterns of use of grasses of different fibre contents. The second postulates resource partitioning through the use of different plant species. As domestic horses and cattle are used widely in Europe for the management of conservation areas, particularly in wetlands, a good knowledge of their foraging behaviour and comparative nutrition is necessary. 2In this paper we describe resource-use by horses and cattle in complementary studies in two French wetlands. Horses used marshes intensively during the warmer seasons; both species used grasslands intensively throughout the year; cattle used forbs and shrubs much more than horses. Niche breadth was similar and overlap was high (Kulczinski's index 0·58,0·77). Horses spent much more time feeding on short grass than cattle. These results from the two sites indicate strong potential for competition. 3Comparative daily food intake, measured in the field during this study for the first time, was 63% higher in horses (144 gDM kg W,0·75 day,1) than in cattle (88 gDM kg W,0·75 day,1). Digestibility of the cattle diets was a little higher, but daily intake of digestible dry matter (i.e. nutrient extraction) in all seasons was considerably higher in horses (78 gDM kg W,0·75 day,1) than in cattle (51 gDM kg W,0·75 day,1). When food is limiting, horses should outcompete cattle in habitats dominated by grasses because their functional response is steeper; under these circumstances cattle will require an ecological refuge for survival during winter, woodland or shrubland with abundant dicotyledons. 4Horses are a good tool for plant management because they remove more vegetation per unit body weight than cattle, and use the most productive plant communities and plant species (especially graminoids) to a greater extent. They feed closer to the ground, and maintain a mosaic of patches of short and tall grass that contributes to structural diversity at this scale. Cattle use broadleaved plants to a greater extent than horses, and can reduce the rate of encroachment by certain woody species. [source] Pastoralist's livestock and settlements influence game bird diversity and abundance in a savanna ecosystem of southern KenyaAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Dana L. Morris Abstract We investigated the vegetation structure and density of game birds along a successional gradient created by varying intensity of human settlement in a pastoral community in Shompole group ranch in southern Kenya. We examined four habitat types including heavily-grazed grass in currently occupied settlements, short grass in seasonal settlements, patches of bushed woodland in settlement sites that had been abandoned up to 30 years ago, and tall grass in a wildlife sanctuary. Vegetation biomass was the highest in the sanctuary where livestock are excluded and the lowest in the vicinity of currently occupied settlements. Abundance of doves (Oena spp. and Streptopelia spp.) was best associated with moderate grazing and per cent green grass, which provide good foraging opportunities. Francolin and spurfowl (Francolinus spp.) were positively associated with vegetation biomass. Quail (Coturnix spp.) were positively associated with tree cover. These data reflect the importance of maintaining a balance of wildlife and livestock grazing with patches of ungrazed grasslands and bushed woodlands in providing a mosaic of habitats that support a diverse population of game birds. The results have wide application for an integrated management approach to livestock, wildlife and game bird management in the savannas. Résumé Nous avons étudié la structure de la végétation et la densité du gibier à plume le long d'un gradient créé par la variation de l'intensité des installations humaines, dans une communauté pastorale dans un ranch de Shompole, dans le sud du Kenya. Nous avons examiné quatre types d'habitats: l'herbe fortement broutée dans les installations qui sont actuellement occupées, l'herbe courte des installations saisonnières, les îlots de broussailles dans les anciennes installations abandonnées parfois depuis 30 ans et les hautes herbes d'un sanctuaire de la faune. La biomasse de la végétation était la plus grande dans le sanctuaire d'où le bétail était exclu et la plus basse dans le voisinage des installations encore occupées. L'abondance des tourterelles (Oena spp. et Streptopelia spp.) était plutôt liée à un broutage modéré et à un pourcentage d'herbe verte qui donnent de bonnes possibilités de se nourrir. Les francolins (Francolinus spp.) étaient positivement liés à la biomasse de la végétation. Les cailles (Coturnix spp.) étaient positivement liées à la couverture arborée. Ces données reflètent l'importance de conserver un équilibre entre les pâturages de la faune sauvage et du bétail et des îlots non pâturés et des broussailles, pour créer une mosaïque d'habitats qui accueillent une population variée de gibier à plume. Les résultats peuvent largement trouver une application dans les approches intégrées de gestion du bétail, de la faune sauvage et du gibier à plume en savane. [source] Differential Responses of Germination and Seedling Establishment in Populations of Tragopogon pratensis (Asteraceae)PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2007L. D. Jorritsma-Wienk Abstract: The establishment phase is an important bottleneck in the life cycle of plants. It consists of two steps that are rarely separated, i.e., the germination of seeds and the establishment of seedlings. Here we report the results of two experiments in which we independently investigated germination and seedling establishment in the greenhouse, under different grass vegetation treatments representing different regeneration niches. Seeds of Tragopogon pratensis from six populations and two habitat types were studied, three from roadside verges and three from hayfields. Germination percentages and germination speed were higher for seeds from roadside verges than for seeds from hayfields, but were little affected by treatment. In contrast, seedling growth was much lower in the tall grass vegetation, than in the short grass and especially the bare soil treatment. Seedling sizes were generally similar for different populations and habitat types. Our results thus show that the two early steps in the establishment phase of plants may respond very differently to the micro-environment, and may have a different selection history. Insight into the ecology and evolution of life histories may require that germination and establishment are considered separately. [source] Relationship between road dust and ungulate density in Serengeti National Park, TanzaniaAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Vedasto G. Ndibalema Abstract We measured the responses of ungulate grazers to roads by recording the density of dust on grasses and compared distance sampling of ungulates in Serengeti National Park (SNP), Tanzania. Data were collected on the east and west side of the Ngorongoro,Seronera main gravel road to test if road traffic and dust were important factors determining distribution patterns amongst grazers. Results indicate that dust increased progressively with traffic speed and volume during dry season. More dust was intercepted on the west than on the east side of the road mainly because of wind effects. Dust deposition (measured as density g grass g,1 dust) was higher on short grasses than on long grasses during the dry and late-dry seasons than during the wet season, when paired perpendicular distances up to 300 m were compared. Mean number of observed grazer species indicated that most fed further from the west side of the road than from the east perhaps to minimize higher density of dust commonly spread on foliage up to 200 m away from the road. Despite that most grazers avoided road side grass shoulders, supporting the ,dust aversion hypothesis', the test predictions from the ,road disturbance' and the ,road attraction' hypotheses did not support the responsive behaviours of grazers toward roads. Résumé Nous avons mesuré la réponse d'ongulés brouteurs à la présence de routes en enregistrant la densité de poussière sur les herbes et en comparant la distance des ongulés dans le Parc National du Serengeti, en Tanzanie. Les données ont été récoltées à l'est et à l'ouest de la principale route en gravier du Ngorongoro Seronera pour voir si le trafic routier et la poussière étaient des facteurs importants qui déterminaient les schémas de distribution des animaux brouteurs. Les résultats indiquent que la poussière augmente progressivement avec la vitesse et le volume du trafic pendant la saison sèche. On a recueilli plus de poussière du côté ouest de la route, surtout à cause des effets du vent. Les dépôts de poussière (mesurés comme la densité g d'herbe/g de poussière) étaient plus abondants sur les herbes courtes que sur les longues pendant la saison sèche et en fin de saison sèche qu'en saison des pluies lorsqu'on comparait deux à deux des distances perpendiculaires allant jusqu'à 300 mètres. Le nombre moyen d'espèces d'animaux brouteurs observées indiquait que la plupart se nourrissaient plus loin du côté ouest de la route que du côté est, peut-être pour minimiser la forte densité de poussière qui se dépose régulièrement sur le feuillage jusqu'à 200 mètres de la route. Bien que la plupart des brouteurs évitent les accotements herbeux de la route, ce qui vient soutenir l'hypothèse de l'aversion pour la poussière, les tests de prédiction concernant les hypothèses de « perturbations par la route » ou d'« attraction par la route » ne supportent pas le comportement réactif des ongulés brouteurs vis-à-vis de la route. [source] Long-term compositional responses of a South African mesic grassland to burning and mowingAPPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 1 2005Richard W.S. Fynn Abstract Question: What is the long-term compositional response of grass and forb species to various combinations of burning and mowing? Can these responses be predicted from simple plant traits? Location: Ukulinga research and training farm (24°24,E, 30°24,S), Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Methods: Grass species relative abundance in 1996 in various burning and mowing treatments of a long-term (> 50 a) experiment was calculated from data obtained using a point sampling method, whereas forb species abundance in 1999 was determined using the importance score method. The experiment consisted of different frequencies (annual, biennial and triennial) of burning and mowing in winter or spring in combination with different frequencies of summer mowing (none, early, late or both). Results: Grasses responded to the type of disturbance (burn or mow) and frequency of burning, whereas forbs responded primarily to the presence or absence of any form of disturbance and secondarily to the timing of burning (spring versus winter). Summer mowing and annual or biennial dormant-period burning maintained communities dominated by short grasses, whereas tall grasses dominated under annual dormant-period mowing, triennial burning or protection from disturbance. Grass tillering strategy (below- or above-ground) influenced response to burning frequency. Many erect herbaceous dicot species with aerial meristems were reduced in abundance by summer mowing whereas most small creeping herbaceous dicot species appeared to be dependent upon summer mowing. Conclusions: This long-term experiment demonstrated that: (1) grasses and forbs responded differently to burning and mowing; (2) simple plant traits, such as height, position of tiller initiation, and position of meristems have potential for predicting the response of species to the timing and frequency of burning and mowing. [source] | |||||||||||||