放牧对青海湖北岸高寒草原植物群落特征的影响

基于青海湖北岸高寒草原连续3年放牧控制试验,研究了暖季和冷季放牧草地植物群落特征的变化。结果表明,暖季和冷季放牧草地群落地上生物量均随放牧强度的增加呈现下降趋势,禾本科地上生物量的变化趋势基本与群落地上生物量的一致;中度放牧对暖季放牧草地植被的影响程度高于冷季放牧草地;围栏封育区和冷季重度放牧草地的优势种均为紫花针茅(Stipapurpurea)和矮嵩草(Kobresia humilis),暖季放牧各放牧小区和冷季放牧草地轻度和中度放牧处理优势种均为紫花针茅和披针叶黄华(Thermopsis lanceolata);随放牧强度的增加,暖季放牧草地群落物种多样性指数和均匀度指数表现出先降低后增加的趋势,冷季放牧草地群落物种多样性指数和均匀度指数表现出增加的趋势,但是多样性指数在暖、冷季放牧草地均以重度放牧区最高。     

荒漠草原不同放牧强度下土壤酶活性及养分含量的动态研究

研究了内蒙古荒漠草原不同放牧强度下土壤中4种酶活性及养分含量的动态变化.结果表明,土壤酶活性和养分含量随季节变化有着明显的变化,但各类群变化规律并不完全相同.放牧对蔗糖酶影响不显著,但显著增加了多酚氧化酶活性.轻度放牧显著或极显著增加了蛋白酶活性,脲酶活性略降低.重度放牧显著增加了脲酶活性,蛋白酶活性极显著降低.重度放牧降低了土壤中养分含量,围栏封育和轻度放牧有助于土壤肥力的保持和提高.     

Management and yield prediction of Kunugi (Quercus acutissima) grazing forests

This study deals with grazing in kunugi (Quercus acutissima) forests in the Aso district of Kyushu Island in southwest Japan. These forests are managed for production of bed-logs for shiitake mushrooms and cow-calf farming. One of their characteristics is short-term rotation such as 10–15 years for bed-logs and a year for calf production. A forest grazing experiment was begun in Minamioguni to look at forest growth, vegetation change and grazing intensity. Stem densities dropped in a few years. After sprout cutting, they also dropped gradually, then stabilized. Although grazing caused tree damage and suppressed tree growth, grazing intensity of up to 150 cow-days/ha·year did not harm forest regeneration. Herbage volume decreased as grazing was repeated and trees grew. Another investigation of kunugi grazing forests in Minamioguni and Asaji showed the correlation betweenRy (yield index in Stand density diagram) and grazing capacity could be expressed with a regression equation. The results were also used to design a yield table for kunugi grazing forests. The yield table has items ofRy and grazing capacity in addition to usual yield table items, and can indicate timber yield and grazing capacity at the same time. The table estimates that proper grazing capacity is 60–80 cow-days/ha·year in wild grass sites. In the light of these results, an optimal management plan was proposed as a diagram integrating stem density, forest yield, and forest management.     

Cutting and resprouting of Detarium microcarpum and herbaceous forage availability in a semiarid environment in Burkina Faso

The tree-shrub savanna ‘Forêt Classée de Nazinon’ (Burkina Faso) is submitted to a management of grazing and rotational cutting of Detarium microcarpum. This species resprouts after cutting. In order to investigate whether this silvopastoral land use system is sustainable, aboveground herbaceous biomass was measured on subplots under uncut trees (‘uncut’), next to the stubs of cut trees (‘cut’) and on subplots not influenced by the (former) crowns of trees (‘open grassland’) in four lots. These lots were cut one, three, six and seven years before the study. Vegetation composition of the lots and the composition of the diet of cattle were also determined. Comparisons were made between treatments and lots. Herbaceous biomass was lower in the open grassland subplots than in uncut or cut subplots. We speculate that soil enrichment and more efficient precipitation input in (former) tree crown zones could have resulted in this pattern. Cutting and subsequent resprouting of trees did not lead to significant differences in herbaceous biomass between cut and uncut subplots. The most simple explanation for this is that the trees could extend their roots beyond the location of their neighbouring trees. Biomass and coverage of perennial grasses, mainly Andropogon ascinodis and Andropogon gayanus, did not change in lots cut one, three or six years before the study, but decreased dramatically in lots that were cut seven years before the study. When foraging, cattle spent more than 90% of their time feeding on these species. This indicates that, as a consequence of tree cutting, forage availability may be reduced to the point where local herdsmen are forced to take their cattle to another region. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

内蒙古典型草原大型土壤动物群落动态及其在放牧下的变化

本文研究在定量化实验牧压下内蒙古典型草原区大型土壤动物群落动脉及其对牧压变化的反应。结果表明,在４－８只羊／ｈｍ＾２放牧强度下土壤动物多样性,均匀性相对较其他放牧区高。在过牧区,土壤动物生物量,密度虽无明显降低,但优势类群单一化,群落稳定性差。土壤动物密度,生物量,群落多样性,均匀性,种类丰富度与放牧强度的提高呈负相关,但随着放牧强度的提高,上述变化不呈线性下降。     

Calliandra calothyrsus as a Supplement for Milk Production in the Kenya Highlands

Two on-farm experiments and one on-station observation were conducted between July 1994 and September 1995 to study the effect of supplementation with fresh fodder of Calliandra calothyrsus on milk production from grade Friesian and Ayrshire cows in the second trimester of their lactations. The cattle were kept under zero-grazing systems on small farms in the coffee-based land use system at altitudes of 1500 to 1800 m on the slopes of Mt Kenya. These cows form a pivotal part of the farming system since they produce both milk for sale and manure for crop production. Milk production is normally in the region of 10 kg/cow per day when the animals are fed on a diet based on Napier grass and crop residues, together with 2–4 kg/day of commercial concentrate. In terms of milk production, 3 kg of fresh calliandra had the same effect on yield as 1 kg of additional dairy meal and, at normal production levels, the effects of the two supplements were strictly additive. Calliandra had a marked positive effect (about a 10% increase) on the butterfat content of the milk, a factor that was highly valued by farmers, even though institutional buyers as yet offer no premium price for milk quality. The average small farm can produce enough calliandra fodder to supplement two dairy cows and some additional small stock from relatively underutilized niches along the farm perimeter and terrace risers, without any adverse effect on current levels of crop production.     

The contribution of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) breeding to whole pasture productivity under dairy cattle grazing in New Zealand. 1. Variation in yield,nutritive value and persistence-related traits

Perennial ryegrass (PRG, Lolium perenne L.) breeding effort in New Zealand (NZ) has increased since c. 1990, resulting in greater functional trait diversity (e.g. heading date, ploidy, and associated Epichloë endophyte strain) in commercial products. This study quantified the variation, associations and interactions in dry matter (DM) yield, nutritive value and persistence-related traits among commercial cultivar-endophyte combinations released between 1973 and 2012, as a basis for assessing gains in value being delivered to the pasture-based livestock industries. Twenty-four or 28 combinations were compared over 3 years in two trials in each of two regions: Waikato in northern NZ (dryland), and Canterbury in central eastern South Island (irrigated). Cultivar-endophyte combinations were sown in mixtures with white clover, and pastures were intensively grazed 8–11 times per year by dairy cows. Principal Component Analysis identified 4 distinct clusters for the DM yield variables and for metabolisable energy (ME) content in each of the four trials. A broadly-adapted group of three late-season flowering, AR37-infected diploids with NZ and Spanish breeding backgrounds dominated the highest-yielding clusters. Tetraploids dominated the high ME content clusters. Interactions with region were observed throughout the data set: the strongest of these was driven by endophyte strain effects in Waikato. High-yielding cultivar-endophyte combinations in these trials were also generally high-yielding in the standard cultivar merit testing system operated in New Zealand, as interpreted via the DairyNZ Forage Value Index. However, alignment was poorer for medium- and lower-yielding cultivar-endophyte combinations. Several implications for forage evaluation methods and end-user industries are identified.     

Long-term grazing exclusion influences arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their association with vegetation in typical steppe of Inner Mongolia,China

It is not certain that long-term grazing exclusion influences arbuscular mycorrhizal(AM) fungi and their association with steppe vegetation. In this study, soil and plant samples were collected from two sites of grazing exclusion since 1983(E83) and 1996(E96), and one site of free-grazing(FG) in the typical steppe of Xilinguole League, Inner Mongolia, China, and assayed for soil basic physicochemical properties, AM fungal parameters, aboveground biomass and shoot phosphorus(P) uptake as well. The results showed that long-term grazing exclusion of E83 and E96 led to less drastic seasonal changes and significant increases in spore density, hyphal length density and root colonization intensity of AM fungi and even soil alkaline phosphatase activity, by up to 300, 168, 110 and 102%, respectively, compared with those of FG site. In addition, the total aboveground biomass and shoot P uptake of E83 and E96 were 75–992% and 58–645%, respectively, higher than those of FG. Generally, the root colonization intensity, spore density, and hyphal length density of AM fungi were all positively correlated with the aboveground biomass and even shoot P uptake of plant. These results may imply that grazing exclusion play a critical role in increasing the growth of AM fungi, and subsequently, may increase plant P uptake and aboveground biomass production. Moreover, the spore density could sensitively reflect the impacts of long-term grazing exclusion on AM fungi since survival strategy of spores in soil.     

违规放牧行为的博弈分析及对策研究

中国超过1/3的天然草地处于退化、沙化状态。退牧还草政策是应对草地退化的重要措施。退牧还草政策实施过程中常有违规放牧现象。本文采用博弈论方法,分析牧户和政府双方的策略集合,得出最优策略,并进行模拟计算。结果表明：提高违规放牧被检查到的概率,降低检查成本和增加罚款金额等措施,可促使牧户减少违规放牧行为。据此,我们提出减少或者杜绝违规放牧行为的措施主要包括：规划安置点将牧户由分散居住转为集中居住;违规放牧行为的检查工作由社会招聘监察人员和牧户监督员承担;划定管护责任区域,由常驻人员进行管护区域内的违规放牧检查工作;根据各地具体情况,设置合理罚款金额。本研究可为制定遏制违规放牧的对策提供依据,促进草原地区人口、资源和环境的协调发展。     

Effects of traditional salt placement and strategically placed mineral mix supplements on cattle distribution in the Western Italian Alps

Effects of traditional salt placement (TS) and strategically placed mineral mix supplements (MMS) on cattle distribution were compared in the Italian Alps. Salt was placed within flat and herbaceous sites following the traditional method of farmers, whereas MMS blocks were placed on steep and shrub‐encroached sites within three large pastures (44 ha on average). Each TS and MMS site was paired with a control site, and eleven cows were tracked with GPS collars. Within 10 and 50 m of TS and MMS, treatment sites were used more than control sites (P < 0·05). No differences were detected (P > 0·05) in the number of visits by cows within 10 and 50 m of TS and MMS placements. No differences were detected in time spent within 10 m of TS and MMS placements, but cows spent more time (P < 0·05) within 50 m of TS. With either TS or MMS, cattle preferred areas with gentler terrain, higher forage pastoral value and closer to water (P < 0·001). When MMS was available cattle also preferred areas near MMS (P < 0·001). Shrub and herbaceous cover decreased near MMS placements (P < 0·05) from cattle grazing and trampling. Placement of MMS is a promising tool to enhance cattle distribution and potentially reduce shrub encroachment in rugged mountain pastures.