Short-term response of rangeland botanical composition and productivity to fertilization (N and P) in a semi-arid climate of South Africa

The effects of herbivory and nutrients on plant biomass and carbon storage in Vertisols of an East African savanna

“…This study found relatively higher N use efficiency in the NP than the N treatment, which contrasts with the findings of Snyman (2002) that N use efficiency was higher in the N fertilization than NP fertilization in South Africa savanna. We observed lower apparent N recovery compared to an average of 21-27% when N was added alone and 36-45% when N and P were added together in maize farm in coastal savanna of West Africa (Fofana et al, 2005).…”

Effects of drought stress and N supply on the growth, biomass partitioning and water-use efficiency of Sophora davidii seedlings

“…Many studies have found that fertilization often resulted in less biomass to root, increased leaf sensitivity to stress (Tan and Hogan, 1997;Der eerden, 1998;Snyman, 2002), depressed plant growth (Pharis and Kramer, 1964), and caused high seedling mortality (Smith et al, 1966;Etter, 1969;Linder et al, 1987) under drought conditions. Therefore, many believed that nutrient stress may enhance the tolerance of plants to drought and possibly some other stresses as well (Chapin, 1991;Arora et al, 2001).…”

Effects of Fertilization and Clipping of Phlomis fruticosa L. on a Phryganic Ecosystem: The Case of Thesprotia, Northwest Greece

“…Snyman [33,34] reported that crude protein content of forage is not only a function of the quantity of applied fertilization, but also of climatic condition during growing and developing of plants and also the physiological development phase of plants during its monitoring. 2004 2005 2006 Average Treatments - Averaged of 3 years, the crude protein content in the forage dry matter was 8.26% in control plots in the present study.…”

“…The application of N and P generally alters species composition and increases dry matter and crude protein yields [2,3,12,25,34] . Other studies, although, have reported that annual fertilization resulted in lower above-ground biomass and tiller density after 3 years [13] .…”

“…On the other hand, the native pasture ability to sustain animal production is up to their production and nutritive value of pasture [34] . Variations in rangeland production are reflected in animal performance [7] .…”