Flowering time is a key target trait for extending the vegetative phase to increase biomass in bioenergy crops such as perennial C4 grasses. Molecular genetic studies allow the identification of genes involved in the control of flowering in different species. Some regulatory factors of the Arabidopsis pathway are conserved in other plant species such as grasses. However, differences in the func...

A pyrolysis of compost for the production of syngas with an explicit H2/CO = 2 or H2/CO = 3 was investigated in this study. The composts were obtained from nonhybrid (perennial) grasses (NHG) and hybrid (perennial) grasses (HG). Discrepancies in H2 evolution profiles were found between NHG and HG composts. In addition, positive correlations for NHG composts were obtained between (i) H2 yield an...

1 Despite general agreement on the adaptive importance of plasticity, evidence 2 regarding the role of environmental resource availability is scarce, at least in plants. The 3 main hypothesis was the traditional interspecific trade-off hypothesis applied to dryland 4 species; those most tolerant to drought have lower potential growth, and therefore also 5 have the lowest plasticity -here specif...

The dynamics of invasive species may depend on their abilities to compete for resources and exploit disturbances relative to the abilities of native species. We test this hypothesis and explore its implications for the restoration of native ecosystems in one of the most dramatic ecological invasions worldwide, the replacement of native perennial grasses by exotic annual grasses and forbs in 9.2...

Invasive and native plant species compete for resources in similar pools, with disturbances often favoring the invader. Yet, increased climate variability may be shifting the competitive edge back toward the natives. We conducted field studies in perennial grasslands to determine the effects of clipping and drought on resource aVailability (light and moisture) and subsequent establishment of Ca...

Replacement of perennial grasses with non-native annual grasses in California’s Central Valley grasslands and foothills has increased deep soil water availability. Yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis), a deep-rooted invasive thistle, can use this water to invade annual grasslands. Native perennial bunchgrasses, such as Purple needlegrass (Nassella pulchra), also use deep soil water, so t...

Precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) is a key determinant of aboveground net primary production (ANPP). We used long-term datasets to contrast ANPP and PUE estimates between northern (southeast Montana) and southern (north Texas) mixed-grass prairies. Effects of varying amounts and temporal distribution of precipitation on PUE were examined at the Montana site, using a rainout shelter and irrigat...

Biostimulants are becoming more prevalent in the production of forage and turfgrasses. Many can be classified as natural biostimulants, including humic acids (HA), fulvic (FA), protein hydrolysates (PHs) seaweed extracts (SWE), addition to chitosan, silicon, inorganic compounds, beneficial fungi, bacteria synthetic biostimulants. The article reviews recent research on effects biostimulants cult...

Limited availability of herbage during the cool season creates a problem of a supply of nutrients for livestock producers throughout the southern Great Plains of the USA and, particularly, on small farms where resource constraints limit possible mitigating strategies. Six coolseason grasses were individually sown into clean-tilled ground, no-till drilled into stubble of Korean lespedeza [Kummer...