Early and intense grazing of semi-natural grasslands replacing traditional mowing and late grazing has been identified as a threat to grassland biodiversity. We compared fruit production, fruit set attributes (e.g. plant size or phenology of reproduction), and differences in potentially negative effects (accumulation of ungrazed vegetation) in continuous grazing from May through September, with...

Inputs of fresh water and grazing both can control aquatic food webs, but little is known about the relative strengths of and interactions between these controls. We use long-term data on the food web of the freshwater Hudson River estuary to investigate the importance of, and interactions between, inputs of fresh water and grazing by the invasive zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). Both fresh...

Mixed grazing systems combining sheep and cattle have shown better growth performance for one or both species. This observation has been attributed to their complementary feeding behaviour and the reduced host infection by gastrointestinal nematodes. Less attention has been paid to mixed grazing systems combining goats and cattle. Here, continuously grazing goats mixed with cattle (M) were comp...

Milk production of fall-calving dairy cows during subsequent summer grazing was evaluated in two consecutive years using a total of 80 mid- to late-lactation Holsteins. Cows calved during September and October and grazed from April to August in the following year. In yr 1, 27 cows grazed a native grass pasture and 13 cows grazed a native grass-clover mixed pasture containing 26% red clover and ...

Extending grazing into the winter, as opposed to feeding of harvested forages, can increase the sustainability of ranching in the western US. This study was conducted to determine the economic value of grazing stockpiled forage kochia (Kochia prostrata [L.] Scrad.) and crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum [Fisch. Ex Link] Schultes) during the fall and winter. Changes in cow body weight, bod...

The nonergot alkaloid-producing endo-phyte, AR542, has been shown to improve the persistence and yield of tall fescue pastures without causing the animal disorders commonly associated with tall fescue toxicosis. A 3-yr grazing study was conducted to compare effects of AR542-infected tall fescue pastures with wild type endophyte-infected (E+) tall fescue pastures on cow-calf performance. Replica...

Recent studies have indicated that long-distance dispersal by kelp zoospores may play an important role in the colonization of newly exposed rocky habitats and in the recovery of recently disturbed kelp forests. This may be facilitated by the vertical transport of zoospores into the shallower portions of the water column where they are exposed to greater alongshore currents that increase their ...

Abstract Pastoral systems are over-utilised in many countries due to population growth, land monotony, reconstruction, marketization and climate change. In Oman, particularly the Dhofar Mountains, people concerned about social environmental sustainability of pastoralism because mountain chains, located south have long been regarded as one best agricultural areas country. Overgrazing Mountains a...