Potential impacts of climate change on patterns of production and the role of drainage in grassland

Armstrong, A. C.; Castle, Denise

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2494.1992.tb02247.x

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The state of the grass crop is simulated by the SWARD (Soil Water And Response to Drainage) model . This model was developed by Dowle & Armstrong (1990) in the context of the North Wyke drainage experiment (Armstrong & Garwood 1991;Tyson et al 1993), and has been subsequently used for climate change impact studies (Armstrong & Castle 1992, 1995Armstrong 1996).…”

Section: Grass Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated models of livestock systems for climate change studies. 1. Grazing systems

Parsons¹,

Armstrong

Turnpenny

et al. 2001

Global Change Biology

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The potential impact of climate change by the year 2050 on British grazing livestock systems is assessed through the use of simulation models of farming systems. The submodels, consisting of grass production, livestock feeding, livestock thermal balance, the thermal balance of naturally ventilated buildings and a stochastic weather generator, are described. These are integrated to form system models for sheep, beef calves and dairy cows. They are applied to scenarios representing eastern (dry) lowlands, western (wet) lowlands and uplands. The results show that such systems should be able to adapt to the expected climatic changes. There is likely to be a small increase in grass production, possibly allowing an increase in total productivity in some cases

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Section: Grass Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated models of livestock systems for climate change studies. 1. Grazing systems

Parsons¹,

Armstrong

Turnpenny

et al. 2001

Global Change Biology

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“…Most of the studies were either model based (e.g. Armstrong and Castle, 1992;Mangan et al, 2004) or small-scale pot experiments performed in a greenhouse (e.g. Patterson, 1988;Karsten and MacAdam, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competitive advantage of Rumex obtusifolius L. might increase in intensively managed temperate grasslands under drier climate

Gilgen

Signarbieux

Feller

et al. 2010

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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Climate models predict decreasing amounts of precipitation for future summers in Switzerland. Since grasslands cover about one quarter of the area, severe consequences might be expected for Swiss agriculture, ranging from loss of grassland productivity to changes in vegetation composition. Since stressed ecosystems are also more susceptible to invasion, future drier conditions might favour the emergence of weeds. However, the response of temperate grasslands to drought has not been investigated in great detail so far. Using transparent rain shelters, we simulated extreme summer drought conditions in intensively managed temperate grassland in the Swiss lowlands at 400 m (Chamau, located near the city of Lucerne) and studied the drought response of Rumex obtusifolius, one of the most troublesome weeds for forage production. We quantified above-ground biomass and assessed the resource use in terms of carbon, nitrogen and water. R. obtusifolius increased its above-ground biomass production in response to drought, comprising up to 80% of the total community biomass in 2006. Within the drought plots, highest pre-dawn leaf water potentials, high values for midday leaf water potentials, stomatal conductance and assimilation clearly indicated that R. obtusifolius was much less affected by drought than other plant species. In general, no significant differences were found for these variables between drought and control R. obtusifolius plants, in contrast to the other plant species. Higher water use efficiency together with a change in N acquisition patterns resulted in a competitive advantage of R. obtusifolius over other species, favouring the spread of this weed. Thus, our results suggest a potential increase of weed pressure by R. obtusifolius under future climatic conditions, demanding additional management measures to limit its success.3

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“…This lack of clay, combined with the shallow rooting depth, results in a low available water capacity. In the UK, irrigation of grass is generally uneconomic except for the most intensively managed grazing systems [51]. One method to reduce the effect of drought would be to increase the rooting depth of the grass, perhaps by selecting deeper rooting varieties or by removing barriers to deeper root growth (such as an impermeable soil layer).…”

Section: Effect Of Climate Soil Harvest Interval and Nitrogen On Yieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling the Interactions of Soils, Climate, and Management for Grass Production in England and Wales

et al. 2021

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This study examines the effectiveness of a model called LINGRA-N-Plus to simulate the interaction of climate, soil and management on the green leaf and total dry matter yields of ryegrass in England and Wales. The LINGRA-N-Plus model includes modifications of the LINGRA-N model such as temperature- and moisture-dependent soil nitrogen mineralization and differential partitioning to leaves and stems with thermal time from the last harvest. The resulting model was calibrated against the green leaf and total grass yields from a harvest interval x nitrogen application experiment described by Wilman et al. (1976). When the LINGRA-N-Plus model was validated against total grass yields from nitrogen experiments at ten sites described by Morrison et al. (1980), its modelling efficiency improved greatly compared to the original LINGRA-N. High predicted yields, at zero nitrogen application, were related to soils with a high initial nitrogen content. The lowest predicted yields occurred at sites with low rainfall and shallow rooting depth; mitigating the effect of drought at such sites increased yields by up to 4 t ha−1. The results highlight the usefulness of grass models, such as LINGRA-N-Plus, to explore the combined effects of climate, soil, and management, like nitrogen application, and harvest intervals on grass productivity.

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Potential impacts of climate change on patterns of production and the role of drainage in grassland

Cited by 8 publications

References 17 publications

Integrated models of livestock systems for climate change studies. 1. Grazing systems

Integrated models of livestock systems for climate change studies. 1. Grazing systems

Competitive advantage of Rumex obtusifolius L. might increase in intensively managed temperate grasslands under drier climate

Modelling the Interactions of Soils, Climate, and Management for Grass Production in England and Wales

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