Satellite-based normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data have been extensively used for estimating gross primary productivity (GPP) and yield of grazing lands throughout the world. However, the usefulness of satellite-based images for monitoring rotationally-grazed pastures in the northeastern United States might be limited because paddock size is often smaller than the resolution limits of the satellite image. This research compared NDVI data from satellites with data obtained using a ground-based system capable of fine-scale (submeter) NDVI measurements.

Pastoralism is an ancient form of self-provisioning that is still in wide use today throughout the world. While many pastoral regions are the focus of current desertification studies, the long history of sustainability evidenced by these cultures is of great interest. Numerous studies suggesting a general trend of desertification intimate degradation is a recent phenomenon principally attributable to changes in land tenure, management, and treatment.

The fine-scale spatial structure of plant communities is a key component for understanding the dynamics in vegetation following changes in land management but needs to be assessed at an appropriate scale. We studied the response of plant diversity and spatial variability of species and trait composition to grazing vs. non-grazing (>20 years) using different grain sizes of sampling in three subalpine plant communities.

Austral bracken, Pteridium esculentum, occurs widely in Australian grazing lands and contains both the known carcinogen ptaquiloside and its hydroxy analogue, ptesculentoside, with untested carcinogenic potential. Calves were fed a diet containing 19% P. esculentum that delivered 1.8 mg of ptaquiloside and 4.0 mg of ptesculentoside per kilogram of body weight (bw) per day to explore the carcass residue potential of these compounds.

We analysed the morphology and phenology of Scabiosa columbaria in relation to grassland management by mowing and grazing. We selected 12 populations from mown and grazed calcareous grassland in six regions of central Europe. At each population site, we collected seed material to produce plants for a morphological and phenological analysis of the species in a simulation experiment, which comprised three treatments (control, simulated mowing and simulated grazing). The simulation experiment revealed a clear morphological and phenological differentiation of S. columbaria.

Questions: Can we use plant traits to make predictions about ecosystem functioning of different species mixtures, identify inherent trade-offs of particular species, and design custom communities for desired ecosystem functions? Can we develop a methodology to address plant trait-functioning relationships in species-level units, which are missing from measures of community functional diversity but needed for management? Location: Grazing lands northeastern USA. Method: We measured 53 physiological, morphological and growth traits for 19 plant species from glasshouse and field experiments.

Concerns about climate change and water quality make it necessary to have a better understanding of the cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) within landscapes. In New Zealand, pastoral farming on hill country is a major land use, and there is little information available at a landscape level on the cycling of C and N within these systems, particularly the impacts of land use intensification.

The status of many invasive plant species that are also of high commercial value is contentious. Management of negative impacts depends on the support and co-operation of people who regard the species as an asset. For example, buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) is highly prized by many pastoralists in Australia as an introduced pasture grass for livestock but it also has significant and deleterious environmental impacts. Identifying management strategies that minimise environmental impacts yet support production benefits is crucial for achieving sustainable outcomes.

Grassland degradation not only results in soil degradation and severe decreases in land productivity, but also can promote the emission of soil carbon and nitrogen compounds as greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The primary objective of this study was to characterize the impact of grassland degradation on carbon and nitrogen budgets in Inner Mongolia, China. We investigated the changes of total carbon, organic carbon, inorganic carbon and total nitrogen that occur in a grassland ecosystem (including vegetation and top 30 cm soil layer) in the course of grassland degradation.

Improving environment quality leads to reduce amounts of pesticides in orchards. Herbicides are the main pesticides used in Martinique. A mechanical weed control is therefore necessary, but costly mainly on sloping lands where brush cutter use is the most effective. An alternative method to control weeds with low labour costs is to integrate animals and cover crop plants in the orchard. This integration may be hazardous and has to take into account the damages caused to the trees by the animals.

Still, more agricultural land is getting abandoned in Slovenia, specially in less favored areas. Such process of degradation of fertile land is most intensively present in the Obalno-kraska region and Goriska. Similar happens with grassland in mountain region as less and less animals which are suitable for that region are bred there. To prevent brush encroachment and to start recultivation of aban