Two experiments were conducted to evaluate effects of corn dry distiller grains plus condensed solubles (DDGS) supplementation level on performance digestion characteristics of steers grazing native range during the forage growing season. In the performance study, 72 (206 ± 23.6 kg; 2008) and 60 (230 ± 11.3 kg; 2009) English crossbred steer calves were used in a randomized complete block design...

Abstract While most studies yield positive relationships between biodiversity (B) and ecosystem functioning (EF), awareness is growing that BEF can vary with ecological context. The has led to increased efforts understand how contemporary environmental context modifies relationships, but the role of historical context, mechanisms by which it may influence effects, remains poorly understood. We ...

Abstract Background Nitrogen, as a limiting factor for net primary productivity in grassland ecosystems, is an important link material cycles ecosystems. However, the nitrogen assimilation efficiency and mechanisms of plants under grazing disturbance are still unclear. This study investigated Stipa breviflora desert steppe which had been grazed 17 years sampled root system leaf constructive spe...

Studies on the impacts of grazing carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus stoichiometry storage are crucial for better understanding nutrient cycles grasslands ecosystems. Using a controlled experimental platform in meadow steppe ecosystem, effects different stocking rates (0.00, 0.23, 0.34, 0.46, 0.69, 0.92 AU ha?1) contents plant functional groups were explored. The major results were: (1) carbon co...

1. Grazing by large ungulates may affect plant species richness and diversity at multiple spatial and ⁄or temporal scales, because grazing affects small-scale resource heterogeneity and plant interactions at the local scale, while effects at the landscape scale are related to grazing intensity and timing. 2. We used diversity partitioning to analyse longand short-term effects of cattle grazing ...

There is concern over the decline of aspen and the lack of successful regeneration due to excessive browsing of aspen suckers by cattle and other wild and domestic ungulates. We conducted a 2-yr study on Lassen National Forest, California, to aid development of cattle grazing strategies to enhance aspen regeneration. We evaluated seasonal biomass, nutritional quality, and utilization by cattle ...

OBJECTIVE To analyze backcountry-area water quality in US Department of Agriculture Forest Service-designated wilderness areas for the presence of coliform and potentially pathogenic bacteria. METHODS Thirty-one backcountry lakes and streams were selected that would stratify the risk based on use by backpackers, pack animals, commercial grazing animals, or natural unaffected wilderness areas....

Coral reefs provide a number of ecosystem services including coastal defense from storms, the generation of building materials, and fisheries. It is increasingly clear that the management of reef resources requires an ecosystem approach in which extractive activities are weighed against the needs of the ecosystem and its functions rather than solely those of the fishery. Here, I use a spatially...