Changes in nutritional quality of herbage botanical components on a mountain side grassland in North-West Greece

Roukos, C.; Παπανικολάου, Κωνσταντίνος; Karalazos, A.; Chatzipanagiotou, A.; Mountousis, I.; Mygdalia, Aggeliki

doi:10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2011.05.012

Cited by 19 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The results from this study suggest that in these phryganic ecosystemsonly during March, April and June the herbaceous vegetation is on the borderline to meet the sheep requirements in Mg, while the Mg levels are insufficient to meet the beef cattle requirements throughout the grazing period. Thus, it can be assumed that there is an increased risk of Mg deficiency to occur in grazing livestock, a result also found by Roukos et al (2011a). Conversely, Ramirez et al (2009) reported that 13 grasses in Mexico had marginal sufficient levels of Mg to meet growing beef cattle requirements.…”

Section: Mineral Composition and Grass Tetany Indexmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…All herbage samples during the grazing period had adequate K levels to meet the optimum maintenance requirements for beef cattle (6 g/kg DM; NRC, 1996) and sheep (5 g/kg DM; NRC, 1985). Herbage biomass with sufficient K content to meet the maintenance requirements for beef cattle and sheep was also found by Ganskoop and Bohnert (2001), Ramirez et al (2009) in grasslands of northern Great Basin and Mexico, respectively, and by Roukos et al (2011a) in adjacent grasslands.…”

Section: Mineral Composition and Grass Tetany Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to the results, the herbage had sufficient P levels to meet the maintenance requirements of grazing livestock. Roukos et al (2011a) reported higher values of Ca and P in herbage collected from grasslands in adjacent area. On the contrary, Ganskoop and 152 Bohnert (2001) and Ramirez et al (2009) found inadequate levels of P in forages to meet maintenance requirements of sheep and cattle in grasslands of arid environments of USA and Mexico, respectively.…”

Section: Mineral Composition and Grass Tetany Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Climatic conditions, botanical composition, soil properties and topography may differentiate the nutritional quality of herbage, which needs to be precisely estimated in order to determine a proper management plan (Vazquez-de-Aldana et al, 2000;Ayan et al, 2006;Bovolenta et al, 2008;Ramirez et al, 2009;Holechek et al, 2010;Mountousis et al, 2011;Roukos et al, 2011a).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Minerals are essential to livestock for both growth and milk production (Suttle, 2010). In general, mineral content in herbage depends chiefly on its botanical composition, soil and climatic conditions during growing season (Holechek et al, 2010;Suttle, 2010;Roukos et al, 2011a).…”

Section: Mineral Composition and Grass Tetany Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nutritional Quality of Herbaceous Vegetation in a Phryganic Mediterranean Ecosystem During the Grazing Period

Roukos

Kyriazopoulos

Abraham

et al. 2017

Not Bot Horti Agrobo

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Grazing is an economically and environmentally valuable activity in phryganic Mediterranean ecosystems. The herbaceous vegetation of these ecosystems provides an essential feed source for grazing ruminants. Despite the extension and economic importance of phryganic ecosystems in Mediterranean Basin there has been relatively little scientific focus on nutritional quality of their herbaceous vegetation. The nutritional quality of herbaceous vegetation in a phryganic ecosystem was assessed for two consecutive years during the grazing period (March to July). Herbage samples were analysed for chemical composition, metabolizable energy, in vitro dry matter digestibility, in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility and mineral content (Ca, P, K, Mg) at monthly basis. According to the results time of harvest significantly affected crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, lignin and the content of minerals (i.e. Ca, P, Mg, K). Mean monthly temperature found to have a great negative impact on nutritional quality. During the grazing period, the nutritional quality of herbage vegetation was strongly correlated with growing degree days. Over a threshold of about 700 growing degree days the nutritional quality of herbage dramatically decreased. Overall the current study provides crucial information for the nutritional dynamics of the herbage vegetation of the phryganic Mediterranean ecosystems that can be towards developing an efficient grazing strategy.

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Section: Mineral Composition and Grass Tetany Indexmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Mineral Composition and Grass Tetany Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mineral Composition and Grass Tetany Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mineral Composition and Grass Tetany Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Nutritional Quality of Herbaceous Vegetation in a Phryganic Mediterranean Ecosystem During the Grazing Period

Roukos

Kyriazopoulos

Abraham

et al. 2017

Not Bot Horti Agrobo

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Effect of altitude and soil properties on biomass and plant richness in the grasslands of Tibet, China, and Manang District, Nepal

Bhandari

Zhang

2019

Ecosphere

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Citation: Bhandari, J., and Y. Zhang. 2019. Effect of altitude and soil properties on biomass and plant richness in the grasslands of Tibet, China, and Manang District, Nepal.Abstract. A positive relationship between plant species richness and biomass has often documented in temperate grassland systems but is still largely lacking in the Himalayan region. Considering altitude and soil properties as major factors influencing species richness and biomass in the Himalayan grasslands, we tested the hypothesis that peak aboveground biomass and species richness increase with higher levels of soil nutrients and decrease with altitude. Our study was conducted in the grasslands of Tibet, China, and Manang District, Nepal, which represent, respectively, the northern and southern slopes of the central Himalayan grasslands. During the growing seasons, we measured vegetation aboveground biomass and soil properties along an altitudinal gradient on the northern slope in 2011 and 2012, and on the grasslands of the southern slope in 2017. Data were analyzed with a Spearman correlation analysis, classification and regression tree model, and the structural equation modeling (SEM) to identify the key factors determining aboveground biomass and species richness. The results demonstrated that aboveground biomass and species richness on the southern slope were significantly greater at the lowest altitude zone compared to middle and higher zones, whereas on the northern slope, aboveground biomass and species richness were not significantly different at three altitudinal zones. There was a significant positive correlation between aboveground biomass and species richness on both northern and southern slopes. However, the slope was found higher in grasslands of southern slope compared to the grasslands of northern slope. Classification and regression tree analysis and SEM indicated that altitude is most closely associated with large-scale variations in aboveground biomass and species richness. The Spearman correlation analysis revealed that altitude and soil pH were negatively related to aboveground biomass in these grasslands. This study demonstrates that on northern and southern slopes of the Himalayan Range, a positive relation between plant species richness and biomass is determined more by altitude than soil nutrients.

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The variation of the chemical composition of the main plant species in a subalpine grassland in northwestern Greece

et al. 2019

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This study presents the results of a survey conducted in the year 2013 in a subalpine grassland located in Epirus, in northwestern Greece, and concerns the determination of the chemical composition of nine wild plants species (Alopecurus gerardii V., Stipa pennata L., Phleum alpinum L., Trifolium repens L., Lathyrus aphaca L., Lotus corniculatus L., Ranunculus repens L., Achillea millefolium L., and Geranium lucidum L.) at various stages of growth. The highest mean neutral detergent fiber content was determined in S. pennata L. samples with 546 g kg−1 dry matter (DM). The highest mean acid detergent fiber content was determined in samples of A. gerardii L. with 358 g kg−1 DM. For calcium (Ca), the highest average content was determined in the samples of L. corniculatus L. with 9.6 g kg−1 DM. For phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu), the highest average contents were determined in the samples of R. repens L. with 2.8 g kg−1 DM, 60.2 mg kg−1, and 5.6 mg kg−1 DM, respectively. For magnesium (Mg), the higher average content was found in L. aphaca L. samples with 1.6 g kg−1, for potassium (K) in G. lucidum L. samples with 15.6 g kg−1, for sodium (Na) in A. millefolium L. samples with 15.3 g kg−1, and for manganese (Mn) in P. alpinum L. samples with 37.9 mg kg−1. The chemical composition of plant species meets the nutritional requirements of grazing animals in the investigated area. Among the plant species, legumes and other forbs have the highest nutritional value.

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Changes in nutritional quality of herbage botanical components on a mountain side grassland in North-West Greece

Cited by 19 publications

References 27 publications

Nutritional Quality of Herbaceous Vegetation in a Phryganic Mediterranean Ecosystem During the Grazing Period

Nutritional Quality of Herbaceous Vegetation in a Phryganic Mediterranean Ecosystem During the Grazing Period

Effect of altitude and soil properties on biomass and plant richness in the grasslands of Tibet, China, and Manang District, Nepal

The variation of the chemical composition of the main plant species in a subalpine grassland in northwestern Greece

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