Rangelands, Drylands & Pastoralism

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Niger River Basin covers 7.5% of the African continent, and is shared between nine riparian

countries. The basin countries can be categorized into water resources producers, consumers, both

producers and consumers, and minimum contributors and consumers. As in the case for most