African Journal of Range & Forage Science最新文献

{"title":"Spatio-temporal status of vegetation, soil and cattle serum minerals in degraded communal rangelands of the Eastern Cape, South Africa: implications for livestock sustainability and management interventions","authors":"Nangamso Mlaza, S. Tefera, A. Hassen","doi":"10.2989/10220119.2022.2073611","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2022.2073611","url":null,"abstract":"In this study, we examined forage, soil and cattle serum mineral status, and their relationships in severely (SD) and less severely (LSD) degraded rangelands, South Africa. Such evidence is essential to inform rangeland policies and interventions. In each rangeland, three villages were identified, and sites near, at intermediate and far distance from homesteads were selected. Soil from LSD had generally greater macro and microelement levels than soil from SD rangelands. Soil elements (i.e. N, P, Mg and Cu) displayed variations at local scale (between villages or distance points from homestead) depending on degradation condition. Degradation level significantly influenced the local distribution of grasses between the distance points from the homestead (Themeda triandra Forssk., Aristida congesta Roem. & Schult.) and between villages [Digitaria eriantha Steud., Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees, T. triandra]. Forage biomass was low (range: 45–223 kg ha−1) in both degraded conditions. During the dry periods, cattle grazing SD rangelands had most serum minerals below a critical level, but pastures showed Cu and N deficiencies only. We conclude that the low forage yield may limit animal mineral intake. On the other hand, the great abundance of grasses with high forage values (60–76%) indicates that degraded areas may be regenerated. In SD rangelands, complete mineral supplementation is recommended during the dry period.","PeriodicalId":50841,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Range & Forage Science","volume":"90 1","pages":"20 - 31"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85653050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rewilding – the Radical New Science of Ecological Recovery","authors":"M. Stalmans","doi":"10.2989/10220119.2022.2066177","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2022.2066177","url":null,"abstract":"African Journal of Range & Forage Science is co-published by NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor & Francis Group) This publication is promoted by the publisher as part of a series exploring the cutting edge of science and technology – ‘these are books for popular science readers who like to go a little deeper’. Indeed, it is a very accessible, easy read that strikes an upbeat tone despite the parlous state of affairs that rewilding is attempting to address. Already coined in the mid-1990’s, the concept of ‘rewilding’ shot to prominence in 2005–2006. It popularly conjures up an image of charismatic megaherbivores or large carnivores being brought back in an area from which they have been lost. Or, in the words of the authors, ‘the creation of large wilderness complexes and supporting populations of top predators (notably wolves in Yellowstone National Park) and the creation of a Serengeti-like landscape through the re-assembly of a guild of large herbivores in The Netherlands’. These large animals are, however, more often a means to an end. The emphasis of ‘rewilding’ is on restoring lost interactions at the landscape scale (page 5). In the second chapter of the book, the authors go back to the Pleistocene era to understand the potential of rewilding and to make the argument for multiple biodiversity baselines. They describe a past that up until 30 000 to 10 000 years ago was characterised by an abundance of megafauna that co-evolved alongside grasses and shrubs. As megafauna disappeared from much of the Earth towards the end of the Holocene ca. 10 000 years ago, many terrestrial ecosystems transitioned from grassland to more woody habitats. Whereas livestock herding maintained simplified, yet biodiverse ecosystems, these went into decline as a result of intensive livestock farming, land abandonment and rural depopulation. The latter obviously applying more to the north with African savannas and their megafauna in the south remaining more intact. This means that overall, the world’s terrestrial ecosystems have moved to both extremes of the wood-pasture gradient: less productive and abandoned land has become more wooded whereas land with more productive soils has become intensively managed pasture or agricultural fields (page 12). Rewilding is in part about recovering these more open habitats and the ecological richness they produce. Key to the rewilding is getting those animals that disappeared back into the system. In Chapter 4, the practical origins of rewilding are described including the examples of the Oostvaardersplassen in The Netherlands where the emphasis was on the introduction of primitive breeds of horse and cattle, and that of Yellowstone in the United States where the emphasis was on the re-establishment of wolves. At its core, rewilding is ecological restoration. The differences between rewilding and the discipline of restoration ecology in terms of ethos and focus are discussed in Chapter 5. Rather than attempt","PeriodicalId":50841,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Range & Forage Science","volume":"6 1","pages":"353 - 354"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85609839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Only in Africa: The Ecology of Human Evolution","authors":"J. Compton","doi":"10.2989/10220119.2022.2059702","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2022.2059702","url":null,"abstract":"That humans originated in Africa is well-known. However, this is widely regarded as a chance outcome, dependent simply on where our common ancestor shared the land with where the great apes lived. This volume builds on from the ‘Out of Africa’ theory, and takes the view that it is only in Africa that the evolutionary transitions from a forest-inhabiting frugivore to savanna-dwelling meat-eater could have occurred. This book argues that the ecological circumstances that shaped these transitions are exclusive to Africa. It describes distinctive features of the ecology of Africa, with emphasis on savanna grasslands, and relates them to the evolutionary transitions linking early ape-men to modern humans. It shows how physical features of the continent, especially those derived from plate tectonics, set the foundations. This volume adequately conveys that we are here because of the distinctive features of the ecology of Africa.","PeriodicalId":50841,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Range & Forage Science","volume":"28 1","pages":"351 - 352"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91198334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Pyrocene: How We Created an Age of Fire, and What Happens Next","authors":"D. McGranahan","doi":"10.2989/10220119.2022.2070278","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2022.2070278","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50841,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Range & Forage Science","volume":"22 1","pages":"240 - 241"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84591931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forage yield and quality response of Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus) to different dry season harvesting management under the subhumid agroecology of western Ethiopia","authors":"Abuye Tulu, Mekonnen Diribsa, W. Temesgen","doi":"10.2989/10220119.2022.2048418","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2022.2048418","url":null,"abstract":"A 3 × 2 factorial study was conducted in 2015, 2016 and 2017, to assess the impact of dry season cutting management on fodder yield and quality of Napier grass. Three harvesting times (November, January and March) and two stubble- cutting heights (20 and 30 cm) were used in the study. The results revealed that the dry matter (DM) yield and leaf:stem ratio records in 2015 and 2016 were much higher than in 2017. Tilling performance was lower in 2017 than in 2015 and 2016. The highest DM yields were recorded during harvesting time in March. In the November harvest, however, the leaf:stem ratio was greater. In addition, tilling performance was better in March and November than it was in January. Overall, cutting at a height of 30 cm resulted in better DM yield and tiller numbers than cutting at a height of 20 cm. Experimental years and cutting height did not affect crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) or acid detergent fibre (ADF). Harvesting times did, however, affect CP, NDF and ADF. As CP was greater in November than in March and both NDF and ADF levels were higher in March, cutting in November at 30 cm is advised.","PeriodicalId":50841,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Range & Forage Science","volume":"11 1","pages":"236 - 239"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79275242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The diversity of epigeal insects after the application of the brush packing restoration method following bush-encroachment control in South Africa","authors":"A Marquart, OB Sikwane, K Kellner","doi":"10.2989/10220119.2022.2052962","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2022.2052962","url":null,"abstract":"Evidently, bush encroachment caused by factors, such as overgrazing, results in a change in savanna ecosystems. This shift in vegetation structure can affect many factors, including insect fauna. E...","PeriodicalId":50841,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Range & Forage Science","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138513580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bromatological and histological features of native African grasses under grazing in Brazilian semi-arid rangelands","authors":"Talita Roberta Firemand de Lira Menor, M. V. F. Santos, J. J. Coêlho, G. D. Gonçalves, A. Mello, M. V. Cunha, A. Santos, Ivany Ferraz, J. D. Júnior","doi":"10.2989/10220119.2022.2033834","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2022.2033834","url":null,"abstract":"This study evaluated the bromatological and histological features of native African grasses under grazing in Brazilian semi-arid rangelands. An experimental grid design was used in a randomised sampling method for four replicate samples of three African grasses. The grasses evaluated were: Cenchrus ciliaris L., Digitaria pentzii Stent. and Megathyrsus maximus (Jacq.). The bromatological and histological traits analysed included dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre corrected to ashes and protein (NDFap), lignin, mesophyll, vascular bundle, phloem, xylem, vascular sheath, sclerenchyma, bulliform cells, and the adaxial and abaxial epidermis. The type of grass and grazing cycle correlated with DM, NDF and lignin (p < 0.05), whereas CP was not affected by these factors (p > 0.05). Dry matter ranged between 128 and 304 g kg−1; CP ranged between 90 and 167 g kg−1; NDFap between 542 and 707 g kg−1, and lignin between 10 and 40 g kg−1. The proportion of xylem (8.4%), vascular sheath (30.5%) and total vascular bundles (38.1%) were greater in M. maximus (p < 0.05). The percentage of sclerenchyma did not differ between species (p > 0.05). Digitaria pentzii and C. ciliaris had a greater proportion of mesophyll than M. maximus (p < 0.05). Of the three grasses analysed. Digitaria pentzii exhibited the highest forage quality, because it had the lowest concentration of fibre and lignin, with lower proportions of lignified tissues.","PeriodicalId":50841,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Range & Forage Science","volume":"6 1","pages":"231 - 235"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75103756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"50 Grasses of the Limpopo Valley - Visual identification guide","authors":"Shobie Arnoldi","doi":"10.2989/10220119.2022.2033323","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2022.2033323","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50841,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Range & Forage Science","volume":"83 1","pages":"301 - 301"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83254422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing long-term nutrient and lime enrichment effects on a subtropical South African grassland","authors":"Naledi Zama, A. Magadlela, N. Mkhize, M. Tedder, K. Kirkman","doi":"10.2989/10220119.2021.2014964","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2021.2014964","url":null,"abstract":"Nutrient enrichment influences grassland ecosystem structure, typically manifested by reduced species richness and increased productivity. Quantifying the long-term impacts of nutrient enrichment on grasslands contributes to understanding eutrophication effects on grassland, particularly for grasslands adapted to low soil nutrient status. Overextended time periods, nutrient enrichment may modify soil fertility. The Ukulinga Grassland Nutrient Experiment situated on a natural C4 grassland was set up in 1951 on the Ukulinga research farm, South Africa. Continuously applied treatments on plots measuring 2.7 × 9 m include combinations of nitrogen at 0, 7, 14 and 21 g m−2 per annum, phosphorus at 0 and 2.8 g m−2 per annum and lime at 0 and 225 g m−2 applied every five years. Nitrogen sources included ammonium sulphate (acidifying) and limestone ammonium nitrate (less acidifying). Grass species composition was influenced by both nitrogen forms. In contrast, forb species composition was more sensitive to LAN. We found evidence of nitrogen limitation on aboveground net-primary production. However, species richness (for grass and forbs) declined with increasing ammonium sulphate levels, owing to increased soil acidity and high aluminium concentrations. Aluminium toxicity can affect overall species composition by replacing Al-sensitive species with Al-tolerant species on site.","PeriodicalId":50841,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Range & Forage Science","volume":"104 1","pages":"206 - 218"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80576527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forage yield, competition and economic benefit of intercropping cactus and millet with mulch in a semi-arid environment","authors":"Marcondes de Sá Souza, G. D. N. A. Júnior, L. S. B. de Souza, Alexandre Maniçoba da Rosa Ferraz Jardim, Gabriel Italo Novaes da Silva, G. D. de Araújo, F. Campos, M. L. D. M. V. Leite, J. N. Tabosa, T. G. F. Silva","doi":"10.2989/10220119.2021.2016967","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2021.2016967","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to quantify forage yield, economic performance, biological efficiency and competitive ability in cactus intercropped with millet, compared with their monocrops, both with and without mulch, under irrigation. The experiment was conducted over two years in semi-arid of Brazil. The experimental design was of randomised blocks with four replications and six treatments: monocropped cactus without mulch; monocropped cactus with mulch; monocropped millet without mulch; monocropped millet with mulch and cactus intercropped with millet, with and without mulch. The individual yields of fresh (270 t ha−1) and dry (23 t ha−1) matter in the cactus were not affected by the mulch or by intercropping. Mulching improved the individual yields of fresh (69.7 t ha−1) and dry (23.4 t ha−1) matter in the monocropped millet. Total dry matter was greater in the intercropping systems, both with (32.8 t ha−1) and without (31.4 t ha−1) mulching, being the average monetary advantage index equal to 8 404 BRL ha−1. The cactus-millet configuration, irrespective of the use of mulch, but irrigated in dry environments or during dry periods of the year, is more advantageous than the monocrops, because it promotes gains in production and food diversity for meeting the demand of the herd.","PeriodicalId":50841,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Range & Forage Science","volume":"70 1","pages":"219 - 230"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85898510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}