放牧对中国北方草地生态系统水分利用效率的影响

解析草地生态系统植物水分利用效率对不同放牧强度的响应特征,对于提升草地生产和生态屏障功能具有重要意义.收集中国北方草地开展的38个放牧试验中关于放牧对植物水分利用效率影响的试验数据进行Meta分析.结果 表明:放牧对中国北方草地植物水分利用效率影响的平均效应值为--0.18±0.04(95％置信区间:-0.27～-0....     

Changes in incisor dentition of sheep influence biting force

The grazing behaviour by sheep, after the loss of the temporary incisors and before their replacement with the permanent incisors, was compared with that after the first pair of permanent incisors had completely developed in grazing experiments, conducted from June to September 2001, with three Suffolk castrated male sheep, born in late‐March 2000. A new method was developed to investigate bite mass and bite force, using hand‐constructed swards, which were composed of groups of four (4L), eight (8L), twelve (12L), sixteen (16L) and twenty (20L) leaves of cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) arranged 15 cm apart. Each group of leaves was attached to a separate three‐directional load cell. The period of time between loss of temporary incisors and the complete eruption of permanent incisors was c. 1 month. The number of bites per group of leaves increased with increasing leaf density. The number of bites per group of leaves was higher after the loss of temporary incisors than with the permanent incisors. The number of leaves per bite and dry‐matter (DM) intake per bite were almost twice as great with permanent incisors than after the loss of temporary incisors; DM intakes per bite force were 3·9–4·9 mg N^?1 and 1·7–2·6 mg N^?1 respectively. After the loss of temporary incisors, the proportion of forward‐direction forces accounted for 0·805 of the forces in the 4L treatment and 0·155–0·317 of the forces in the 8L–20L treatments. In contrast, the proportion of forward‐direction forces accounted for only 0·292 in the 4L treatment and 0·026–0·163 in the 8L–20L treatments with permanent incisors. The angles of bite forces were almost the same (54·7–56·3°) when sheep used a forward direction, and were 51·3–57·3° when sheep used a backward direction.     

The conservation management of upland hay meadows in Britain: a review

Upland hay meadows conforming to MG3 in the National Vegetation Classification of the UK are a rare habitat in Britain and are largely confined to upland valleys in northern England. Agricultural intensification, particularly ploughing and reseeding and a shift from hay‐making to silage production over the last 50 years, has resulted in large losses of species‐rich upland hay meadows. Remaining species‐rich meadows have been the focus of much nature conservation effort resulting in many of the species‐rich sites being protected by statutory designations or through voluntary agri‐environment scheme agreements. Research and monitoring has tended to confirm that species richness is maximized by management involving spring and autumn grazing, a mid‐July hay cut, no inorganic fertilizer and possibly low levels of farmyard manure. Deviations from this regime result in a loss of species richness. Restoration of semi‐improved grassland to swards resembling species‐rich MG3 also requires a similar regime but is also dependent on the introduction of seed of appropriate species. The role of Rhinanthus minor as a tool for manipulating meadow biodiversity during restoration management is discussed. Suggestions for future research are outlined.     

草甸草原牧草贮藏养分积累与消耗规律的研究

１９９２年４～９月在内蒙古呼伦贝尔盟草甸草原上，选择１５种牧草进行了牧草贮藏养分积累与消耗规律的研究。采用３．５－二硝基水杨酸比色法对野外采集的样品进行贮藏碳水化合物的定量分析。试验结果表明，双子叶植物贮藏碳水化合物含量的季节变化呈Ｕ型曲线，而禾本科植物的一般为双峰或多峰型曲线。根据试验结果，作者指出了该草地类型放牧利用的适宜时期。     

Quantifying the influence of sward height, concentrate level and initial milk yield on the milk production and grazing behaviour of continuously stocked dairy cows

Two factorial design experiments were carried out in the spring of 1994 and 1995, each of 6 weeks, to quantify the effects of sward height (SH), concentrate level (CL) and initial milk yield (IMY) on milk production and grazing behaviour of continuously stocked dairy cows. In Experiment 1, forty‐five Holstein Friesian cows were in five groups with initial milk yields of 16·9, 21·1, 28·0, 31·5 and 35·5 kg d^–1, grazed sward heights were 3–5, 5–7 and 7–9 cm (LSH, MSH and HSH respectively), and concentrates were fed at rates of 0, 3 and 6 kg d^–1. In Experiment 2, 48 cows were in two groups with IMY of 21·3 and 35·5 kg d^–1, grazed sward heights were 3–5 and 7–9 cm (LSH and HSH), and concentrates were fed at 0 and 6 kg d^–1 and ad libitum. Multiple regression models were used to quantify the effects of the three variables on milk yield persistency (MYP), estimated herbage dry‐matter (DM) intake (HDMI), grazing time (GT) and rate of DM intake (RI). The partial regression coefficients showed that increased SH led to increased MYP (Experiment 1 P < 0·001, Experiment 2 P < 0·05), increased HDMI (P < 0·01, P < 0·01), increased GT (P < 0·001, P < 0·05) and increased RI (P < 0·001, P < 0·05). Increasing CL led to increased MYP (NS, P < 0·001), decreased HDMI (P < 0·001, P < 0·001), decreased GT (NS, P < 0·001) and decreased RI (P < 0·001, P < 0·001). Higher IMY level of cows decreased MYP (P < 0·001, P < 0·001), increased HDMI (P < 0·001, P < 0·001), increased GT (P < 0·001, P < 0·05) and increased RI (P < 0·05, P < 0·01). The models were highly significant (P < 0·001), and accounted for 0·48–0·87 of the total variance. The partial regression coefficients quantified the extent to which GT and RI by cows respond positively to higher IMY, and negatively to increased CL, but respond differently (GT declines in response to a higher RI) with increasing SH.     

Benefits of Re-Integrating Livestock and Forages in Crop Production Systems

SUMMARY

Specialization is the foundation of contemporary agriculture, yet until the early decades of the 20th century, enterprise diversity was the norm. As agriculture has become more specialized in the intervening years, yields have increased dramatically, but so too have a range of economic, environmental, and health problems. This contribution presents evidence that specialization is an ecologically dysfunctional design for food production, a thesis which is supported by the predominance of problem-solving research in the contemporary literature. As demonstrated by Louis Bromfield in the 1940s and by organic and sustainable farmers today, the strategic integration of crops and livestock/ forage enterprises avoids many of the problems of specialization, while also capturing economic and ecological synergies denied to specialist producers. In addition to providing human foodstuffs, forage-based livestock production also offers a range of novel opportunities to channel natural processes to the service of humanity, from carbon sequestration and site remediation to non-chemical vegetation management.     

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.