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1.
The potential of invasive plants to alter fuel properties over time has implications for the ranchers of semiarid rangelands throughout the world. A prime example of this phenomenon is the cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) invasion of the native shrub-steppe lands in Great Basin of the western United States. The purpose of this study is to develop a bioeconomic model that optimizes simulated ranch behavior given the beginning stages of cheatgrass invasion on a public forage allotment. The bioeconomic model is applied to a typical eastern Oregon 300 cow-calf ranch. Livestock production decisions are simulated over a 40-yr planning horizon using a multiperiod linear programming model. Results showed changes in profit-maximizing ranch management strategies in the form of decreased optimal stocking rates and forage substitution. The net present value of the simulated ranch’s income stream declined, and the probability that the ranch cannot meet its full costs of livestock production and would exit the industry increased as a result. These economic impacts were more pronounced with decreased sale price. Sensitivity analysis showed that overall results in terms of ranch behavior were specific neither to the assumed discount rate nor to the assumed percentage of cheatgrass cover (as long as this percentage is within the reference state) on the public grazing allotment. This study introduces a method for managers to quantify impacts on ranches from fuel-altering invasive plants on public lands, emphasizing the importance of including information about native and invasive forage production characteristics and wildfire frequency as a function of the state of invasion.  相似文献   

2.
Individual forage species were appraised in varying distances along transects radiating from the water points of the ranch and traditional cattle post management systems. Measurements of plant height were used to assess the degree of forage species utilisation by livestock around water points. Livestock use forage plants more heavily near water points and the degree of use is more pronounced in the traditional cattle post areas, compared to ranch grazing. Utilisation of annual plants occurring at the 0m zone from water was greater than that of the same plant species growing at further distances. Periodic closure of water points aimed at reducing grazing pressure has been indicated as a method to promote production of forage around water points. With the exception of Panicum maximum, the abundance of which was low or non-existent in both management systems, Digitaria eriantha was the most utilised grass by livestock, followed by Schmidtia pappophoroides and Eragrostis lehmanniana. Stipagrostis uniplumis, one of the dominant grasses in the Kalahari Sandveld, exhibited a weak tendency to decline as distance from water increased. It was observed that high forage utilisation rates coincide with drought periods, implying that correct stocking rate adjustments should always match the available forage. Forage utilisation from water points in the traditional cattle post areas extended beyond 4 000m, especially during the dry periods.  相似文献   

3.
The ecological impacts of rangeland invasive plants have been widely documented, but the social aspects of how managers perceive their impacts and options for control have been relatively understudied, and successful, long-term invasive plant management programs are limited. In particular, though a growing body of research has identified livestock grazing as the most practical and economical tool for controlling invasive rangeland plants, to date there has not been a systematic assessment of the challenges and opportunities producers and other land managers see as most important when considering using livestock to manage invasive plants. In-depth, semistructured interviews with California annual grass and hardwood rangeland ranchers, public agency personnel, and nongovernmental organization land managers were used to address this need. Although interviewees broadly agreed that grazing could be an effective management tool, differences emerged among the three groups in how they prioritized invasive plant control, the amount of resources devoted to control, and the grazing strategies employed. Interviewees identified key challenges that hinder broad-scale adoption of control efforts, including the potential incompatibility of invasive plant management and livestock production; a lack of secure, long-term access to land for many ranchers; incomplete or insufficient information, such as the location or extent of infestations or the economic impacts to operations of invasive plants; and the temporal and spatial variability of the ecosystem. By identifying key socioecological drivers that influence the degree to which livestock are used to manage invasive plants, this study was able to identify potential pathways to move our growing understanding of the science of targeted grazing into practice. Research, extension, and grazing programs that address these barriers should help increase the extent to which we can effectively use livestock to slow and perhaps reverse the spread of some of our most serious rangeland weeds.  相似文献   

4.
Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis [Beetle & A. Young] S.L. Welsh) plant communities of the Intermountain West have been greatly reduced from their historic range as a result of wildfire, agronomic practices, brush control treatments, and weed invasions. The impact of prescribed fall burning Wyoming big sagebrush has not been well quantified. Treatments were sagebrush removed with burning (burned) and sagebrush present (control). Treatments were applied to 0.4-ha plots at 6 sites. Biomass production, vegetation cover, perennial herbaceous vegetation diversity, soil water content, soil inorganic nitrogen (NO-3, NH+4), total soil nitrogen (N), total soil carbon (C), and soil organic matter (OM) were compared between treatments in the first 2 years postburn. In 2003 and 2004, total (shrub and herbaceous) aboveground annual biomass production was 2.3 and 1.2 times greater, respectively, in the control compared to the burned treatment. In the upper 15 cm of the soil profile, inorganic N concentrations were greater in the burned than control treatment, while soil water, at least in the spring, was greater in the control than burned treatment. Regardless, greater herbaceous aboveground annual production and cover in the burned treatment indicated that resources were more available to herbaceous vegetation in the burned than the control treatment. Exotic annual grasses did not increase with the burn treatment. Our results suggest in some instances that late seral Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities can be prescribed fall burned to increase livestock forage or alter wildlife habitat without exotic annual grass invasion in the first 2 years postburn. However, long-term evaluation at multiple sites across a larger area is needed to better quantify the effects of prescribed fall burning on these communities. Thus, caution is advised because of the value of Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities to wildlife and the threat of invasive plants.  相似文献   

5.
Economic impact of poisonous plants on the rangeland livestock industry   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  
Poisonous plants on rangelands cost producers and consumers upwards of $250 million annually in the U.S. These costs are attributable not only to livestock deaths and diminshed productivity related to plant poisoning, but also to the management costs associated with usage of forage in areas infested with poisonous plants. At present, even relatively small losses from plant poisoning can cause financial and economic impacts that threaten range enterprises, particularly those using public lands.  相似文献   

6.
Fire suppression has led to large fuel accumulations in many regions of the United States. In response to concerns about associated wildfire hazards, land managers in the western United States are carrying out extensive fuel-reduction thinning programs. Although reductions in cover by woody vegetation seem likely to cause changes in herbaceous communities, few published studies have reported on consequences of such treatments for native or exotic plant species. We compared vegetation and abiotic characteristics between paired thinned and unthinned chaparral and oak woodland communities of southwestern Oregon 4–7 yr posttreatment and contrasted impacts of manual vs. mechanical treatments. Herbaceous cover increased on thinned sites, but species richness did not change. Herbaceous communities at thinned sites had an early postdisturbance type of composition dominated by native annual forbs and exotic annual grasses; cover by annuals was nearly twice as high on treated as on untreated sites. Absolute and proportional cover of native annual forbs increased more than any other trait group, whereas exotic annual forbs and native perennial forbs declined. Exotic annual grass cover (absolute and proportional) increased, whereas cover by native perennial grasses did not. Shrub reestablishment was sparse after thinning, probably because of a lack of fire-stimulated germination. Manual and mechanical treatment impacts on abiotic site conditions differed, but differences in vegetation impacts were not statistically significant. Fuel-reduction thinning may have some unintended negative impacts, including expansion of exotic grasses, reductions in native perennial species cover, persistent domination by annuals, and increased surface fuels. Coupled with sparse tree or shrub regeneration, these alterations suggest that ecological-state changes may occur in treated communities. Such changes might be mitigated by retaining more woody cover than is currently retained, seeding with native perennials after treatment, or other practices; further research is needed to inform management in these ecosystems.  相似文献   

7.
Frequency of large rangeland wildfires may increase in the southwestern United States and northeastern Mexico as a result of exotic grass invasion and reduced emphasis on livestock production, but effects of such fires on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are poorly documented. A large wildfire burned &spigt; 90% of the 6 151-ha Chaparral Wildlife Management Area in southern Texas during March 2008, creating an opportunity to study short-term effects of wildfire on white-tailed deer food habits, body condition, and pregnancy. We harvested 26 female deer between 7 April and 20 June 2008 and recorded dressed body weight, body condition, number of corpora lutea, and number and size of fetuses. We used rumen contents to quantify forage classes consumed. Deer ate prickly pear (Opuntia engelmannii) pads and emergent grasses during April and shifted to forbs and browse as vegetation communities recovered. Deer consumed mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) beans and prickly pear fruit during mid-June. Body condition measures did not vary during the collection period, suggesting deer were able to acquire sufficient nutrients to meet requirements. Fetal development rate appeared normal. Precipitation (11.4 cm) during late April and May probably allowed vegetation to recover from the wildfire. White-tailed deer are resilient opportunists and were able to maintain body condition and pregnancy after a large-scale wildfire.  相似文献   

8.
A review of literature shows that both fire and invasive species may cause changes in biological, chemical, and physical properties of desert soils. Although soil may recover from the impacts of fire during succession, these changes are permanent under persistent invasive species. The most severe effects of fire occur under high temperatures with high fuel buildup and soil moisture that conducts heat downward. Deserts typically have low fuel mass and low soil moisture, both conditions that would contribute to lower impacts of fire than in mesic soils. Soil is a good insulator, so soil microorganisms will survive a few centimeters deep even in hot surface fires. Immediately postfire there is often an increase in mineral nitrogen (N) and a decrease in soil carbon (C) and organic N, but these changes are often minimal in desert soils, except under fertile shrub islands that have higher fuel loads and fire temperature. Both hot and cold deserts have experienced slow recovery of native shrubs and increased growth of invasive grasses following fire. Invasive species may either increase or decrease soil N and C depending on fire temperature and site and species characteristics. Mineralization and fixation of N are often high enough after fire that subsequent productivity balances N losses. The elimination of islands of fertility coupled with postfire erosion may be a major impact after fire in grass-invaded shrub lands. In the long term, the interaction of fire and invasive species may result in more frequent fires that eliminate fertile islands and reduce the productivity of deserts. Managers may use fire as a tool to control desert invasives without the concern that N will be irrevocably lost, but this must be done judiciously to avoid eliminating shrubs and further increasing invasive species.  相似文献   

9.
Intact sagebrush communities in the Great Basin are rapidly disappearing because of invasion of nonnative plants, large wildfires, and encroachment of pinyon and juniper woodlands. Land management options, including the use of prescribed fire, grazing, herbicides, or mechanical treatments, can reduce the potential for wildfire and restore plant communities. Public acceptance of management actions, and trust in agencies to carry out those actions, is a critical component of developing and implementing successful long-term land management plans. This study examines citizens’ opinions and perceptions about rangeland management in the Great Basin. In fall 2006 we conducted a mail survey of randomly selected households in three urban and three rural regions of the Great Basin, receiving 1 345 valid responses for a 45% response rate. Overall, respondents perceived that the environment is moderately healthy; however, they do recognize threats to sagebrush ecosystems. Public acceptance is relatively high for the use of prescribed fire, grazing, felling woodland trees, and mowing shrubs, but low for herbicide treatment and chaining. Although respondents indicated high levels of acceptance for some management actions, they expressed relatively low levels of trust in land management agencies to implement these actions.  相似文献   

10.
Fifteen cattle, with the typical copper deficiency symptoms of scouring and emaciation, gained .45 pound more daily after receiving copper injections than the control group in a three-month period. Copper injections did not prevent scouring on this ranch in the North Okanagan Valley. Copper deficiency symptoms have occurred in this area whenever cattle have been restricted to forage from ground-water soils though animals improve when moved to upland soils. Dairy calves and beef cattle are most frequently affected. Subclinical deficiencies may be more important economically than the easily recognized severe deficiencies.

The average copper level in pasture forage on this ranch was 10.2 ppm and copper content of forage was not related to scouring. The average molybdenum level was 8.8 ppm but the molybdenum content of 9.7 ppm in affected forage was high compared to 2.2 ppm in forage from a pasture where scouring did not occur and 4.2 ppm in pasture which caused less scouring. The average copper to molybdenum ratio was 1.0 in the affected forage which was low compared to the ratio of 4.3 in forage from the pasture where scouring did not occur and 2.3 in forage from the pasture where there was less scouring. Manganese tended to be higher in non-scouring forage. Sulphur contents were high but not related to the degree of scouring.

In a 1957 survey on farms not far from this ranch, no difference was found between the copper and molybdenum contents of scouring and non-scouring forage though copper was double and molybdenum comparable to levels found on this ranch. However, in the survey, scouring forage contained .65 per cent sulphur whereas non-scouring forage only contained .26 per cent.

  相似文献   

11.
禾本科牧草内生真菌的研究与应用   总被引：10，自引：4，他引：6  
黄东益  黄小龙 《草业学报》2008,17(3):128-136
内生真菌广泛分布在禾本科植物体内,通常与寄主植物形成互利共生的关系。本研究就禾本科牧草内生真菌的分布及传播特点,增强寄主植物的抗虫性、抗病性和抗旱性,促进寄主植物生长并提高其竞争能力,以及对家畜的危害和如何有效利用等问题进行综述。  相似文献   

12.
姚喜喜  周睿  李长慧  多杰索南 《草地学报》2021,29(12):2792-2799
为探究不同坡向草地植被构成和牧草品质特征,本研究对青藏高原东北缘不同坡向高寒草甸植被构成和牧草营养特征进行分析。结果表明：阴坡（Shady aspect,SHA）植物物种数和盖度显著高于阳坡（Sunny aspect,SUA）和山脊（Ridge,RI）;SHA草地植物群落物种丰富度指数和多样性指数显著高于SUA和RI;禾本科、莎草科和可食杂类草地上生物量在SHA显著高于SUA和RI,不可食牧草地上生物量在RI显著高于SHA和SUA;植物中粗灰分（Crude ash,ASH）、粗脂肪（Ether extract,EE）、粗蛋白（Crude protein,CP）、钙含量（Calcium,Ca）、干物质消化率（Dry matter digestibility,DMD）、代谢能（Metabolic energy,ME）和可食牧草营养品质指数（Nutritional quality index,NQI）在SHA显著高于SUA,粗纤维（Crude fiber,CF）、中性洗涤纤维（Neutral detergent fiber,NDF）和酸性洗涤纤维（Acid detergent fiber,ADF）含量在SUA显著高于RI和SHA。建议在高寒草地的利用中,采用NQI评价草地营养价值,并考虑植物分布和营养品质在不同坡向的变化,实现精细化管理。  相似文献   

13.
优良牧草和饲料作物中的有毒物质及其影响因素   总被引：8，自引：0，他引：8  
论述了我国主要优良牧草和饲料作物中的一些种或品种，其中包括全国４３个当家草种的十几种牧草，所含有的有毒成分和毒物含量，及其对采食家畜产生的多种毒害作用和不良影响。同时，对影响有毒成分和毒物含量的各种因素进行了论述，为适时、合理地调整牧草和饲料作物的栽培管理技术和家畜日常管理尤其是放牧管理提供科学依据。  相似文献   

14.
Invasion of rangeland by exotic forage species threatens ecosystem structure and function and can cause catastrophic economic losses. Herbicide treatments often are the focus of management efforts to control invasions. Management with the fire-grazing interaction (or patch burning) might suppress an invasive forage species that has grazing persistence mechanisms developed apart from the fire-grazing interaction. We studied tallgrass prairies invaded by sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata [Dum.-Cours.] G. Don) to compare rate of invasion between traditional management and management with patch burning, to evaluate the effect of burn season on sericea lespedeza invasion within pastures managed with patch burning, and to correlate canopy cover of sericea lespedeza to canopy cover of other functional groups with and without herbicides. Sericea lespedeza canopy cover increased from 1999 to 2005 in both traditional- and patch-burn pastures, but sericea lespedeza increased from 5% to 16% canopy cover in traditionally managed pastures compared to 3% to 5% in the patch-burn pastures. Rate of increase in canopy cover of sericea lespedeza was less in patches burned in summer (0.41% · year-1) than in patches burned in spring (0.58% · year-1) within patch-burn pastures. Most plant functional groups, including forbs, were weak-negatively correlated with canopy cover of sericea lespedeza. Although herbicide application reduced mass of sericea lespedeza, other components of the vegetation changed little. Herbicide treatments temporarily reduced sericea lespedeza but did not predictably increase other plant functional groups. Patch burning reduced the rate of invasion by sericea lespedeza by maintaining young, palatable sericea plants in the burn patch, and could play a vital role in an integrated weed management strategy on rangelands.  相似文献   

15.
Plant breeding has had a substantial effect on the productivity and health of ruminant animals in New Zealand by improving the quantity, quality and reliability of grazed temperate pastures. Genetic changes have affected annual pasture productivity, seasonal growth, digestibility, protein/energy balance, level of rumen undegradable protein, leaf properties affecting intake, resistance to foliar diseases, and reductions in compounds that have an adverse impact on the health, welfare and reproductive fertility of ruminant animals. Most plant improvement programmes have achieved genetic gains in excess of 1% per year for a variety of target traits, and these gains are likely to continue given the high genetic variation available within forage plants. Significant heritable variation exists to improve forage quality, particularly for soluble carbohydrate and fibre fractions in grasses, and in the rate at which these change during the season. Deleterious animal health and welfare effects can be alleviated through the use of non-toxic endophytes in grasses, that do not produce lolitrem B and ergovaline. Use of improved cultivars, with the appropriate management, can add value to animal products.  相似文献   

16.
Plant breeding has had a substantial effect on the productivity and health of ruminant animals in New Zealand by improving the quantity, quality and reliability of grazed temperate pastures. Genetic changes have affected annual pasture productivity, seasonal growth, digestibility, protein/energy balance, level of rumen undegradable protein, leaf properties affecting intake, resistance to foliar diseases, and reductions in compounds that have an adverse impact on the health, welfare and reproductive fertility of ruminant animals. Most plant improvement programmes have achieved genetic gains in excess of 1% per year for a variety of target traits, and these gains are likely to continue given the high genetic variation available within forage plants. Significant heritable variation exists to improve forage quality, particularly for soluble carbohydrate and fibre fractions in grasses, and in the rate at which these change during the season. Deleterious animal health and welfare effects can be alleviated through the use of non-toxic endophytes in grasses, that do not produce lolitrem B and ergovaline. Use of improved cultivars, with the appropriate management, can add value to animal products.  相似文献   

17.
Recommended strategies for dealing with drought include maintaining a conservative stocking rate, maintaining grazing flexibility by having yearlings as one of multiple enterprises on the ranch, and leaving a significant amount of herbaceous production at the end of the grazing season. We perform an economic analysis of these grazing strategies using a bio-economic multiperiod linear programming model with variable annual forage production and beef prices. We evaluate the economics of conservative versus flexible grazing where stock numbers are adjusted to match forage conditions. The deterministic model estimates that a flexible grazing strategy could nearly double net returns relative to a conservative strategy, but realizing this substantial economic potential means higher production costs, and it depends on a quality climate forecast that is not currently available. Maintaining grazing flexibility was determined to be very important for managing variable forage conditions, and its importance increased with the level of variability. Without annual variation in forage production, over 80% of available forage would optimally be allocated to cow–calf production. As forage variability increased to levels observed on the arid rangelands of the western United States, a 50:50 forage allocation between cow–calf and yearling enterprises was found to be optimal, but optimal cow numbers decreased over time as dry conditions force herd reductions. As compared to a cow–calf ranch only, adding flexible yearling enterprises increased average annual net ranch returns by 14% with conservative stocking and by up to 66% with flexible grazing. Herd expansion beyond a conservative level should occur with yearlings because adjusting cow numbers is too expensive relative to the potential short-term gain, even if forage conditions are known with certainty.  相似文献   

18.
Anthropogenic climate change is hypothesized to modify the spread of invasive annual grasses across the deserts of the western United States. The influence of climate change on future invasions depends on both climate suitability that defines a potential species range and the mechanisms that facilitate invasions and contractions. A suite of downscaled climate projections for the mid–21st century was used to examine changes in physically based mechanisms, including critical physiological temperature thresholds, the timing and availability of moisture, and the potential for large wildfires. Results suggest widespread changes in 1) the length of the freeze-free season that may favor cold-intolerant annual grasses, 2) changes in the frequency of wet winters that may alter the potential for establishment of invasive annual grasses, and 3) an earlier onset of fire season and a lengthening of the window during which conditions are conducive to fire ignition and growth furthering the fire-invasive feedback loop. We propose that a coupled approach combining bioclimatic envelope modeling with mechanistic modeling targeted to a given species can help land managers identify locations and species that pose the highest level of overall risk of conversion associated with the multiple stressors of climate change.  相似文献   

19.
[目的] 探明不同放牧强度下荒漠草原牧草和主要优势牧草的微量元素和营养成分含量的变化特征。[方法] 在内蒙古自治区鄂尔多斯市鄂托克旗荒漠草原不同放牧强度区域（适度放牧区、禁牧区和重度放牧区）进行连续3年野外调查和室内检测,综合分析不同放牧强度对荒漠草原牧草以及优势牧草微量元素和营养成分含量的影响。[结果] 适度放牧区优势牧草无芒隐子草和蒙古韭的硒含量显著（P<0.05）高于禁牧区和重度放牧区,适度放牧区牧草铜含量显著（P<0.05）高于禁牧区和重度放牧区,且禁牧区和重度放牧区牧草硒和铜含量近持平或低于该地区安全含量标准;适度放牧区优势牧草蒙古韭的铁含量显著（P<0.05）高于禁牧区;重度放牧区牧草镁含量显著（P<0.05）高于禁牧区和适度放牧区,且超该地区安全含量标准;适度放牧区优势牧草短花针茅、无芒隐子草和蒙古韭钠含量显著（P<0.05）高于禁牧区和重度放牧区;适度放牧区牧草粗蛋白质、粗脂肪、粗灰分、磷和钙的含量分别高于禁牧区牧草60.71%、69.00%、47.62%、28.57%和347.85%;适度放牧区牧草粗纤维、中性洗涤纤维和酸性洗涤纤维含量比禁牧区分别降低13.93%、24.80%和6.35%;适度放牧区优势牧草短花针茅粗蛋白质含量高于禁牧区11.50%,优势牧草无芒隐子草粗脂肪、粗灰分和钙含量分别高于禁牧区24.12%、87.56%和116.86%;适度放牧区蒙古韭钙含量比禁牧区高出24.03%。[结论] 由于长期禁牧和过度放牧导致鄂托克旗荒漠草原迁入欠硒、欠铜草地。只有在适度放牧强度下,草地牧草才能保持应有的优良品质。  相似文献   

20.
中美牧草种质资源联合评价试验网中国试验区试验报告   总被引：7，自引：2，他引：5  
在中国内蒙古高原中西部地区和美国西部落基山区建立亚洲及北美牧草资源评价试验网,对选自中美双方的禾本科,豆科牧草和灌木进行为期４－７年的联合评价。中国试验区试验结果指出,产于中国的冰草属牧草,豆科小半灌木和草本植物在典型昌原和荒漠草原的建标量率和生物产量显著优于引自北美的草种。中国的羊草和北美的牧冰草在典型草原的适应性相近,但羊草的牧草稳产性显著优于北美牧冰草。美国的耐盐、挞盐禾草在内蒙古黄河灌溉区  相似文献   

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