Rough Pasture Research Articles

Characterization of Wind Resources of the East Coast of Maranhão, Brazil

The objective of this work is to assess the wind resources of the east coast of Maranhão, Brazil. Wind profilers were combined with micrometeorological towers and atmospheric reanalysis to investigate micro- and mesoscale aspects of wind variability. Field campaigns recorded winds in the dry and wet seasons, under the influence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The dry season was characterized by strong winds (8 to 12 m s−1) from the northeast. Surface heat fluxes were generally positive (250 to 320 W m−2) at midday and negative (−10 to −20 W m−2) during the night. Convective profiles predominated near the beach, with strongly stable conditions rarely occurring before sunrise. Further inland, convective to strongly convective profiles occurred during the day, and neutral to strongly stable profiles at night. Wind speeds decreased during the rainy season (4 to 8 m s−1), with increasingly easterly and southeasterly components. Cloud cover and precipitation reduced midday heat fluxes (77 W m−2). Profiles were convective during midday and stable to strongly stable at night. Terrain roughness increased with distance from the ocean ranging from smooth surfaces (zo = 0.95 mm) and rough pastures (zo = 15.33 mm) to crops and bushes (zo = 52.68 mm), and trees and small buildings (zo = 246.46 mm) farther inland. Seasonal variations of the mean flow and sea and land breezes produced distinct diurnal patterns of wind speeds. The strongest (weakest) breeze amplitudes were observed in the dry (rainy) period. Daily changes in heat fluxes and fetch over land controlled the characteristics of wind profiles. During sea breezes, winds approached the coast at right angles, resulting in shorter fetches over land that maintained or enhanced oceanic convective conditions. During land breezes, winds blew from the mainland or with acute angles against the coastline, resulting in large fetches with nighttime surface cooling, generating strongly stable profiles. Coastal observations demonstrated that with increasing monopiles from 100 to 130 m it is possible to obtain similar capacity factors of beachfront turbines.

The Archaeology of Abbey Wood, Strata Florida, Ceredigion, Wales

ABSTRACT Abbey Wood today is a beautiful, if ill-kept, mixed deciduous woodland a few hundred metres to the south of the former Cistercian monastery of Strata Florida in the Upper Teifi Valley in central Ceredigion, Wales. It consists of a number of different elements of land use and ecology, largely self-regenerated wood and scrub, some older tree specimens and patches of open rough pasture. There are ecological traces of historic management such as pollards and coppice boles, as well as extensive areas of archaeological earthworks on the woodland floor. These appear to demonstrate that the wood, as its name suggests, was originally planted onto open agricultural land perhaps as early as the twelfth century at the time of the Abbey’s foundation. The present extent is approximately 80 hectares (c.200 acres), but early estate maps show that 250 years ago it was larger and much more coherent as a managed wood. Some conifers were planted by the Forestry Commission in the mid-twentieth century. This article will argue that the historic wood was the main source of timber for the Abbey and that this re-founded institution, as part of its re-shaping of a pre-existing traditional landscape sacrificed good arable land for the purpose.

Map as biography: maps, memory, and landscape – thoughts on Ordnance Survey map, Sheet TR04, 1:25,000 Provisional Edition, Ashford

While walking across the rough pasture on the hills above Ashford, Kent (UK), I experienced a dramatic vision. The dull green grassland turned a solid flat bright yellow (Figure 1). It was over in ...

Culture-independent identification of bacteria associated with ovine ‘broken mouth’ periodontitis

'Broken mouth' periodontitis (BMP) is a painful condition of sheep grazed on rough pasture and involves periodontal infection of the incisor teeth and progressive tooth loss. This can reduce the efficiency of grazing of sheep, which contributes to malnutrition, weight loss, systemic health problems, poor quality of life and early culling from flocks. Consequently, this condition is a major economic problem to sheep farmers. However, there are no treatment or control methods available. The aim of this study was to identify the bacteria associated with BMP and oral health in sheep. Swabs were collected from the gingival pockets of three sheep with BMP and from the gingival margin of three orally healthy (normal) sheep. Bacteria were identified using culture-independent (16S rRNA gene sequencing) methods. In the normal samples, 26 phylotypes were identified. The most prevalent species were Enterobacter hormaechei (21.3% of analysed clones) and Hafnia alvei (21.3%), with uncultured (4.4%) and novel (5.0%) phylotypes also being identified. For the BMP samples, 24 phylotypes were identified. The most prevalent species were Mannheimia ruminalis (28.4%) and Moraxella caprae (13.5%), with uncultured (2.6%) and novel (24.5%) phylotypes also being identified. In conclusion, a distinct microflora is associated with BMP and oral health in sheep and M. ruminalis may be involved in the aetiology of BMP.

Greenhouse Gas Fluxes from Dutch Peatland Water Bodies: Importance of the Surrounding Landscape

Methane and carbon dioxide fluxes were quantified for 14 ditches and larger water bodies in Dutch peatlands, surrounded by different habitat types, using concentration changes in floating flux chambers. Average fluxes from these waters were 11 ± 2 (mean ± SE) mg CH4 m−2 h−1 (n = 66) and 86 ± 21 mg CO2 m−2 h−1 (n = 55). Variability among water bodies was substantial in both gases and could be explained by water depth and surrounding habitat. Ditches in intensively used dairy land or rough pastures had significantly higher CH4 emission rates (17 ± 6 and 18 ± 8 mg CH4 m−2 h−1) than those in reed and sedge beds or open water (7 ± 1 and 5 ± 2 mg CH4 m−2 h−1). Bubbles contributed between 34 and 69% to the total CH4 flux, with higher proportions observed in ditches sheltered by tall vegetation. Observed day-time CO2 fluxes were either positive (shaded ditches in reed and sedge stands or rough pasture; 120–150 mg CO2 m−2 h−1) or did not differ from zero (open water, ditches in intensively managed pasture). Since these peatlands have substantial areas of permanent surface water (6–43%), landscape-scale carbon flux estimates are improved by incorporating specific flux estimates for these waters.

The impact of changing agricultural policies on jointly used rough pastures in the Bavarian Pre-Alps: An economic and ecological scenario approach

The paper assesses the impact of different policy options on the land use and associated biodiversity values of jointly organised low-intensity grazing systems (‘Allmende’) in Bavaria. We use an integrated economic and ecological modelling approach to compare three scenarios with the situation in 2003/05. We base the economic sub-model on single farms, which alter their land use in response to economic stimuli. Within the economic part, factors like the farm's endowment with machinery and quota are regarded. Within the rule-based ecological sub-model we analyse: area of protected habitats according to the EC Habitats Directive; biodiversity for selected taxonomic groups and habitat quality for different target species. An overall evaluation of the scenarios indicates that decoupling has a limited effect, because higher direct payments compensate the effect of lower product prices. If all payments are strictly targeted to agri-environmental measures and set to a level which guarantees a low-input management of the grassland, the public costs could be reduced and additional habitats for the target species could be provided. Regarding all indicators but the extent of protected habitats and the public costs, a scenario with a cessation of public payments and market liberalisation performs the worst.

Homogeneous habitat can meet the discrete and varied resource requirements of hares but may set an ecological trap

In common with other farmland species, hares ( Lepus spp.) are in widespread decline in agricultural landscapes due to agricultural intensification and habitat loss. We examined the importance of habitat heterogeneity to the Irish hare ( Lepus timidus hibernicus) in a pastoral landscape. We used radio-tracking during nocturnal active and diurnal inactive periods throughout one year. In autumn, winter and spring, hares occupied a heterogeneous combination of improved grassland, providing food, and Juncus-dominated rough pasture, providing refuge. In summer, hares significantly increased their use of improved grassland. This homogeneous habitat can fulfil the discrete and varied resource requirements of hares for feeding and shelter at certain times of year. However, improved grassland may be a risky habitat for hares as silage harvesting occurs during their peak birthing period of late spring and early summer. We therefore posit the existence of a putative ecological trap inherent to a homogeneous habitat of perceived high value that satisfies the hares’ habitat requirements but which presents risks at a critical time of year. To test this hypothesis in relation to hare populations, work is required to provide data on differential leveret mortality between habitat types.

Study on the Influence of Pasture on Volatile Fraction of Ewes’ Dairy Products by Solid-Phase Microextraction and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

The detection of markers of identification of the geographical origin of food is an attractive challenge and, as far as dairy products are concerned, this paper represents a contribution to this field. In this research the influence of feed on the volatile compound composition was investigated on milk, 2-mo-old cheese (Caciotta), and whey cheese (ricotta) obtained from the same flock of Sarda ewes, under standardized technological conditions. Three different types of pasture (mixture of Lolium perenne and Trifolium squarrosum; rough pasture; Avena sativa) were studied. Solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used and principal component analysis was applied for statistical evaluation of the data set. The volatile composition was significantly affected by the type of pasture independently of the type of cheese and the ripening period. Moreover, a marker of rough pasture, tentatively identified as (E,E)-3,7,11-tri-methyl-2,4,10-dodecatriene, was detected only in milk and cheeses produced when the ewe flock grazed on that pasture.

Hatfield Church in the Early Sixteenth Century

THE NUMBER of contemporary, or near contemporary, descriptions of the interiors of English churches before the Reformation can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Recent historians have made telling use of Roger Marten’s nostalgic recollections of Long Melford in Suffolk and have also, though less frequently, referred to the equally nostalgic anonymous account of the ‘Rites of Durham’, but have paid virtually no attention at all to a manuscript relating to Hatfield Church in Yorkshire. 1 Like the Long Melford transcript this now survives in a late- seventeenth-century recension, and Joseph Hunter, its first publisher, entertained some doubts over its authenticity. Yet even if in its present state it can be regarded as no more than a dim reflection of a sixteenth-century original, at the very least it provides a timely reminder of the extent to which in the late middle ages a rich, rural church in the extreme south-east of the West Riding was attempting to propagate the Christian message not only through its glass, statues and paintings, but also through a multiplicity of Latin devotional and exhortatory texts. 2 Although the very extensive parish of Hatfield contained some cultivated land, in the medieval period it consisted largely of rough pasture, peat bog and marsh, the village itself being situated on a gravel eminence a little above the fen. Much of the area had been converted into a deer park after the Norman Conquest, while the many watercourses and meres attracted an abundance of game. The Crown had regained the manor on the death of the last representative of the Warenne family in 1346, and from around this date the royal court periodically descended upon the region to take advantage of the hunting, fishing, and fowling. Prince William of Hatfield, the second son of Edward III, was born at the manor house in 1336, which just over a century later in 1441 also became the birthplace of Henry, the eldest son of Richard, Duke of York. The accession of the Tudors brought little material change, with John Leland observing in the 1530s that ‘the quarters about Hatfield be forest ground, and, though wood be scarce there, yet there is great plenty of red deer that haunt the fens and great moors thereabout . . .’. 3

The Costs of Parliamentary Enclosure in an Upland Setting: South and East Cumbria c. 1760–1860

'The Costs of Parliamentary Enclosure in an Upland Setting: South and East Cumbria c. 1760–1860'. Although the costs of parliamentary enclosure have been shown to be high, attention has focused on lowland areas of England. This article examines the public and private costs of parliamentary enclosure in the old county of Westmorland, and adjoining areas of Cumberland and Lancashire, where most of the land enclosed was rough pasture, rather than open-field arable. The General Enclosure Act of 1845 greatly reduced public costs. These were in any case frequently financed by the sale of some of the land. On the other hand, private costs, including fencing and especially land improvement, were relatively high, pushing the overall cost of enclosure to substantial levels. The impact of such costs on Cumbrian society in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is then explored.

Analysis of land-use change in a sector of Upper Franconia (Bavaria, Germany) since 1850 using land register records

This study analyses changes in the landscape of a sector of Upper Franconia (Bavaria, Germany) by comparing land use changes over four time periods (1850, 1900, 1960, 2000). Geodetic and other data derived from the Bavarian real estate tax and land register were entered into various temporal layers of a land register-based vector GIS. This multitemporal GIS permits a precise analysis of the historical structure and development of landscapes on the basis of land plots. In 1850, the study area was almost exclusively agricultural in structure. Woodlands made up only 18% of the total surface. Rough pastures and wastelands, which covered about 9% of the total surface, were used for grazing. During the first half of the 20th century, the proportion of wooded areas increased considerably. The rough pastures that had formerly been a typical feature of the region nearly disappeared during this period. Agricultural use declined to less than 50% of the total area. In the course of the period between 1960 and 2000, the livestock industry has become an almost exclusively indoor activity. Village development has started spilling over into the adjacent fields. The causes and background of these changes are discussed in detail. From an ecological standpoint, the land use categories surveyed in this analysis of landscape change can be regarded as vegetation types, thereby constituting habitats for specialized biota. The intensity and frequency of any type of land use creates a certain disturbance regime, which disrupts and controls the succession in a certain way. The concept of categories of change incorporated into the GIS helps to evaluate these habitat types and the rate of change more accurately, e.g. for nature conservation purposes.

The Ranging Behaviour and Habitat Use of Rabbits on Farmland and Their Potential Role in the Epidemiology of Paratuberculosis

Grazing herbivores avoid grass swards contaminated with faeces as the ingestion of faeces is a common route of micro- and macro-parasite transmission. The recent novel finding that herbivores do not avoid grass swards contaminated with rabbit faeces suggests that disease risk posed to herbivores by rabbits is determined by rabbit ranging and excretory behaviour. Using as a case study rabbits and the risk Mycobacterium avium sub-species paratuberculosis ( M. a. paratuberculosis) poses to cattle, the interaction between rabbits and grazing pasture was studied on an infected farm in the east of Scotland in spring and autumn 2000. Radio telemetry, burrow surveys and faecal pellet count data were collected on two areas (Areas 1 and 2) of the farm with different habitat mosaics, to study the potential effects of season and habitat on the spatial distribution of rabbits faeces and thus disease in the environment. Twenty one rabbits were radio tracked and a total of 902 fixes collected. Mean home range sizes (100% minimum convex polygons) were between 2.0 and 7.1 ha per rabbit per season. Home ranges were significantly larger in spring, and in Area 1 which had more moor and woodland and less rough pasture. Rabbits used rough pasture most in Area 1 and gorse scrub in Area 2. In both areas, significantly more burrows were located in gorse scrub than in any other habitat. Most faecal pellets were deposited on the moorland habitat of Area 2 in autumn. In habitats to which grazing livestock had access, the mean rate of faecal deposition was 8571 pellets per ha per day. The greatest risk of disease transmission occurred in habitats of poor grazing quality (e.g., gorse scrub) which were used by rabbits for burrowing and thus contained high concentrations of faeces. The findings of the study are discussed in relation to management practices aimed at reducing disease risk to livestock, including the fencing of scrub and the reduction of rabbit population size to prevent expansion of rabbit burrows from scrub into grazing pastures.

Linking nutrient limitation and water chemistry in upland lakes to catchment characteristics

The relationship between catchment characteristics and lake water chemistry, phytoplankton and periphyton biomass, and phytoplankton and periphyton nutrient limitation was investigated for 30 upland lakes in the U.K. These catchment characteristics included the proportion of different land cover categories in the catchment and some hydrological information. Multiple regression models could predict alkalinity, pH, total dissolved phosphorus, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, dissolved organic nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon and phytoplankton chlorophyll a from the proportional contribution of between two and six land cover categories within the catchment and explain between 42 and 73% of the variance. Phosphorus limitation was positively linked to the proportion of shrub-heath and bracken in the catchment, and negatively linked to the proportion of pasture. Nitrogen limitation was positively linked to the proportion of marsh and rough grass, deciduous and mixed woodland, and negatively linked to the proportion of rough pasture, shrub heath and bare ground in the catchment. Nitrogen limitation decreased and phosphorus limitation increased with catchment slope, although the correlation between land cover classes and slope was not significant. The results suggest that map-based data can be used to predict water chemistry and nutrient limitation in upland lakes.

Elephant diet at the edge of the Fynbos Biome, South Africa

Reviews observations of two forest guards who from 1990 to 2000 noted the diet and preferred foods of Knysna elephants, in the Fnybos Biome along the southern coastal region of South Africa. All plants eaten by five elephants, the last three known native animals and two introduced juveniles, were noted 'this is the first evidence that elephants routinely eat the nutrient-poor, heathy shrubs and wiry grasslike plants of the fynbos'. The native animals spent 90% of their time in the forest, but when released in 1994 the introduced juveniles only spent 2 months in this habitat. From then on they spent: 80% in fynbos and rough pasture, 10% in patchy forest, 5% in mature tree plantations, and less than 5% near vegetable/croplands which they raided. 11 species of forest trees and shrubs were eaten, Rapanea, Pterocelastrus, and Ilex seemed to be preferred. The introduced juveniles mainly ate bark when in the forest. Most of the common genera of shrubs and grasslike plants of the fynbos were eaten, but most herbaceous plants were ignored. Exotic trees in plantations were occasionally damaged for their bark and many Acacia, particularly A mearnsii were broken down, and bark, pods and leaves eaten. The animals sometimes excavated and ate tubers and rhizomes of herbaceous plants such as Iridaceae and bracken fern (Pterodium) but did not eat soil. The author notes the complementary diets elephant may have with other indigenous herbivores, and discusses the commonly held view that the Knysna habitat lacks trace elements. Observations suggest elephant could be maintained in the Fynbos Biome, and their presence in this area might be useful in controlling invasive exotic plants.

Pollen analytical investigations of the Irish landscape ad 200–1650

Evidence for landscape change in the documentary evidence is compared with pollen profiles from recent peats and lake sediments in Ireland. A picture emerges of a landscape as rich in variety as any today. Woodland is traced through time, especially the pollen evidence for the great depletion of forest recorded the early seventeenth century. Pollen studies emphasise that scrubby woodland, rich in rough pasture, was common throughout the Irish lowlands—a landscape that was the mainstay of pastoralism since the early medieval period. Low but consistent levels of cereal and weed pollen in bogland throughout the country emphasise that arable farming played an important and often under-rated role. The varied agricultural landscape of the lowlands contrasts with the almost treeless uplands, where damp, rough pasture and blanket peats have prevailed almost unchanged since the Bronze Age. Where possible, the pollen analytical record for historic woodland and agriculture is given by county. New studies are describ...

Habitat effects on the spatial ecology of the European badger (Meles meles)

AbstractThis study investigates how habitat variation affects sett density, the number of animals per social group and group territory size in the badger (Meles meles). Identical methods were applied in three habitat types: lowland parkland with mixed woodland, pastoral farmland and upland rough pasture with moorland, representing areas of presumed good, medium and poor badger habitat, respectively. Contiguous main setts were identified and bait‐marking was used to estimate territory size. Group size was estimated by direct enumeration. Variation in sett density, group size and territory size supported the hypothesis that badger group and territory size are influenced by habitat type. This was further supported by analyses of data from other studies in the British Isles. The implications for badger spatial ecology, badger survey techniques and the badger's role in the epidemiology of TB are discussed.

Upland landscapes in Britain and the 1992 CAP reforms

The impact of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on the uplands of Great Britain is examined, with particular emphasis on open land characterized by large expanses of rough pasture and heath. Following much concern in the immediate post‐war period about the incomes of hill farmers, the paper outlines how the upland problem has been redefined in recent years as an environmental concern. The evolution of agricultural policy for the uplands is examined. In particular, the paper explores the impact of the 1992 reforms on upland management, drawing on a recent empirical study of the countryside impact of the CAP. It is shown that the environmental problem of overgrazing has not been seriously tackled by CAP reforms with extensification payments, cross‐compliance and agri‐environmental policies all too weak to tackle fully the underlying problem of high densities of sheep in the uplands. The problem is compounded by the decline of the beef sector in the hills. The paper concludes by speculating on the likely impact of the CAP reforms proposed under Agenda 2000 and suggests that the moves towards a new policy are encouraging but will need very careful drafting to ensure maximum environmental benefit.

A multiproxy approach to the function of postmedieval ridge-and-furrow cultivation in upland northern Britain

The remains of agricultural activity preserved beneath current rough pasture in the uplands of Tweed dale in southern Scotland are subjected to multidisciplinary analysis by archaeological survey, documentary research, and palaeoecological reconstruction through pollen analysis, supported by210Pb and other forms of dating. The survey showed the features to represent grooved rig, a form of ploughing presumed to be related to cereal cultivation in the medieval and postmedieval periods. Documentary and pollen analyses suggest, however, that the ploughing is very recent, of nineteenth-century date, and represents a form of pasture improve ment for sheep grazing. This conclusion demonstrates the value of multidisciplinary research based on this type of evidence, and has implications for the interpretation of comparable forms of upland agriculture.

Use of a new standardized habitat survey for assessing the habitat preferences and distribution of upland river birds

Assessments of the habitat requirements of river birds are central to understanding their distribution and abundance. Here, we make an initial appraisal of the suitability for this purpose of a new standardized method of river habitat survey (RHS) developed by the Environment Agency (EA). We carried out RHS and recorded the presence of five common birds along 74 upland Welsh streams. RHS provided significant and meaningful correlates with bird distribution: Dippers Cinclus cinclus and Grey Wagtails Motacilla cinerea showed a significant preference for sites with tree-related features, while Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos preferred streams with few trees but with more rough pasture and riparian wetlands. Dippers also showed a significant preference for streams with bridges and walls, often used as nesting or roosting sites. Mallards Anas platyrhynchos and Goosanders Mergus merganser both preferred sites with smoother flows, finer substrates and more emergent vegetation. For all species, multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) on RHS data predicted presence with a success rate of 50–81%. The distribution of Grey Wagtails and Dippers was best predicted by RHS variables from the channel, flow, bank and riparian zone; Common Sandpiper and Goosander distribution was predicted best by channel and flow characters, and that of Mallard by channel features alone. In three species (Dipper, Goosander and Mallard) stream chemistry (pH) improved predictive ability. We conclude that RHS, although designed initially for more general purposes, is a potentially important tool for describing and predicting river bird distribution. Future developments should include assessments of which RHS data best predict bird distribution across a wider array of river types and species. Incorporating other important influences on distribution, such as water chemistry, should both enhance predictive ability and allow further development to the role of river birds as ecological indicators.

A preliminary assessment of the establishment and persistence ofBerberis darwiniiHook., a naturalised shrub in secondary vegetation near Dunedin, New Zealand

Abstract A preliminary assessment was made of the establishment and persistence of Berberis darwinii in secondary vegetation dominated by native trees. B. darwinii seedling establishment on cleared ground and in forest considerably exceeded that of native shrub and tree species. B. darwinii showed continuous recruitment in stands surrounded by rough pasture, in low forest established since 1974 and 1942, and in secondary forest mature in 1942. It persisted in secondary forest for at least 40 years, but diameter growth rate and height relative to the canopy were lower with increasing vegetation age, so B. darwinii plants became increasingly confined to the understorey. Native species diversity was little reduced by B. darwinii in the vegetation age range of the study. Comments are made on the conservation implications of B. darwinii population dynamics, with suggestions for further research.