Livestock Shelters Research Articles

The contribution of two common shrub species to aboveground and belowground carbon stock in Iberian dehesas

Shrubs play an important role in water-limited agro-silvo-pastoral systems by providing shelter and forage for livestock, for erosion control, to maintain biodiversity, diversifying the landscape, and above all, facilitating the regeneration of trees. Furthermore, the carbon sink capacity of shrubs could also help to mitigate the effects of climate change since they constitute a high proportion of total plant biomass. The contribution of two common extensive native shrub species (Cistus ladanifer L. and Retama sphaerocarpa (L.) Boiss.) to the carbon pool of Iberian dehesas (Mediterranean agro-silvo-pastoral systems) is analyzed through biomass models developed at both individual (biovolume depending) and community level (height and cover depending).The total amount of carbon stored in these shrubs, including above- and belowground biomass, ranges from 1.8 to 11.2 Mg C ha−1 (mean 6.8 Mg C ha−1) for communities of C. ladanifer and from 2.6 to 8.6 Mg C ha−1 (mean 4.5 Mg C ha−1) for R. sphaerocarpa. These quantities account for over 20–30% of the total plant biomass in the system. The potential for carbon sequestration of these shrubs in the studied system ranges 0.10–1.32 Mg C ha−1 year−1 and 0.25–1.25 Mg C ha−1 year−1 for the C. ladanifer and R. sphaerocarpa communities' respectively.

Effects of inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense on the quality of Prosopis juliflora seedlings

Inoculation of mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobacteria in plants can improve their growth and physiological status, which could be particularly important for agricultural and forestry plants used for the revegetation of arid areas. Prosopis juliflora is a forest pioneer species that is drought resistant and has multiple uses (fodder, shade and shelter for livestock; timber and firewood, live fences and windbreaks in agroforestry systems). Azospirillum brasilense is a rhizobacterium that improves the growth of many agricultural crops. The hypothesis of this study was that P. juliflora seedlings produced in the nursery can respond positively to inoculation with A. brasilense CECT 590. Five months after inoculation, we examined the growth, water relations (osmotic potential at full turgor, osmotic potential at zero turgor, and the modulus of elasticity at full turgor), and concentration and content of macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) in the seedlings. Subsequently, a trial was conducted to analyse root growth potential. A. brasilense CECT 590 inoculation caused an osmotic adjustment in P. juliflora seedlings but decreased the elasticity of the cell walls. Inoculation with A. brasilense CECT 590 significantly improved plant growth due in part to an increase of N concentration in the seedlings. A. brasilense CECT 590 inoculation also caused an increase in the root growth potential. The increased growth of P. juliflora seedlings inoculated with A. brasilense was probably caused by more than one mechanism. Inoculation with A. brasilense at the nursery may be a suitable technique for producing improved seedling material for restoration purposes.

Evaluation of Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Species Richness using Two Sampling Methods in the Hydroelectric Reservoir of Simplício, Minas Gerais, Brazil

We compared two types of light traps used for monitoring mosquito abundance in the hydroelectric reservoir of Simplício, Além Paraíba - Minas Gerais. Mosquitoes were captured bimonthly using automatic CDC and Shannon traps before the filling of the hydroelectric plant reservoir from December 2008 to December 2009. In total, 1474 specimens from 13 genera were captured. Among the captured specimens, several species known to be vectors of disease-causing agents for humans and/or animals were identified, including Anopheles aquasalis, Aedes albopictus, Coquillettidia venezuelensis, Haemagogus leucocelaenus, and Aedes scapularis. Sampling efficacy between the four capture sites was not found to be significantly different, irrespective of species captured or type of trap used. Poor correlation (r (x, y) = -0.0444) between the number of mosquito species and capture site was observed when not influenced by the type of trap used. Among the installation sites of the CDC and Shannon traps in the areas investigated, CDC traps fixed in livestock shelters obtained an overall higher abundance of species captured.

Super Cyclone SIDR 2007: Climate Change Adaptation Mechanisms for Coastal Communities in Bangladesh

Cyclone SIDR hit the coastal districts of Bangladesh on November 15, 2007 in the evening when it started crossing the country from northern Bay of Bengal with high tidal surges and strong winds of up to 260 km/hr. This study has been undertaken to assess the severity of the damage caused by SIDR, and identify causes of such cyclonic storms in recent years in order to suggest possible adaptive measures for the coastal people to cope with such situations in the future. The study reveals that both natural and human induced factors are responsible for such devastating catastrophes. The study suggests a number climate change adaptation andmitigation options that can be taken to reduce the severity of damages caused by cyclones in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. These include: developing an early warning system; constructing adequate cyclone shelters and tree plantations in the remote coastal areas; constructing structured and fortified houses and livestock shelters; livelihood diversification; and building awareness in the community regarding the impacts of changing climatic conditions in the coastal areas of Bangladesh.

The effect of woody plant diversity and other stand and landscape factors on the diversity and abundance of birds using farm shelterbelts.

Shelterbelts are common features of farm landscapes that provide shelter for livestock and crops and timber but may also benefit wildlife. The importance of shelterbelt plant diversity for birds was investigated by a survey of 62 sites in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. An area search technique was used to assess bird occurrence. An all subsets and exponential regression analysis approach explored the relationships between woody plant diversity and avifauna diversity (using Hill’s diversity index), whilst seasonal variations were analysed using restricted maximum likelihood. Sixty-six bird species, including many that are woodland-dependent, representing eight foraging guilds, were observed in the shelterbelts. More species of birds occurred and at higher density in more floristically diverse shelterbelts. Other factors found to influence avifaunal use of shelterbelts were woody plant density, shelterbelt width, structural complexity, tree height, crown cover index and elevation. Seasonal analysis confirmed the importance of these independent variables but also revealed the significance of shelterbelt’s proximity to water during summer for birds using this habitat. This study shows that floristic diversity, amongst other factors, is a significant predictor of avifauna diversity in shelterbelts and suggests that shelterbelts may be designed to optimize their wildlife habitat and biodiversity conservation values.

Blowing in the wind? Nutrient enrichment of remnant woodlands in an agricultural landscape

Increasing fertiliser use in agricultural landscapes is likely to threaten the viability of remnant native vegetation in many parts of the world. Australia’s prime grain production landscapes have nutrient poor soils, which formerly supported semi-arid woodland. The ecological function and capacity for regeneration of these remnants may be particularly susceptible to nutrient enrichment. The key sources of nutrients are wind and water deposition from crop fertilisation, and manure and feed from sheep. We hypothesised that these sources would result in unequal deposition of nutrients within and among remnant vegetation patches. We surveyed soil nutrients (Total N, Available P and K, C:N ratio, and soil pH) in the edges and interiors of 60 remnant woodland patches of various sizes, and in adjacent cultivated paddocks. Nutrient load was negatively correlated with remnant size and patterns were particularly strong for available P. Small remnant patches (<3 ha) were accumulation zones for nutrients, with levels comparable or higher than within crop lands. The patterns are consistent with the hypothesis that small remnants are strongly enriched as a result of being used for livestock shelter. In larger remnants, the primary cause of enrichment is consistent with edge accumulation of nutrients due to wind and water movement. In large patches, remnant edges, particularly the windward edge, were elevated compared to interiors of large patches. In these semi-arid crop lands, current trends in intensification of cropping and a shift away from livestock may reduce the input of nutrients to small patches but increase the nutrient threat to larger remnants.

Livestock Odour Dispersion as Affected by Natural Windbreaks

Natural windbreaks have been planted around livestock shelters to improve odour dispersion without substantial knowledge of their best implementation practices. Using three groups of four trained panellists and an odour generator, the objective of the present research was to measure and compare the length of odour plumes (LOP) produced in the field in the absence of, and in the presence of four natural windbreaks exposed to various climatic conditions. During 39 mornings in August, September and December 2003, panellists observed the resulting odour plumes using hedonic tone (HT) as scale and in the afternoon, evaluated the odour concentration (OC) of the odorous air sampled at the generator. By correlating HT with to their corresponding OC, filed HT values were converted into OC units, and 2 OU m−3 contours were used to establish LOP. A multiple factor analysis verified the effect significance on LOP of the presence of a windbreak, of windbreak properties and of climatic conditions. While being diluted, OC decreased exponentially with HT as observed by panellists (P < 0.05). Secondly, the windbreaks significantly reduced LOP by 22% as compared to the site without a windbreak. Thirdly, the denser windbreaks had a greater impact on reducing LOP. The LOP of windbreaks with an optical porosity of 0.55 was not significantly different compared to that created in the absence of a windbreak. The wind speed, direction and ambient temperature had a strong influence on LOP while atmospheric stability, windbreak position downwind from the odour source within 60 m and odour emission rate had little impact, based on the analysis of 36 field tests in the presence of a windbreak.

Sustainable land use: A farm forester's perspective

With its first National Annual General Meeting in 1955, The New Zealand Farm Forestry Association was formed by farmers interested in planting trees for a variety of reasons: soil erosion control, shade and shelter for livestock, timber and round wood production for use on farm and logs for sale.

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES IN RELATION TO TREE DEATH ALONG THE KUISEB RIVER IN THE NAMIB DESERT

The Namib Desert is located along the western coast of Namibia and is affected by the cold Benguela Current. Although forest is distributed along the Kuiseb River in the Namib Desert, many trees are almost dead in some areas. The aim of this research was to clarify the relationship between environmental changes and tree death. The results of the survey are summarized as follows: (1) Many dead trees are located on the riverbanks made of dune sand, which are about 1 m high. (2) Dead trees are located in transitional areas where a northward protrusion of the southern shore is followed by a southward protrusion of the northern shore along the course of the river, in proximity to a sand dune. (3) Floods have eroded the noses of advancing sand dunes of the upper stream and have caused tree death by depositing sand. (4) The date of tree death has been estimated between the late 1970s and the early 1980s by 14 C dating. (5) Flood days numbered 33 per year from 1962 to 1975 and 2.7 from 1976 to 1985. The remaining thick sand layer, deposited by the last fl ood, may be the cause of tree death, given that there was drastic decrease in fl oods since 1976. (6) Tree death has greatly affected people's lives along the Kuiseb River because they depend on riverside forests as a source of shade, shelter, fuel, and food for humans and livestock.

Livestock shelter from trees - a review

New Zealand is a windy country with extremes of temperate climate. Cold southerly and warm sub-tropical winds ensure a varied existence for farmed livestock. There are good examples of livestock shelter throughout the country, yet few farmers actively manage their animal enterprises to include shelter. Research results indicate there are production responses in milk production, liveweight gain and lamb survival to the provision of shelter. However, welfare and animal stress benefits have been difficult to substantiate. Caring for livestock should be the top priority, with an added bonus of satisfying marketing requirements. Strategically planted shelter will enhance our countryside, our image and our economy. Keywords: animal welfare, livestock, shelterbelts, trees

Forestry and shelter for livestock

There have been a number of proposals for the introduction of an agroforestry system in upland Britain, in which the trees are grown at a wide spacing with livestock grazing beneath the canopy. Such a system could be attractive for the production of high quality timber, and could also provide shelter for the animals. The effect of such a system on the productive performance of the animals is almost un-researched. The heat balance of sheep outdoors is described in relation to air temperature, windspeed, radiation (solar and thermal), rain and humidity. The effect of shelter on the environmental stress they experience is discussed, and the information required to evaluate the benefits/disadvantages of such a system is considered.

Pasture production and animal performance under pine agroforestry in New Zealand

Interactions between trees ( Pinus radiata), pastures and animals on farmland have been measured in New Zealand for 17 years. P. radiata is grown across a wide range of sites in New Zealand and under several management regimes. For agroforestry, P. radiata is usually grown under a direct sawlog regime with final tree stockings of around 200 stems/ha. Lower tree stockings allow pasture production well into the rotation (tree age 15) to the extent that at 100 stems/ha, pasture growth is 32% that of open pasture (no trees). Pasture growth declines with increasing tree stocking and age. Pasture botanical composition changes from high producing temperature pasture species to low fertility grasses and legumes. Under closely spaced pines, high levels of accumulated decaying needles smother the remaining pasture. Sheep performance generally declines with time in a totally planted agroforestry site. Feed quality (in vitro digestibility) of pasture decreases with increasing tree stocking. Factors affecting livestock performance in temperate agroforestry include class and species of stock, livestock shelter, pasture management, gastrointestinal parasite populations and ingestion of decaying pine needles. The significance of these factors and the benefits of agroforestry to the New Zealand scene are discussed.

Experimental and Simulation Studies of a Rock Solar Heat Storage in a Livestock Building

ABSTRACT AMONG various solar collection systems, air-type col-lectors are becoming practical in livestock buildings. The popularity of air-type collectors is mainly due to their simplicity, low initial and operating costs. Com-monly, air-type collectors are sized to preheat the minimum ventilating air requirements (MWPS-22, 1980). A heat storage medium such as rock is recom-mended in conjunction with the collector in order to enhance the full usage of the collected heat. Recir-culating the ventilating air from the house into the solar collector and charging/discharging a storage as practic-ed elsewhere is not practical in animal shelters. The amount of contaminants such as dust, noxious gases and biological organisms are much higher in an animal en-vironment than in human housing or in greenhouses. Therefore, in livestock shelters, the fresh ventilating air passed through the collector is continuously flowing in a single direction through the storage. A temperature wave front is formed in the rock which causes a phase shift between input and output temepratures. An ideally designed storage shifts the warm output temperatures to the daily coldest periods. These cold periods normally oc-cur at night. It is illustrated in Fig. 1, that a 12 h shift in output temperatures will result in substantial energy sav-ings. In this paper the results of experimenting with a solar collector/rock storage in a turkey building are explained. A simulation model with which rock and air temperature can be predicted, was used to analyse the design variables or a rock heat storage.

Evaluation of climatological records for rational planning of livestock shelters

Recent research investigations into the effects of climatic environment on livestock have provided functional relationships between weather events and production. Decisions involving shelters to overcome adverse environments for production must be based on economic returns to alternative investments. However, economic analyses require an integration of the effects of the weather factors over a specific period of time, usually several weeks or months in duration. Probability techniques applied to the weather events affecting production provide a basis for the required integration and thereby aid in establishing the economic benefits involved in environmental modification. Several years of summer weather data are analyzed in terms of probability distribution functions for selected stations in the United States. The weather events utilized are the Temperature-Humidity Index and dry-bulb temperature, since livestock production has been shown to be a function of these statistics. Specific examples are provided of the application of such distribution functions to decisions concerning livestock shelters.

Evaluation of a solar-powered cooling system for livestock Shelters : White, G. M. and G. W. Isaacs, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana, 1960 Winter Meeting, American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Memphis, Tennessee, Paper No. 60-821, 11 p. Dec. 1960, Illus.

Evaluation of a solar-powered cooling system for livestock Shelters : White, G. M. and G. W. Isaacs, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana, 1960 Winter Meeting, American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Memphis, Tennessee, Paper No. 60-821, 11 p. Dec. 1960, Illus.