We present the calibration of a fast and non-destructive method to estimate aboveground plant biomass measuring vegetation cover. We double-sampled vegetation cover and aboveground biomass in the Patagonian steppe using 150 plots for shrubs and 50 plots for grasses. We performed simple linear regressions between vegetation cover and biomass for the dominant species and life forms (shrubs: Mulin...

Invasive weeds threaten the biodiversity and forage productivity of grasslands worldwide. However, management of these weeds is constrained by the practical difficulty of detecting small-scale infestations across large landscapes and by limits in understanding of landscape-scale invasion dynamics, including mechanisms that enable patches to expand, contract, or remain stable. While high-end hyp...

Stargrasses ( Cynodon nlemfuensis Vanderyst var. nlemfuensis ) and bermudagrasses ( C. dactylon (L.) Persoon) are important warm-season forage grasses, with several cultivars developed for conditions found in central and southern Florida. Major insect pests of these grasses include grass loopers ( Mocis spp.) and fall armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith)), which annually may impose ec...

Seedling establishment is a critical phase in pasture management. Knowledge of the seedling development of new forages is necessary to develop management practices and recommend species mixtures for pasture seedings. We compared seedling growth and development of prairiegrass (Bromus willdenowii Kunth = B. catharticus Vahl), grazing bromegrass (B. stamineus Desv.), and orchardgrass (Dactylis gl...

The aim of this study was to assess the regional effects of fire on the surface cover and forage production of mountainous rangelands of Delfan County, Lorestan province, Iran. The fire took placed in June 2007 with significant effects on the vegetation characteristics in the study area. Four fire affected sites were selected for sampling and a close area without fire was considered as control....

INTRODUCTION Alfalfa is the primary forage fed to lactating dairy cows; however, there is renewed interest in utilizing grass forages in lactating dairy cow diets particularly because of farm nutrient management issues. Yield and perceived quality is generally lower for grass species compared to legumes while other agronomic factors such as longer stand life, requirement for nitrogen fertilizer...

We examined changes in the diversity of herbaceous plant species at colony ( ) sites of the plains vizcacha Lagostomus maximus following local extinctions of this species in semi-arid scrub of central Argentina. These large rodents live in social groups, share a communal burrow system, and forage in a common home range around the burrow system. Through intense herbivory, vizcachas create large ...

can be harvested with only a slight depression in yields (Redmon et al., 1995). Either option leaves a forage Hard red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major cooldeficit period until warm-season perennial grasses are season forage that couples with warm-season perennials to provide livestock feed in the Southern Plains. Productivity and quality of available for grazing in mid summer. wh...

Forage is all food ingredients derived from plants, in the form of leaves, sometimes including stems, twigs, and flowers. Included are grasses, legumes other plants. All can be fed for ruminants two forms, i.e. fresh dry forage. Forages contain almost substances animals need. The urgency forage becomes a crucial point increasing livestock productivity. success business depends on its feed manag...

Use of irrigation in forage production systems based on perennial C4 grasses has been limited because inconsistent responses biomass to water. The effects three different levels growth Paspalum notatum (Bahia grass) and P. dilatatum (dallis over two consecutive growing seasons were studied. phenological state the plants was inferred by proportion lamina non-lamina components. While failed incre...