Download or read book The Role of Summer Dormancy in Improving Survival of Temperate Perennial Pasture Grasses in Drought prone Environments written by Mark Roger Norton and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Australian Journal of Agricultural Research written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Functional and Drought Survival Strategies of California Perennial Grasses in the Context of Restoration written by Jennifer Anna Balachowski and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the next 100 years, ecosystems in California are expected to experience warmer temperatures and an increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts. California grasslands are also heavily invaded by European annual grasses, and climate change may further favor these exotic invaders over native species. Restoration efforts in California grasslands would benefit from ways to identify taxa that are best suited to withstand increasing drought stress, including the traits that are common among the most successful drought survivors. The traits and strategies promoting severe drought survival in native perennial grasses have been relatively little explored, and drought survival is rarely studied in conjunction with seasonal patterns of growth or ecologically important (i.e., "functional") traits. In the first chapter of this dissertation, we integrated physiological and functional trait-based approaches to characterize seasonal growth dynamics and drought survival strategies in eight California wildland perennial grass species. We paid special attention to summer dormancy, an adaptation to drought that is known to be expressed by several California perennial grasses, but has received very little empirical study. Summer dormant species in our study were characterized by greater springtime productivity; earlier reproduction; a shallower, finer root system; and high tolerance of tissue dehydration. Together, these traits suggest that in spring, summer dormant taxa exhibit a resource acquisitive functional strategy, escaping drought via efficient competition for resources and early reproduction. Owing to functional similarity with many exotic annual grasses, we suggest that summer dormancy may play an important ecological role in restoring native perennial species to California grasslands. Local plant populations are recommended for ecological restoration to avoid maladaptation to current site conditions; however, whether they will be well adapted to future climate scenarios, including increasing drought stress, is a major concern for practitioners. In the second chapter, we extended the approach from Chapter 1 to characterize intraspecific variation in drought survival, seasonal growth dynamics, and functional traits in a suite of five populations of Elymus glaucus, a native perennial bunchgrass commonly used in restoration. We chose populations from sites with contrasting climates to determine how trait and environmental variability are related. We found strong intraspecific variation in dehydration tolerance, which was tightly correlated with summer dormancy. Dehydration tolerance was associated with a conservative functional strategy, and with increasing summer climatic water deficit at populations' sites of origin. Trait variation was most associated with annual climatic water deficit, rather than summer aridity, which highlights the need to measure traits during both the drought period and the more productive growing season when considering species from temporally variable climates. Our results suggest that restoration practitioners may be able to predict dehydration tolerance from summer aridity alone, but that climate during the growing season may be just as important for ecological restoration. Local adaptation evolves in response to both abiotic and biotic selective pressures. Biotic factors like competition have received far less empirical study, but functional ecology predicts that they will be more important in productive environments. In the third chapter, we used a reciprocal transplant experiment to determine whether patterns of trait variation expressed in Chapter 2 were indicative of local adaptation. Because populations were collected from contrasting productive and stressful sites, we asked whether intraspecific competition was a more important modulator of plant fitness in productive coastal sites, and whether coastal populations were more competitive. We did not find consistent evidence of local adaptation in our populations. We found that competition was more important to reproductive output at coastal sites, but only for resident populations. This result suggests that, especially at coastal sites, receiving all the benefits of locally sourced plant materials in grassland restoration requires careful consideration of the optimal intraspecific planting neighborhood.
Download or read book Role of Obligatory Summer Dormancy in Cool season Perennial Grasses for Improved Semiarid Grassland Ecosystems written by D. P. Malinowski and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Mediterranean region under climate change written by Collectif and published by IRD Éditions. This book was released on 2018-11-19 with total page 736 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book has been published by Allenvi (French National Alliance for Environmental Research) to coincide with the 22nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) in Marrakesh. It is the outcome of work by academic researchers on both sides of the Mediterranean and provides a remarkable scientific review of the mechanisms of climate change and its impacts on the environment, the economy, health and Mediterranean societies. It will also be valuable in developing responses that draw on “scientific evidence” to address the issues of adaptation, resource conservation, solutions and risk prevention. Reflecting the full complexity of the Mediterranean environment, the book is a major scientific contribution to the climate issue, where various scientific considerations converge to break down the boundaries between disciplines.
Download or read book Climate Change written by Juan A. Blanco and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2011-09-06 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an interdisciplinary view of how to prepare the ecological and socio-economic systems to the reality of climate change. Scientifically sound tools are needed to predict its effects on regional, rather than global, scales, as it is the level at which socio-economic plans are designed and natural ecosystem reacts. The first section of this book describes a series of methods and models to downscale the global predictions of climate change, estimate its effects on biophysical systems and monitor the changes as they occur. To reduce the magnitude of these changes, new ways of economic activity must be implemented. The second section of this book explores different options to reduce greenhouse emissions from activities such as forestry, industry and urban development. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that climate change can be minimized, but not avoided, and therefore the socio-economic systems around the world will have to adapt to the new conditions to reduce the adverse impacts to the minimum. The last section of this book explores some options for adaptation.
Download or read book Managing Cover Crops Profitably 3rd Ed written by Andy Clark and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2008-07 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cover crops slow erosion, improve soil, smother weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, help control many pests and bring a host of other benefits to your farm. At the same time, they can reduce costs, increase profits and even create new sources of income. You¿ll reap dividends on your cover crop investments for years, since their benefits accumulate over the long term. This book will help you find which ones are right for you. Captures farmer and other research results from the past ten years. The authors verified the info. from the 2nd ed., added new results and updated farmer profiles and research data, and added 2 chap. Includes maps and charts, detailed narratives about individual cover crop species, and chap. about aspects of cover cropping.
Download or read book Livestock s Long Shadow written by Henning Steinfeld and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2006 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The assessment builds on the work of the Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative"--Pref.
Download or read book Grassland Productivity and Ecosystem Services written by Gilles Lemaire and published by CABI. This book was released on 2011 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains 28 chapters with emphasis on the interactive nature of the relationships between the soil, plant, animal and environmental components of grassland systems, both natural and managed. It analyses the present knowledge and the future trends of research for combining the classical view of grasslands, as a resource for secure feeding of an increasing human population, with the more recent perspective of the contribution of grasslands to the mitigation of environmental impacts and biodiversity erosion as consequences of human society activities. The chapters are organized within five sections dealing with the different functions and the main ecosystem services expected from grasslands: (i) domestic herbivore feeding and animal production; (ii) the regulation of biogeochemical cycles and its consequences for the environment; (iii) dynamics of biodiversity hosted by grasslands; (iv) integration of grasslands within sustainable animal production systems; and (v) interactions of grassland areas with other land use systems at the landscape level.
Download or read book The Grazier s Guide to Pastures written by Fiona Leech and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Regional Impacts of Climate Change written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Working Group II. and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Download or read book Plant Response to Stress written by John D. Tenhunen and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-29 with total page 650 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is dedicated to international cooperation, understanding and peace. It is the end result of several years of cooperative work between scientists of three countries: the United States, Germany, and Portugal. The work presented, however, draws from a much broader base, hopefully achieving the objective of NATO Advanced Research Workshops, which have been established to allow and stimulate the exchange of new ideas and the synthesis of information by scientists of NATO countries. The tasks of the workshop were several; to review established methodologies that have provided insight into ecosystem function and adaptations of plants in mediterranean climate zones; to examine new methodologies that have recently been applied in ecological studies and have provided new types of information; to summarize recent studies in mediterranean regions of plant water relations, photosynthesis and production, mineral nutrition, plant growth and development, and response to fire; to stimulate in particular an exchange of information among scientists of European Mediterranean countries; and to discuss means by which all of these objectives might be even more effectively achieved in the future through cooperative international research efforts. This variety of themes is clearly evident in the layout of the book. Held in Sesimbra, Portugal in October of 1985, the workshop took place in a ..
Download or read book Cactus Opuntia Spp as Forage written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2001 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Opuntias are multipurpose plants that are increasingly being used in agricultural systems in arid and semi-arid areas. Due to its high water-use efficiency, it is particularly useful as forage in times of drought and in areas where few other crops can grow, and it is now considered a key component for the productivity and sustainability of these regions. This publication presents current scientific and practical information on the use of the cactus Opuntia as forage for livestock.
Download or read book Agrindex written by and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 1390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Environmental Effects of Conservation Practices on Grazing Lands written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book California Grasslands written by Mark R. Stromberg and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2007-12-03 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This highly synthetic and scholarly work brings together new and important scientific contributions by leading experts on a rich diversity of topics concerning the history, ecology, and conservation of California's endangered grasslands. The editors and authors have succeeded admirably in drawing from a great wealth of recent research to produce a widely accessible and compelling, state-of-the-art treatment of this fascinating subject. Anyone interested in Californian biodiversity or grassland ecosystems in general will find this book to be an invaluable resource and a major inspiration for further research, management, and restoration efforts."—Bruce G. Baldwin, W. L. Jepson Professor and Curator, UC Berkeley "Grasses and grasslands are among the most important elements of the California landscape. This is their book, embodying the kind of integrated view needed for all ecological communities in California. Approaches ranging across an incredibly broad spectrum -- paleontology and human history; basic science and practical management techniques; systematics, community ecology, physiology, and genetics; physical factors such as water, soil nutrients, atmospherics, and fire; biological factors such as competition, symbiosis, and grazing -- are nicely tied together due to careful editorial work. This is an indispensable reference for everyone interested in the California environment."—Brent Mishler, Director of the University & Jepson Herbaria and Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley "The structure and function of California grasslands have intrigued ecologists for decades. The editors of this volume have assembled a comprehensive set of reviews by a group of outstanding authors on the natural history, structure, management, and restoration of this economically and ecologically important ecosystem."—Scott L. Collins, Professor of Biology, University of New Mexico
Download or read book Pasture Degradation and Recovery in Australia s Rangelands written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A synthesis of the history of climate and grazing in Australia's rangelands.
