The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of growing cattle when intensively grazing stockpiled endophyte-infected (E+), endophyte-free (E-), and nontoxic endophyte-infected (EN) tall fescue during the winter. The experiment was conducted over 5 consecutive winters. In each year, plots (1 ha each, 4 per treatment) were harvested for hay in August, fertilized in September, and ...

Grazing on natural rangelands, which are areas dominated by native vegetation that are used for livestock grazing, can achieve desired vegetation outcomes, preserve native habitat, and economically benefit multiple stakeholders. It is a powerful tool that can be manipulated to reduce wildlife declines and benefit ecosystems. However, the benefits of conservation grazing systems on many wildlife...

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...

Oceanic protist grazing at mesopelagic and bathypelagic depths, and their subsequent effects on trophic links between eukaryotes and prokaryotes, are not well constrained. Recent studies show evidence of higher than expected grazing activity by protists down to mesopelagic depths. This study provides the first exploration of protist grazing in the bathypelagic North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). ...

Fire and grazing, key determinants of structure and function of savanna grasslands worldwide, have been extensively altered by humans. We used existing long-term manipulations of fire and grazing in North American and South African mesic savanna grasslands, as well as new experiments, to determine whether the impacts of fire and grazing by large herbivores differed between these systems. We fou...

Abundant evidence has shown that grazing alters plant functional traits, community structure and ecosystem functioning of grasslands. Few studies, however, have tested how plant responses to grazing are mediated by resource availability and plant functional group identity. We examined the effects of grazing on functional traits across a broad range of species along a soil moisture gradient in I...

Scattered oaks in traditional silvopastoral systems (i.e., “dehesas”) provide important ecological services. However, livestock intensification applied to these over the last century has affected architecture of young oak plants. This unsuitable rangeland management practice jeopardizes long-term system sustainability. Here we examine alterations regenerating plants Mediterranean dehesas under ...

Lebeckia ambigua is a perennial legume endemic to rangeland South Africa that adapted dry (< 400-mm annual rainfall), infertile and acidic (below pH 5.5Ca) soils. Although it considered the was grazed by mammalian ungulates during its evolution, little known about production, nutritive value for grazing animals or optimal management in an agricultural context, either centre of origin Australia....

Tolerance of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) to animal grazing varies widely within the species. However, the molecular mechanisms influencing the grazing tolerant phenotype remain uncharacterized. The objective of this study was to identify genes and pathways that control grazing response in alfalfa. We analyzed whole-plant de novo transcriptomes from grazing tolerant and intolerant populations o...