Heifer rearing is one of the largest production expenses for dairy cattle operations, which is one reason milking operations outsource heifer rearing to custom developers. The cost of harvested feedstuffs is a major expense in heifer rearing. A possible way to lower feed costs is to graze dairy heifers, but little research exists on this topic in the mid-south United States. The objectives of t...

The relationship between intensity and timing of cattle grazing on changes in the size and composition of the soil seed bank were investigated in a 3-yr study in a Mediterranean grassland in northeastern Israel. Treatments included manipulations of stocking rates and of grazing regimes, in a factorial design. The retrieved soil seed bank community was rich in species, with 133 species accountin...

Knowledge of the relationships between biotic components of rangeland ecosystem i.e. herbivores and plants is important for range managers. In order to study herbivorse grazing intensity on plant species diversity, an experiment was conductef using fuor grazing treatments in darrehshar rangelands, Ilam province in 2015. Plant species data were taken based on a randomized-systematic sampling met...

abstract over the last fifty years, most of the semi-arid rangeland in iran has been converted to cropland without an equivalent reduction in grazing animals. this shift has led to heavy grazing pressure on rangeland vegetation. the present study has been conducted in sisab research station in the north khorasan province to evaluate effects of long-term grazing exclosures on biodiversity of ran...

BACKGROUND With world food demand expected to double by 2050, identifying farming systems that benefit both agricultural production and biodiversity is a fundamentally important challenge for the 21(st) century, but this has to be achieved in a sustainable way. Livestock grazing management directly influences both economic outputs and biodiversity on upland farms while contributing to potential...

In semi-arid ecosystems, vegetation is heterogeneously distributed, with plant species often associating in patches. These associations between species are not constant, but depend on the particular response of each species to environmental factors. Here, we investigated how plant species associations change in response to livestock grazing in a semi-arid ecosystem, Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural P...

To assess the potential for enhancing an existing stand of native perennial grasses on a California Coast Range Grassland site, we experimentally manipulated the seasonal timing and presence of grazing for 3 years (1994 through 1996) and of autumn burning for 2 years (1994 and 1995) and measured species cover for 6 years (1993 through 1998). We subjected the species matrix to classification (TW...

Based on the importance and role of species diversity and richness as ameasurement of the health of an ecosystem; studying of their components can lead toevaluate the health condition of rangeland. This research was carried out in a part ofhighland mountainous rangeland of Mount Alborz Range in Iran. Diversity and richnesswere assessed as an ecosystem health indicator. The study area was locate...

Grazing is the cheapest way to feed cattle on a cost per pound of nutrient basis. However, producers with limited land resources in Kentucky have been able to use commodities or grain by-products to increase cattle numbers due to low cost and availability of these inputs. Extending the grazing season is one solution that would enable producers to reduce costs and expand production with little o...

Soil respiration, a major component of the global carbon cycle, is significantly influenced by land management practices. Grasslands are potentially a major sink for carbon, but can also be a source. Here, we investigated the potential effect of land management (grazing, clipping, and ungrazed enclosures) on soil respiration in the semiarid grassland of northern China. Our results showed the me...