Soil available phosphorus (SAP) and potassium (SAK) are indispensable for crops, and their stocks are important for food production needed for a growing global population. This study analysed 991 soil profiles across a large part of Romania covering forestland, grassland and cropland in almost all ecological regions. This study investigated SAP and SAK stocks for different soil depths and characterized their magnitude and variability within land uses under different environmental ecosystems, soil classes and soil types, for a better soil and land management under a temperate-continental climate. Cropland soils present the highest SAP and SAK stocks. Chernozems, Phaeozems and Vertosols possess the highest SAP and SAK stocks in Romania, representing the largest country's pool. Both SAP stocks and SAK stocks are significantly correlated with basic environmental properties, existing direct correlations between SAP, SAK, soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks. For all land uses, SAP and SAK stocks correlated significantly and directly with each other, as well as with annual temperature, clay content, pH and sum of base cations, and inversely with altitude, slope and annual precipitation. The best predictive values using multiple regression models and basic environmental driving factors were found for forestland stocks of SAP and SAK, followed by grassland stocks, while the lowest prediction occurred for cropland stocks, probably due to the long-term additional nutrient input performed by farmers in cropland that changed the natural conditions otherwise present in grassland, and especially in forestland. Based on these results some management measures are discussed.

Medusahead [Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski] is an invasive winter annual grass of western North American grasslands and rangelands that negatively impacts forage production, wildlife habitat, and ecosystem processes. Growth regulator herbicides, such as aminopyralid, applied in spring reduced invasive annual grass seed viability in greenhouse and California annual grassland experiments. Beginning in fall 2017, we tested combinations of sequential fall (preemergence) and spring (postemergence) aminopyralid applications at low (103 g ae ha−1) and high (206 g ae ha−1) rates at two ecologically distinct sites in the Intermountain West. Preemergence and postemergence aminopyralid applications at low and high rates controlled T. caput-medusae by 76% to 100% the second summer after study initiation. At the Utah site (which is warmer, drier, and more degraded than the Idaho site), the high rate resulted in better control. The first summer, postemergence aminopyralid applications at low and high rates reduced seed viability 47% to 91% compared with nontreated seeds, with the greatest reductions seen in Utah, which was experiencing drought. Across study sites, reduced T. caput-medusae germination in one year was linked to improved control the following year. The Idaho site also had desirable perennial grasses, which we used to investigate non-target effects. In general, there was a correlation between high T. caput-medusae control and higher perennial grass cover, indicating that successful control can make desirable perennial grasses more vigorous in this system. The option of a spring aminopyralid application increases the management window for controlling invasive annual grasses by decreasing seed viability, thereby depleting short-lived seedbanks.

The long-standing assumption that aboveground plant litter inputs have a substantial influence on soil organic carbon storage (SOC) and dynamics has been challenged by a new paradigm for SOC formation and persistence. We tested the importance of plant litter chemistry on SOC storage, distribution, composition, and age by comparing two highly contrasting ecosystems: an old-growth coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forest, with highly aromatic litter, and an adjacent coastal prairie, with more easily decomposed litter. We hypothesized that if plant litter chemistry was the primary driver, redwood would store more and older SOC that was less microbially processed than prairie. Total soil carbon stocks to 110 cm depth were higher in prairie (35 kg C m−2) than redwood (28 kg C m−2). Radiocarbon values indicated shorter SOC residence times in redwood than prairie throughout the profile. Higher amounts of pyrogenic carbon and a higher degree of microbial processing of SOC appear to be instrumental for soil carbon storage and persistence in prairie, while differences in fine-root carbon inputs likely contribute to younger SOC in redwood. We conclude that at these sites fire residues, root inputs, and soil properties influence soil carbon dynamics to a greater degree than the properties of aboveground litter.

Climate change is one of the largest threats for biodiversity as changing climatic conditions often make existing habitat sites less suitable. This poses new challenges for species conservation, in particular in agricultural landscapes, where climate change may also induce modifications in agricultural land use. To conserve species in agricultural landscapes, agri-environment schemes (AES) which compensate farmers for implementing conservation measures are commonly used. However, current research on the cost-effective design of AES largely ignores necessary adaptations of conservation measures given climate change. We develop a climate-ecological-economic (CEE) model to examine how the cost-effective design of AES has to be modified under climate change. We apply the model to the conservation of eight meadow bird species in Northern Germany and determine the cost-effective conservation measures under recent and future climatic conditions. We find that the timing of conservation measures in the AES needs to be changed in the RCP8.5 scenario given the species’ phenological adaptations and the impact of extreme events (inundations) on costs. The novelty of the research lies in the development of a CEE model which considers both spatial and temporal changes in costs and benefits to develop recommendations for the cost-effective design of AES under climate change.

Dichanthium annulatum is one of the dominant grasses of India, North Africa, Southeast Asia, China, Australia, Fiji, New Guinea, Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico. This drought-tolerant grass is an excellent fodder in mixed pastures. Developing varieties with improved quality and tolerance to various abiotic stresses is hampered due to its apomictic nature. Germplasm collection, characterization, genetic diversity analysis and core subset development followed by selection for desirable traits seems to be the most plausible breeding tool for developing new cultivars. In the present study, 498 genotypes collected from different agro-ecological zones in India were included. Genotypes were characterized for various metric and non-numeric traits; and the nutritional parameters. Agglomerative clustering analysis, using the Euclidean distance method, showed 14 distinct clusters. High variability was recorded for green forage yield, quantitative traits and nutritive quality parameters. A core subset of 50 accessions was identified, which captured most of the morphological and nutritional variability present in the total germplasm. Clustering of genotypes was observed to be related to the climatic conditions of the place of collection. High genetic variability observed for various morphological traits as well as forage yield indicated that these genotypes or subset of genotypes can be evaluated in different abiotic stress conditions such as salt, light and moisture stress for the identification of suitable varieties for the respective areas. Variability was attributed to inter-generic, inter-specific crossing together with the occasional presence of sexual plants in nature.

High yielding ruminant livestock require high nutritive value in forage for maintenance, growth and production. Climate change has been documented as impacting on the nutritive value of forage plants. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of increased temperature in combination with CO2-enhancement on the nutritive value of orchard grass (cocksfoot; Dactylis glomerata L.), as a C3 model plant, widespread in mountainous permanent grassland plant communities. Functional traits and forage quality of orchard grass were investigated both under ambient (C0T0) and under simulated, future climate conditions (C2T2) with increased temperature (+3°C) and enhanced CO2 concentration (+300 ppm) under field conditions. Plant samples were taken from each of the three growths over a period of three consecutive years and numerous functional properties and forage quality parameters were determined. Special attention was paid to the determination of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), crude protein (CP), non-protein N (NPN) and metabolizable energy (ME) as possible indicators for different climatic conditions. It is hypothesized that (i) functional traits and (ii) forage quality of orchard grass are altered by increased temperature and higher CO2 concentration. The results showed a negative impact of C2T2 compared to C0T0 on tiller height (54.4 v. 70.6 cm) and weight (2.42 v. 3.22 g) as average over cuts and years. The NPN content was lower in C2T2 (312 g/kg CP) compared to C0T0 (339 g/kg CP). In contrast, the WSC content was higher in C2T2 (90.3 g/kg DM) compared to C0T0 (82.5 g/kg DM). Both ME content and digestibility were increased in C2T2 (9.18 ME/kg DM and 68.2%) compared to C0T0 (8.86 ME/kg DM and 65.4%). Concluding, under increased temperature and enhanced CO2, both functional traits and certain nutrients and their fractions appear to change in orchard grass.

The germinability of buried seeds changes with time, and the direction and periodicity of these changes differ among plant species. In 116 abundant dicotyledonous herb species, we investigated the changes in seed germinability that occurred during the 2-yr period following burial in the soil. We aimed to establish differences between seeds collected in “anthropogenic” (ruderal, arable land) and “wild” (grassland, forest) habitats. The seeds were buried in a field 1 mo after collection, exhumed at regular intervals, and germinated at 25 C. During the 2-yr study period, four categories of species-specific patterns of germinability changes were found: seeds demonstrating seasonal dormancy/nondormancy cycles (31 species); seeds germinating only in the first season after burial (16 species); seeds germinating steadily (38 species); and seeds whose germinability changed gradually, with increasing (7 species) or decreasing (18 species) germinability. The seeds of 6 species did not germinate at all. We found no significant difference in the frequency of these categories between species typical for anthropogenic and wild habitats. The cause for this result may be dramatic human influences (changes of agricultural practices), the pressure of which impedes the development of floras specific for certain habitats, as distinguished by the frequency of species with particular patterns of seed germinability. These frequencies varied among taxa with the growth form, seed mass, and flowering phenology of species.

Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus Jacq.) is an important forage species in vast rangelands/grasslands of India and several tropical countries owing to its high biomass yield, good nutritional quality and wide adaptation. Evaluation of the existing natural variation and selection of desirable genotypes is the most plausible breeding method for this apomictic and polyploid grass. Developing a core sub-set to narrow down the number of germplasm required for future genetic studies is also pertinent. The present study involved characterization of 152 diverse M. maximus germplasm representing collections from different agro-ecological zones of India as well as those procured from Africa and Brazil; and development of a core sub-set. Nineteen metric, seven non-metric and nine nutritive traits together established the presence of wide variability among the genotypes. Clustering of the genotypes resulted in eight distinct clusters. The largest cluster included genotypes from Ethiopia, north India, north-western India, south India and north-eastern hill region, thus represented the highest diversity. Eleven of the total 26 Ethiopian genotypes clustered together. Non-metric morphological traits effectively differentiated the genotypes, and were associated with nutritional quality also. Genotypes which flowered once in a year showed slightly better crude protein and digestibility. The clusters were further sub-clustered and representatives were selected to develop the core sub-set of 23 genotypes comprising 20 indigenous and three exotic accessions. Comparison of the range of diversity and mean value for traits as obtained in the core sub-set and that in the total germplasm indicated successful capturing of maximum diversity in the core sub-set.

Rusingoryx atopocranion is an extinct alcelaphin bovid from the late Pleistocene of Kenya, known for its distinctive hollow nasal crest. A bonebed of R. atopocranion from the Lake Victoria Basin provides a unique opportunity to examine the nearly complete postcranial ecomorphology of an extinct species, and yields data that are important to studying paleoenvironments and human-environment interaction. With a comparative sample of extant African bovids, we used discriminant function analyses to develop statistical ecomorphological models for 18 skeletal elements and element portions. Forelimb and hindlimb element models overwhelmingly predict that R. atopocranion was an open-adapted taxon. However, the phalanges of Rusingoryx are remarkably short relative to their breadth, a morphology outside the range of extant African bovids, which we interpret as an extreme open-habitat adaptation. It follows that even recently extinct fossil bovids can differ in important morphological ways relative to their extant counterparts, particularly if they have novel adaptations for past environments. This unusual phalanx morphology (in combination with other skeletal indications), mesowear, and dental enamel stable isotopes, demonstrate that Rusingoryx was a grassland specialist. Together, these data are consistent with independent geological and paleontological evidence for increased aridity and expanded grassland habitats across the Lake Victoria Basin.

Northern Australia is a region where limited information exists on environments at the last glacial maximum (LGM). Girraween Lagoon is located on the central northern coast of Australia and is a site representative of regional tropical savanna woodlands. Girraween Lagoon remained a perennial waterbody throughout the LGM, and as a result retains a complete proxy record of last-glacial climate, vegetation and fire. This study combines independent palynological and geochemical analyses to demonstrate a dramatic reduction in both tree cover and woody richness, and an expansion of grassland, relative to current vegetation at the site. The process of tree decline was primarily controlled by the cool-dry glacial climate and CO2 effects, though more localised site characteristics restricted wetland-associated vegetation. Fire processes played less of a role in determining vegetation than during the Holocene and modern day, with reduced fire activity consistent with significantly lower biomass available to burn. Girraween Lagoon's unique and detailed palaeoecological record provides the opportunity to explore and assess modelling studies of vegetation distribution during the LGM, particularly where a number of different global vegetation and/or climate simulations are inconsistent for northern Australia, and at a range of resolutions.

A new species of Eriocaulon, E. vamanae, is described from the southern Western Ghats of Kerala, India. It resembles Eriocaulon nepalense var. luzulifolium (Mart.) Praj. & J.Parn. but differs in the shape of its involucral bracts and receptacle, the fusion of the sepals in male flowers, the shape and indumentum of the sepals in female flowers, the size and indumentum of the petals in female flowers, and the seed coat appendages. Eriocaulon vamanae is so far known only from the type locality, Meesapulimala in Idukki District, Kerala, and is assessed as ‘Critically Endangered’ according to the IUCN’s Red List Categories and Criteria.

Urine is a critical nitrogen (N) input in temperate grazed grasslands and can drive substantial nitrous oxide (N2O) production in soils. However, it remains unclear how differences in the N input rate affect N2O fluxes and vary between different grassland soils. The effect of increasing urine N application on ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2−) and nitrate (NO3−) concentrations and N2O production was tested in two grassland soils, a free-draining loam and an imperfectly drained sandy-loam. It was hypothesized that high-urine N application rates would lead to ammonia/ammonium (NH3/NH4+) accumulation influencing N transformation rates and N2O production which differ between grassland soils. Fresh cattle urine was applied at rates equivalent to 300 and 1000 kg N/ha in an aerobic incubation experiment. Soils were destructively sampled over 80 days to measure changes in inorganic-N and pH. The higher N addition rate was associated with elevated NH3 concentrations up to day 35 in soils, probably inhibiting NO2− to NO3− reduction. In contrast, there was no inhibition of nitrification in the 300 kg N/ha treatment. Cumulative N2O fluxes were greatest from the 300 kg N/ha treatment for the loam soil, but were greater for the sandy-loam under the 1000 kg N/ha treatment. The results also show that differences in soil properties, in particular carbon availability, can be important in regulating N transformation and N2O production. Collectively, these results demonstrate the proposed mechanism of nitrification inhibition at high-N input rates, driven by either high NH3/NH4 and/or increased levels of NH4HCO3 from urea hydrolysis.

Staurothele nemorum is described as new to science from the southern Great Plains of central North America. The species is characterized by a thin, areolate, epilithic thallus, sessile perithecia, globose to oblong hymenial algal cells and 8-spored asci. Staurothele hymenogonia is restored to the North American flora, based on material from the south-western Great Plains. An updated key to North American members of Staurothele s. lat. is provided.

LiGAPS-Beef (Livestock simulator for Generic analysis of Animal Production Systems – Beef cattle) is a generic, mechanistic model designed to quantify potential and feed-limited growth, which provides insight in the biophysical scope to increase beef production (i.e. yield gap). Furthermore, it enables identification of the bio-physical factors that define and limit growth, which provides insight in management strategies to mitigate yield gaps. The aim of this paper, third in a series of three, is to evaluate the performance of LiGAPS-Beef with independent experimental data. After model calibration, independent data were used from six experiments in Australia, one in Uruguay and one in the Netherlands. Experiments represented three cattle breeds, and a wide range of climates, feeding strategies and cattle growth rates. The mean difference between simulated and measured average daily gains (ADGs) was 137 g/day across all experiments, which equals 20.1% of the measured ADGs. The root mean square error was 170 g/day, which equals 25.0% of the measured ADGs. LiGAPS-Beef successfully simulated the factors that defined and limited growth during the experiments on a daily basis (genotype, heat stress, digestion capacity, energy deficiency and protein deficiency). The simulated factors complied well to the reported occurrence of heat stress, energy deficiency and protein deficiency at specific periods during the experiments. We conclude that the level of accuracy of LiGAPS-Beef is acceptable, and provides a good basis for acquiring insight in the potential and feed-limited production of cattle in different beef production systems across the world. Furthermore, its capacity to identify factors that define or limit growth and production provides scope to use the model for yield gap analysis.

Species conservation depends on accurate data, but for many lichens existing collections are geographically biased and contain many taxonomic errors. It is unclear whether ‘non-expert’, systematic monitoring schemes can address these sources of error, particularly for taxonomically challenging lichens (e.g. species requiring chemistry for accurate identification). In this case study we use the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI), a large-scale, systematic, multi-taxon monitoring programme, to better understand the ecology and distribution of a putative rare species, Cladonia rei. Collections of C. rei from Alberta dating from 1947 suggested the species was broadly distributed but rare, with seven accessioned specimens. We used comparative morphology, thin-layer chromatography and habitat modelling to compare historical records against more recent material from ABMI surveys. Contrary to the historical collections, ABMI samples suggest C. rei is almost entirely limited to the dry mixed grassland, northern fescue grassland and aspen parkland natural regions, and that within these ecosystems it is relatively common. The typical ecotype exhibited included a persistent primary thallus, podetia with a persistent basal cortex, and secondary squamules; typically they lacked cups, well-developed apothecia and fumarprotocetraric acid, and ramifications were sparse. Cladonia rei was consistently found in pastures and undisturbed grasslands that hosted relatively rich communities of epigeic lichens, thus it does not appear to act as a pioneer in Alberta or to commonly occupy the anthropogenic niches documented elsewhere. In summary, large-scale, systematic, non-targeted monitoring employing novices redressed issues of sample bias through almost 300 C. rei collections, simultaneously improving the ecological understanding of a putative rare species.

Fungal spores, especially those of coprophilous fungi, are present in dung middens of Rhinoceros unicornis (greater one-horned rhinoceros) in both forest and grassland areas of the Kaziranga National Park, India. The presence of coprophilous fungi on rhino dung, chiefly Sporormiella, Saccobolus, Ascodesmis, Cercophora, and Sordaria, is documented for the first time. The Sporormiella–Ascodesmis–Saccobolus assemblage is abundant and characterizes the rhino dung in forest and grassland areas. The presence of coprophilous fungi spores allows for an examination of the relationship between rhinoceros ecology and the flora and other fauna in the region. The overall dataset is useful in interpreting the present and past distribution of rhino and other associated animals based on the relative abundance of different types of coprophilous fungi spores and their relationship to paleoherbivory and paleoecology in India and adjoining areas.

In this study, we investigated the potential of airborne imaging spectroscopy for in-season grassland yield estimation. We utilized an unmanned aerial vehicle and a hyperspectral imager to measure radiation, ranging from 455 to 780 nm. Initially, we assessed the spectral signature of five typical grassland species by principal component analysis, and identified a distinct reflectance difference, especially between the erectophil grasses and the planophil clover leaves. Then, we analyzed the reflectance of a typical Norwegian sward composition at different harvest dates. In order to estimate yields (dry matter, DM), several powered partial least squares (PPLS) regression and linear regression (LR) models were fitted to the reflectance data and prediction performance of these models were compared with that of simple LR models, based on selected vegetation indices and plant height. We achieved the highest prediction accuracies by means of PPLS, with relative errors of prediction from 9.1 to 11.8% (329 to 487 kg DM ha−1) for the individual harvest dates and 14.3% (558 kg DM ha−1) for a generalized model.

Controlled traffic farming (CTF) systems aim to reduce soil compaction by restricting machinery field traffic to permanent traffic lanes. Grass-clover silage production is generally associated with intensive field traffic, resulting in reduced silage clover content. If CTF can increase yield and clover content in grass-clover leys, this would reduce the need for grain and expensive protein concentrate in dairy cow feed rations. A mixed integer programming model was developed to evaluate the potential profitability of CTF in a dairy farm context. Existing field trial data were used to calculate the expected yield outcome of CTF, based on reductions in trafficked area. The results revealed that CTF increased profitability by up to €50/ha. Total machinery costs are likely to increase on converting to CTF, but variable machinery costs are likely to decrease.

Grassland silage management is generally ad hoc resulting in soil compaction damage. Literature suggests grass yield reductions of 5 to 74% through compaction (UK mean 13%), while a 2015 study, reported here, comparing grass dry matter (DM) yield between controlled traffic farming (CTF) and normal management (N), found a 13.5% (0.80 t ha−1) increase for CTF. Commercially available grass forage equipment with widths of 3 to 12 m set up for CTF reduced trafficked areas from 80%–90% for N to 40%–13%. Economic analysis based on 13% increase in DM for 2 and 3 cut systems, gave an increased grass value between £38 ha−1 and £98 ha−1. CTF for multi-cut grass silage effectively increases yields by reducing compaction and sward damage.