The reduction of nitrogen (N) excretion in animal production is crucial in intensive farming systems particularly in the developed countries. In this study, a model to predict N excretion in cattle was developed based on existing feeding standards and evaluated using independent N balance experiments for Holstein steers and lactating cows and Japanese Black (JB) steers. Although model predictions for fecal and urinary N excretions appeared to be close to observed values in plot figures, statistical analysis showed that the model tended to over-predict both fecal and urinary N excretions, especially in Holstein lactating cows. This was because body weight changes of cows during lactation period were not considered in the model due to the lack of information (i.e., body weight gain or loss) available in the experimental data for evaluation. There were large mean bias and small line bias for urinary N prediction, but reverse results were obtained for fecal N prediction. The largest mean square prediction errors for both N excretions were due to random variation in all cases. When all data were pooled (combined), the accuracy for predictions for fecal N excretion was considerably high (r2 = 0.94), indicating that the model may predict fecal N excretion beyond breeds, sexes and physiological states (growing and lactating). More information and accumulated data will be required to predict urinary N excretion under a wide range of genotype and environmental situation. 相似文献
The aim of this study was to define the dendrometric and dasometric parameters of five Mediterranean bushy plant species, to make their environmental assessment and to determine correlations with LIDAR data. The species studied were: Quercus coccifera, Rosmarinus officinalis, Ulex parviflorus, Cistus albidus, and Erica multiflora. We calculated the global form factor for each species so as to be able to determine the volume of the plants by measuring their base diameter and length. The model volume closest to the real volume was the cylinder, which had form factor values of between 0.8 and 2.33. We also studied the evolution of the moisture content of the vegetation after cutting. The initial values were from 20 to 30%, with a dry density of 1 t/m3. We defined an occupation factor to determine the relationship between the real volume occupied by the plants in an area and a model volume (hemisphere, paraboloid, cone, and cylinder). The occupation factor was similar for the five species studied in dm3 of material per m3 of (model) apparent volume: 3.5 dm3/m3 for the cylinder; 12.5 dm3/m3 for the cone; 8.5 dm3/m3 for the paraboloid; and 14.5 dm3/m3 for the hemisphere. These factors enabled us to calculate the biomass contained in an apparent volume of bushes (including materials and hollows) by density. The prediction models tested in this study will thus serve to determine the biomass of a bushy forest area when the Canopy Height Model (CHM) is calculated from LIDAR data. 相似文献
Among crop systems, vegetable crops with high inputs of fertilizer and water represent an important threat to the quality of the water. To give guidelines to growers and decision-makers for crop management, numerous fertilization and irrigation practices in various situations should be evaluated with regard to their production and pollution effects.
Here, we used a model of water flow and solute transport (Lafolie, 1991) to compare three irrigation strategies with regard to their effects on the water balance. The model was run for a lettuce crop for two growing periods (summer and autumn) and over 100 years in French Mediterranean conditions. The three strategies were (1) the current strategy based on the occurrence of rainfall, (2) a strategy based on a simplified modelling of the soil water balance and (3) a strategy based on tensiometer readings.
As expected, strategy 1 was very water and time-consuming. Compared with strategy 2, strategy 3 appeared as a good choice, minimizing the waste of water: it involved less irrigation and less drainage loss. The crop was also less stressed by this strategy. 相似文献