Sustainable Grazing Research Articles

Data-Driven Decision Support to Guide Sustainable Grazing Management

Data-driven decision support can help guide sustainable grazing management by providing an accurate estimate of grazing capacity, in coproduction with managers. Here, we described the development of a decision support model to estimate grazing capacity and illustrated its application on two sites in the western United States. For the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory in California and Nevada, the upper limit estimated in the capacity assessment was 398 horses and the current population was 654 horses. For the Eagle Creek watershed of the Apache–Sitgreaves National Forest of eastern Arizona, the lower end of capacity was estimated at 1560 cattle annually, compared to the current average of 1090 cattle annually. In addition to being spatio-temporally comprehensive, the model provides a repeatable, cost-effective, and transparent process for establishing and adjusting capacity estimates and associated grazing plans that are supported by scientific information, in order to support livestock numbers at levels that are sustainable over time, including levels that are below average forage production during drought conditions. This modeling process acts as a decision support tool because it enables different assumptions to be used and explored to accommodate multiple viewpoints during the planning process.

Grazing Intensity Modifies Soil Microbial Diversity and Their Co-Occurrence Networks in an Alpine Steppe, Central Tibet

Grazing intensity is one of the crucial anthropogenic activities on alpine grasslands. However, how grazing intensity affects soil microorganism diversities and their co-occurrence networks in alpine steppe remains uncertain. We carried out a controlled grazing experiment (null grazing, CK; moderate grazing, MG; and heavy grazing, HG) on a typical alpine steppe in the Lhasa River Basin, Central Tibet, China. We used high-throughput sequencing to find the sequences of bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS gene amplicons. Then, we analyzed their alpha and beta diversities and set up co-occurrence networks that show how often they occur together. MG significantly increased the bacterial Shannon index and changed the bacterial community structure. In contrast, HG decreased the fungal ACE and Chao1 indices and also changed the fungal community structure (p < 0.05). Linear mixed-effect model revealed that available phosphorus in soil significantly impacted on soil bacterial Shannon, ACE, and Chao1 indices across grazing intensities, while total carbon in subsoil significantly affected these indicators of soil fungi. Moreover, MG increased the complexity of the co-occurrence network in the bacterial community, while HG simplified it. However, both MG and HG made the co-occurrence networks in the fungal community less complicated. This shows that the intensity of grazing has different impacts on how microbes interact with each other. Therefore, sustainable grazing intensity necessitates a deeper understanding of biodiversity conservation in alpine grasslands.

Seasonal Herbage-Livestock Balance and Grassland Pressure Index Analysis in the Yellow River Source Park, Tibet Plateau, China.

Grassland carrying capacity is an indicator for measuring the stability of grassland ecosystems and can provide a basis for formulating regional sustainable grazing strategies. However, most previous studies on this have only considered annual fluctuations, but seasonal changes were ignored. In this study, the herbage yield and nutrient value of two grassland types in Yellow River Source Park (YRSP) were measured by sampling point survey method in four seasons, and the seasonal and annual grassland carrying capacity, carrying numbers of standard sheep unit (SU) were estimated based on the dry matter (DM) content, crude protein, and metabolic energy of herbage. Due to the carrying capacity being low during the yellow and wintering periods, we combined them and calculated the carrying capacity for only three periods, including the flourishing period, greening period, and withering period. The grassland pressure index (GPI) was measured by the ratio of the actual standard sheep number and the calculated number. The results showed that the herbage yield and nutrient output were higher in spring and summer, lower in autumn and winter, and showed a tendency for alpine meadows to be higher than alpine grasslands during the flourishing period (p < 0.05). The unit area carrying capacity varied significantly with the season and showed the seasonal changing characteristics of the flourishing period > greening period > withering period. The seasonal carrying number was much higher than the actual carrying number during the flourishing period and much lower than the actual carrying number during the withering period. In terms of annual carrying capacity, the GPI was balanced when considering livestock alone, while critical overloaded when considering livestock and wildlife. This study suggested the influence of seasonal change on the grassland carrying capacity should be fully considered in the grassland utilization. Meanwhile, the feeding needs of livestock and wildlife should be taken into account, and timely supplemented when forage is in short supply.

Effects of Heavy Grazing on Interspecific Relationships at Different Spatial Scales in Desert Steppe of China

This study investigates the effects of grazing intensity and spatial scale on the important values, interspecific relationships, and community stability of desert steppe plant communities in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia, China. Using vegetation data collected at three spatial scales (50 m × 50 m, 25 m × 25 m, and 2.5 m × 2.5 m) under two grazing conditions (no grazing and heavy grazing), we employed ecological statistics, including variance ratio analysis, χ2 tests, and the Jaccard index, to analyze species interactions and community structure. The results indicated that the important values of species vary with both spatial scale and grazing intensity; for example, Stipa breviflori and Chenopodium aristatum exhibited significantly higher important values in heavily grazed areas. Larger spatial scales enhanced the dominance of Cleistogenes songorica and Chenopodium aristatum, while smaller scales favored Stipa breviflori and Caragana stenophylla. Furthermore, interspecific associations were stronger in heavy grazing conditions. The community demonstrated consistent instability; however, no grazing areas were more stable than heavily grazed ones. These findings highlight that species importance, interspecific relationships, and community stability are closely linked to grazing intensity and spatial scale, emphasizing the critical role of sustainable grazing management in maintaining the long-term stability and resilience of desert steppe ecosystems. By emphasizing the need for targeted and sustainable management strategies, this study aims to contribute to the restoration and preservation of these vital ecosystems.

Different grazing management strategies change greenhouse gas emissions and global warming potential in global grasslands

Grazing management significantly influences greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the global warming potential (GWP) in grasslands. Yet, a limited understanding of the impact of grazing and grazing exclusion on GHG emissions and GWP in grasslands hinders progress towards grassland ecosystem sustainability and GHG mitigation. We conducted a global meta-analysis of 75 published studies to investigate the effects of grazing and grazing exclusion on methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and GWP. Our results revealed that grazing and grazing exclusion significantly increased the CO2 and CH4 emissions, respectively. The responses of GHG emissions and GWP to grazing were regulated by grazing intensity and elevation. We also found that light grazing significantly decreased GWP but heavy grazing increased GWP. Reducing grazing intensity was a simple and effective method through stocking rate adjustment, which promised a large GHG mitigation potential. Our results demonstrated that GHG emissions increased with elevation under grassland grazing, implying that irrational grazing in high-elevation grasslands promoted GHG emissions. In comparison with grazing, only long-term grazing exclusion reduced the GWP, and CH4 emissions enhanced with grazing exclusion duration. However, long-term grazing exclusion may shift economic demand and grazing burden to other areas. Overall, we suggested that regulating the grazing intensity, rather than grazing exclusion, was an effective way to reduce GHG emissions. Our study contributed to the enhancement of sustainable grazing management practices for GHG balance and GWP in global grasslands, and offered a global picture for understanding the changes in GHG emissions and GWP under different grazing management regimes.

Different groups’ grazing technique preferences in the Miombo woodlands of Eastern Tanzania

Grazing in Miombo woodlands is essential for the livelihoods of the pastoral and agropastoral communities that live adjacent to these fragile ecosystems. However, Miombo woodlands offer not only fodder for livestock but also fertile land for crop farming; hence, they are equally important to the farmers residing in these areas. Due to the importance of the Miombo woodlands for the livelihoods of several groups, the consumption of and competition for Miombo resources has increased over time and now threatens the overall health of the ecosystem. This study aimed to identify the grazing techniques practiced by different livelihood groups in Miombo woodlands; their preferences for different practices, as well as the factors that influence these preferences, so as to understand how sustainable grazing can be achieved for better ecosystem health. The study was conducted in Handeni, Kilombero, and Kilosa districts and covered pastoralists, agropastoralists, and farmers. We carried out focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a survey of 246 respondents. Un-patterned rotational grazing was the most preferred grazing technique by all three groups, and the only technique the three groups shared a preference for. All the groups took a neutral stance in relation to continuous grazing. Their preferences for other grazing techniques differ. The study highlights the need to raise awareness amongst pastoralists about land ownership and management and recommends enhancing land property rights for all groups in order to harmonize livestock keeping and other land uses for achieving sustainable grazing and overall ecosystem health in the fragile Miombo woodlands of Tanzania.

Grazing and precipitation addition interactions alleviate dominant species overgrowth and promote community productivity and biodiversity in a typical steppe

Grazing and precipitation are pivotal factors influencing the productivity and biodiversity of grassland ecosystems, largely through their effects on the growth and reproduction of dominant species. Approximately 50 % of terrestrial ecosystems are concurrently affected by grazing and precipitation addition (PA), yet the interactive effects of these factors remain underexplored. To elucidate the combined impacts of grazing and PA on the growth of dominant species and their influence on community structure and function, we initiated a four-year combined grazing and PA experiment based on a long term of grazing experiment in a typical steppe. The synergistic interaction between PA and grazing enhanced canopy diameter (CD), tiller density (TD), and seedling density (SD) in dominant species, while decreasing reproductive branch density (RB). Conversely, an antagonistic interaction increased plant height (PH) and TD but reduced SD. These responses suggest that dominant species adapt to combined grazing and PA pressures by shifting growth strategies towards lateral growth and asexual reproduction. The growth characteristics of dominant species exhibited four response patterns to grazing and PA interactions: full saturation, sufficient saturation, equal saturation, and deficit saturation, each with three corresponding thresholds: adaptation, optimum, and saturation points. Grazing decreased the precipitation response thresholds for PH, CD, RB, and population density, while increasing the optimal points for TD and SD. These changes in the growth of the dominant species resulted in a 33 % reduction in the aboveground biomass (AGB) of the community and triggered a 18 % increase in the coupling index between AGB and species richness within the community. Our findings highlight the role of dominant species in facilitating community adaptation to increased precipitation and rotational grazing, offering critical insights for developing sustainable grazing strategies under climate change.

454 Evaluating the effects of grazing native rangeland on enteric emissions

Abstract Understanding beef cattle enteric emissions on extensive western U.S. rangeland systems is critical for implementing sustainable grazing practices that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These practices must also improve livestock and plant productivity and climate resiliency while maintaining or reducing production costs. However, enteric emissions of grazing cattle under different stocking rates and grazing management strategies are largely unknown for western U.S. rangelands. Thus, our objective was to evaluate the differences in enteric emissions of stocker steers grazing native rangeland. Yearling Angus steers (n = 127) were stratified by initial body weight (BW) to six groups, then randomly assigned to one of six pastures grazed from June to September 2023 at the South Dakota State University Cottonwood Field Station (Cottonwood, SD) as part of a long-term stocking rate trial (80+ yr). Each pasture was equipped with a GreenFeed (C-Lock Inc, Rapid City, SD) pasture system to measure individual animal CH4 and CO2 emissions for continuous grazing (CG) and rotational grazing (RG) strategies in three stocking rates (Light, Moderate, and Heavy, 0.32, 0.40, and 0.72 animal unit months, respectively) in a 2 x 3 factorial design. Differences in enteric emissions among stocking rate and grazing strategy were analyzed using a linear mixed effects model in R, using the lme4 package, with animal as a random effect, and a post-hoc contrast among treatments was assessed using the lsmeans package. Steer initial and final BW were similar (P &amp;gt; 0.05) among treatments. For CH4 emissions, there was a significant interaction between stocking rate and grazing strategy (P &amp;lt; 0.05). Specifically, CH4 emissions for moderate-RG (195 ± 4.3 g/d) were less than those from heavy-CG (221 ± 4.5 g/d) and light-RG (221 ± 4.7 g/d) over the study period (P &amp;lt; 0.05). For CO2 emissions, light-CG steers respired greater CO2 emissions (6892 ± 101 g/d) than heavy-RG (6398 ± 107 g/d; P &amp;lt; 0.05). All other treatment lsmeans were similar (P &amp;gt; 0.05) and intermediate to these treatment effects. The assessment of GHG emission values for cattle grazing native rangeland is essential for informing climate mitigation strategies, improving animal efficiency, and understanding changes in GHG emissions over production phases and across animal classes.

Annual and seasonal dry matter production, botanical species composition, and nutritive value of multispecies, permanent pasture, and perennial ryegrass swards managed under grazing

AbstractReduced reliance on inputs such as fertilizer is fundamental to sustainable grazing systems. This two‐year study compared four sward types, including multispecies swards (MSS), for herbage dry matter (DM) production, species contribution to DM, and herbage nutritive value under grazing. The systems were: (1) Lolium perenne L. monoculture (PRG; 170 kg N ha−1 year−1); (2) permanent pasture (PP; 135 kg N ha−1 year−1), (3) six species sward consisting of two grasses, two legumes and two herbs (6S; 70 kg N ha−1 year−1), (4) twelve species sward consisting of three grasses, four legumes and five herbs (12S; 70 kg N ha−1 year−1). Herbage samples were collected for DM yield, botanical composition, and nutritive value. Mean annual DM production for PRG, PP, 6S, and 12S was 11,374, 8526, 13,783, and 13,338 kg DM ha−1 respectively. Herb proportions decreased in 6S and 12S from 2020 to 2021 while grass proportions increased. Mean crude protein levels were similar across all systems (p &gt; 0.05), with higher ash content in 6S and 12S compared to PRG (p &lt; 0.001). Organic matter digestibility was lowest in PP compared to PRG (p &lt; 0.001) while neutral detergent fibre content of PP and PRG were greater than 6S and 12S (p &lt; 0.001). Water soluble carbohydrate content was highest in PRG (p &lt; 0.0001). Over 2 years, MSS delivered increased herbage DM yield and nutritive quality relative to PRG and PP swards, from reduced N inputs. However, maintenance of the herb component of MSS is a challenge.

From crisis to opportunity: climate change benefits livestock production in Somalia

Abstract While livelihoods of Somalian livestock smallholders rely heavily on seasonal climate conditions, little is known of long-term implications of the changing climate for this nation. Here, we quantify implications of the changing climate on the productivity and profitability of livestock smallholders across a rainfall gradient in northwestern Somalia. Using the Sustainable Grazing Systems (SGS) model, we explore 80 future climate realisations, with global climate model projections including low- and high-impact socio-economic pathways (SSP245 and SSP585), two climate horizons (2040 and 2080) and four case study farm regions. In general, future seasonal and annual rainfall and temperature relative to the baseline period (1981–2020) increased for most regions. Mean annual temperatures increased by 9%–14%, while cumulative annual precipitation increased by 37%–57% from mid to late century, respectively. Grassland production increased with later climate horizons, as higher average annual rainfall together with elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide drove up growth rates in spring and autumn. Under the low emissions scenario (SSP245), changes in farm profit were modest or positive, ranging from negative 4% in Berbera–20% plus in Sheikh. Under the higher emissions scenario (SSP585), farm profits were higher, ranging from 23% to 42% above baseline profits, largely due to greater pasture production and lower requirements for supplementary feed. We conclude that future climates will benefit the productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers in Somalia, although more agile farm management will be required to cope with increased seasonal climate variability.

Growth response of dominant species and companion species to grazing and precipitation addition in a typical steppe

Growth strategies of plant populations plays an important role in biodiversity and productivity of community while over half 77% of global terrestrial ecosystem is used for grazing and simultaneously 30%-40% is exposed to precipitation addition (PA). However, the combined effects of grazing and PA on plant population growth and their relationship with community characteristics remain poorly understood, largely due to the limited number and quality of field experiments. Hereby, a four-year PA experiment was conducted in long-term grazed paddocks in a typical steppe, which aimed to compare the effects of both grazing and PA on the growth, reproduction, and trade-offs between dominant and companion species. The interaction between grazing and PA prompted the dominant species to adopt a horizontal growth strategy and sexual reproduction, allocating 69 % of its resources to offspring production, whereas the companion species opted for a vertical growth strategy and asexual reproduction, allocating 87 % of its resources to individual survival and dispersal. This trade-off strategy increased the proportion of dominant species while companion species remained stable, and PA mitigated this trend while concurrently decreasing the proportion of other species within the community. The interaction between grazing and PA promotes the coupling of aboveground biomass and species riches in community by decreasing plant height of dominant and companion species and increasing canopy diameter of companion species. There were mainly four biotic response curves of dominant and companion species to grazing and PA interaction: full saturation, sufficient saturation, equal saturation, and deficit saturation. Correspondingly, there were three pairs of threshold values for three phases of each pattern. Our study reveals how communities improve their adaptability by regulating population growth, providing important insights for developing sustainable grazing management strategies under global climate change.

The LTAR Grazing Land Common Experiment at the Great Basin.

The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network (LTAR), through its Common Experiment (CE) framework, contrasts prevailing and alternative agricultural practices for efficacy and sustainability within the indicator domains of environment, productivity, economics, and society. Invasive species, wildfire, and climate change are principal threats to Great Basin agroecosystems. Prescribed grazing may be an effective tool for restoring lands degraded by these disturbances. At the Great Basin (GB) LTAR site headquartered in Boise, ID, our contribution to the CE contrasts a prevailing (PRV), cattle grazing practice of fixed moderate stocking and duration with an alternative (ALT), prescribed grazing practice called high-intensity low-frequency (HILF) grazing where stocking and duration are tailored to suppress invasive annual grass competition with native or desirable plant species and thus promote recovery of rangelands degraded by annual grass invasion and recurrent wildfire. Preliminary results indicate cheatgrass density and fuel height have been reduced in ALT-treated paddocks compared to PRV paddocks. Since its inception in 2014, our GB CE has been a research co-production effort among ranchers, public land managers, and researchers. Future directions for this research will center on expanding the experiment to multiple study areas to better address the scope of the annual grass/wildfire problem. We expect this research will lead to effective and sustainable grazing practices for restoring >41 million hectares of degraded rangelands in the Great Basin and other areas of the western United States.

Quantifying impacts of livestock production on ecosystem services: Insights into grazing management under vegetation restoration

Recent decades, vegetation restoration initiatives and land institutional reforms have profoundly altered practices of livestock husbandry in China. However, the understanding of how livestock production affects restoration effectiveness remains limited, impeding the advancement of sustainable grazing management. Taking the Loess Plateau as a case area, this study aims to examine the impacts of livestock production on key ecosystem services (ESs) under the Grain-to-Green Program (GTGP). Based on an improved estimation of available biomass for livestock, grazing intensity across the study area in 2015 was quantified. Then, by linking grazing intensity with associated livestock economies, a comprehensive framework reflecting livestock production was constructed to analyze its overall impacts on three ESs (water yield, erosion control, and forage provision). Finally, spatial effects of each component within livestock production on the ESs were discussed to inform grazing managements under the GTGP. The results indicated that the three ESs still suffered widespread negative impacts from grazing intensity, with 9.82% of the region experiencing high-level grazing in 2015. Although grazing had potential to mitigate water consumption due to vegetation growth, livestock density of most areas has exceeded its threshold (0.52 sheep or goat per ha, or 0.30 cattle per ha) for maintaining available water resource. Livestock economies demonstrated positive effects on the ESs to varying degrees. Nevertheless, as the positive externalities from ecological compensation are on the wane, challenges in livestock management have surfaced in both poverty-stricken and large livestock-intensive regions. This study offers insights into assessing regional grazing intensity, and enriches understanding of impacts of livestock production under vegetation restoration.

Controlled Grazing as a Pathway for Enhancing Investment in Multipurpose Trees and Welfare

AbstractIn Africa, rangeland ecosystems have been exploited due to heavy and unsustainable grazing. Policy and institutional mechanisms such as integrating silvopastoral systems with sustainable grazing practices have been devised to mitigate the negative effects. In this study, we investigated whether the uptake of sustainable grazing management in the form of controlled grazing spurs investment in multipurpose trees (MPTs) and enhances income. Using instrumental variable regression, we find that controlled grazing increases not only the propensity to plant MPTs but also the number of tree species. More importantly, IV and treatment effect results indicate that controlled grazing enhances income from MPTs.

Grazing effects on vegetation: Biodiversity, management, and restoration

AbstractIn many regions, wild large herbivores have maintained open landscapes up to and including historic times, but, more recently, have been largely replaced by domestic livestock. By employing extensive and traditional grazing and browsing regimes, conservation actions support biodiversity and recovery in natural and degraded areas. However, grazing also plays other important ecological roles, for example, in the maintenance and/or recovery of important ecosystem services, such as biomass production and carbon sequestration. Understanding herbivore effects on plant composition and functional diversity, and ecosystem functioning and services, is essential for informing ecological theory and practice. The current Special Issue highlights that the effects of grazing on vegetation are strongly context‐dependent. The articles identify at least three major factors acting in concert, which are responsible for contrasting diversity and functional patterns of vegetation subjected to herbivores: (i) herbivore identity; (ii) grazing intensity; and (iii) vegetation type. Insights from this Special Issue imply that long‐term experiments across different habitat types and in underrepresented regions are needed to provide valuable information for grazing planning and management. They also demonstrate that integrating indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge, and considering socio‐economic contexts, can provide opportunities for improving sustainable grazing management.

The Impact of Forest Products Demand on Deforestation in Rwanda: A Case Study of Burera, Gakenke, Gicumbi, Musanze, and Rulindo Districts

The world’s forests play an integral role in not only the well-being of their inhabitants but also in the overall health of other lifeforms on the planet. Some of the major benefits of forests include climate stability, ecological benefits, biodiversity and economic importance. Deforestation is one of the major challenges to gain the above benefits in the long run. It involves the permanent end of forest cover to make that land available for residential, commercial or industrial purposes. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of forest products demand on deforestation in Rwanda. A case study of Burera, Gakenke, Gicumbi, Musanze, and Rulindo Districts. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design as its framework to guide the process of data collection. The target population was households living closer to the forest products demand. The study adopted a purposive sampling approach to select five districts. Twelve (20) households were randomly selected from each sector making a total sample size of 120 respondents. Descriptive analysis was done using SPSS version 20, and regression using STATA version 12. The results of the study indicated that the forest products used by the households were firewood, stakes, timbres, charcoal, building scaffolds, fodder, poles, and medicine. The results of the logit model showed that land size, family income, household size, occupation, education level, and fodder were statistically significant and positively influenced forest product demand in the study area at (p&lt; 0.01). The result of the regression analysis also revealed that eight variables out of nine were positively significant and influenced deforestation in the study area. Agricultural activities, urbanization, forest fires, and overpopulation were statistically significant at the P ≤ 0.01 level. Despite the roles provided by forests all over the world, the results of this study showed deforestation effectively causes climate change, wildlife extinction &amp; habitat loss, decline in the life quality of people (100%). After these results of the study, the best solution to overcome deforestation is to curb the felling of trees by enforcing a series of rules and laws to govern it. Supporting research, extension and training for more sustainable grazing systems, including silvopastoral techniques that can simultaneously increase livestock production and protect the soil against nutrient depletion, compaction and erosion.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza and rhizosphere soil enzymatic activities as modulated by grazing intensity and plant species identity in a semi-arid grassland

Understanding the symbiosis of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) with plants in relation to soil nutrients and enzyme activities under different grazing intensities can be an important guide for the management and protection of semi-arid grasslands. The aim of the present study was to evaluate how the interaction of grazing intensity and plants shapes the composition of AMF communities and enzyme activities in a semi-arid grassland ecosystem in Iran. Sampling focused three dominant plant species (i.e., Salsola laricina, Artemisia siberia, and Stipa hohenackeriana) at sites with different grazing intensities. Soil chemical properties, enzyme activities, root colonization by AMF and AMF communities in the roots were evaluated. Potassium and nitrogen, as well as alkaline phosphatase and urease enzymatic activities were significantly increased at the heavily grazed site, whereas root colonization by AMF was reduced by the high grazing intensity. In addition, AM fungal root colonization is dependent on the host plant species and easier to measure as a sensitive indicator of sustainable grazing. Neither plant species nor grazing intensity affected AM fungal diversity in roots, which could be due to the overall low phylogenetic diversity of AMF in the grassland and the lack of significant differences in soil humidity, pH and organic carbon between the sites. However, plant species and soil properties were the two factors explaining variation in AMF community composition, while grazing had no significant effect. Therefore, AMF communities in root of the semi-arid grassland plants responded largely to plant type rather than to grazing intensity.

Integrated adoption of controlled grazing and multipurpose fodder trees for enhancing tree cover in dryland farming systems

CONTEXTIntegration of agroforestry with sustainable grazing systems can enhance tree cover in a given landscape. This integration could have a significant economic and ecological impact especially in dryland farming systems. Despite this, the integration is challenged by the lack of combined adoption of both agroforestry and sustainable grazing. OBJECTIVEIn this study, we first examined the factors that determine the integrated adoption of controlled grazing (CG) and multipurpose fodder trees (MFT). More importantly, we investigated whether the integrated adoption of CG and MFT enhances tree cover in dryland farming systems. METHODSBased on primary data collected from a randomly-selected sample of farm households, we used an IV approach to probe into the integrated effect of adopting CG and MFT on tree cover. On the other hand, the bivariate probit model was used to identify the factors that affect the adoption of both CG and MFT. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONOn average, adopters of both CG and MFT were found to have higher levels of tree abundance and density on their farms. Our model analysis indicates that these higher levels of tree abundance and density are positively related to the integrated adoption of CG and MFT. While the integrated adoption of CG and MFT had a stronger effect, separate adoption of CG or MFT was also correlated with tree abundance. These results generally indicate the importance of integrated silvopastoral systems not only as sustainable livestock management systems but also as promoters of vegetation (tree cover). SIGNIFICANCEGiven the economic and ecological importance of the integrated adoption of CG and MFT, factors that were found to influence integrated adoption including access to improved livestock breeds, skill development (both agroforestry and livestock management training), and agricultural services (such as irrigation and water sources) could give policy a useful direction for targeting and promoting the uptake of such integrated silvopastoral systems both for improving farmers' livelihoods and ecological sustainability.

Exploring the motivation and challenges for land-users engaged in sustainable grazing in Europe

Grazing of both domestic and wild large herbivores can contribute to multiple ecosystem services. However, grazing systems strongly differ in the intensity of management and outcomes, and we define sustainable grazing as grazing which benefits multiple environmental ecosystem services. Previous studies have found that, in general, grazing systems with relatively low densities of animals, and with minimal and only targeted applications of deworming and other medicinal treatments, are most sustainable. However, for people engaged in such grazing management, a key question is what are their challenges and motivation.We conducted interviews with 74 land-users, who are engaged in sustainable grazing management, in eight case-study areas in Europe. Employing the capability, opportunity and motivation-behaviour model (COM-B), we identified key motivation factors driving sustainable grazing management and the challenges which these land-users face. We found that capability and opportunity linked to land abandonment and rural exodus impact upon land-users’ management, especially in parts of South and Eastern Europe. Furthermore, challenges linked to the environment were particularly important in remote areas. In addition, we found economic aspects to be important in driving land-users’ behaviour, especially fiscal measures of the Common Agricultural Policy. Moreover, our results indicate that engagement in sustainable grazing management is often intrinsically motivated by the interest in nature conservation, intergenerational continuity and cohesion in the rural community.Based on these results, using the Behaviour Change Wheel, we identify key interventions that could facilitate and encourage the capabilities and opportunities to conduct sustainable grazing management. These include incentivising extensification using subsidies, developing direct market possibilities and removing administrative hurdles for practises related to very extensive and semi-wild grazing.

Effects of conservation versus elimination of growing points on yield, C: N: P stoichiometry, and root morphology of Leymus chinensis

AbstractThe conservation and elimination of the growing point of Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel. are two common contrasted scenarios during grazing. However, the biomass and nutrient allocation in L. chinensis, as well as their contribution to yield under these conditions are unclear. Therefore, a simulated grazing experiment was conducted using a factorial design that combined two defoliation heights (conservation versus elimination of growing points) and four plant heights (18, 24, 31, and 35 cm) during two growing seasons (2020 and 2021), resulting in eight treatments. Additionally, the experiment also included two identical control treatments with a single mowing in mid‐August. The results demonstrated that conservation treatments for the growing point increased the regeneration time of L. chinensis during the entire growing season in both years compared to elimination treatments for the growing point, due to the alteration in biomass allocation priority and C: N: P stoichiometric ratio between stems and leaves of L. chinensis, as well as root morphological traits. The growth strategy in the treatment with 17 cm defoliation height at 35 cm plant height demonstrated the optimal combination, resulting in stabling the accumulated DM yield of L. chinensis in both years. The findings emphasize the significance of comprehending the correlation between the growing point of L. chinensis and its yield, providing a pioneering approach to guide sustainable grazing practices for L. chinensis grassland.