Abstract
Atriplex canescens canopy cover, biomass production, and nutrient content were evaluated after four years of livestock grazing exclusion and mechanical shrub removal, except A. canescensin an arid rangeland with a slightly saline soil and with a long history of heavy livestock grazing in the southern Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico (24° N). Twenty 3 × 3 m paddocks were established in terrains with three levels of electric conductivity (EC): <1.4 dS/m (n=7), 1.4–1.6 dS/m (n=7) and >1.6 dS/m. Atriplex canescens canopy cover was higher (49.5%; p<0.01) on paddocks with soil EC >1.6 dS/m than paddocks with soil EC <1.4 and 1.4–1.6 dS/m (32.1 and 22.9%, respectively). Above-ground biomass did not differ between paddocks with soils with EC of <1.4 and 1.4–1.6 dS/m (1309 ± 535 and 1372 ± 180 kg DM/ha), but biomass increased 2.7 times (p<0.01) when soil EC was greater than 1.6 dS/m. The soil EC had no effect on the levels of crude protein (range 13.6 to 14.3%), neutral detergent fiber (range 56.5 to 57.7%) and ash (range 14.5 to 16.4%). In vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of the foliage of A. canescens was not affected by of soil EC level (range 60.4 to 62.2%). It was concluded that in an arid rangeland with slight saline soil, the increase in salinity favors canopy cover and biomass production of A. canescens without altering nutrient content and IVDMD of this fodder shrub.
Highlights
The Atriplex genus has several plant species that grow in ecosystems with high salinity, scarce humidity and high temperature (Ramos et al, 2004)
The present study addresses the following questions: (1) what effect does salinity have on biomass production of A. canescens, (2) does nutrients of this shrub change in response to salinity? Our working hypotheses were: increasing salinity levels would have a positive effect on biomass production; the magnitude of the soil salinity affects the nutrient content of this woody shrub
A notable feature of the present study was that the aerial cover of A. canescens was stimulated by increased values of electric conductivity (EC) of soil
Summary
The Atriplex genus has several plant species that grow in ecosystems with high salinity, scarce humidity and high temperature (Ramos et al, 2004) These shrubs have been used for erosion control and rangeland rehabilitation in salt-affected and degraded areas (Rani et al, 2013; de Souza et al, 2014). Atriplex shrubs have adaptations enabling them to tolerate the adverse effect of salts internally or excrete salt from cells and tissues (Flowers & Colmer, 2008) They have an advantage over forage species unable to deal with salt in the soil and are good competitors in arid zones with saline soils and can provide a supplementary feed source for livestock and wildlife under arid and semi-arid conditions (Aganga et al, 2003; Norman et al, 2010)
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