Search results for "Grass"

Digestion of bamboo compared to grass and lucerne in a small hindgut fermenting herbivore, the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus)

2022

Bamboo is an enigmatic forage, representing a niche food for pandas and bamboo lemurs. Bamboo might not represent a suitable forage for herbivores relying on fermentative digestion, potentially due to its low fermentability. To test this hypothesis, guinea pigs (n = 36) were used as model species and fed ad libitum with one of three forages (bamboo, lucerne, or timothy grass) in a fresh or dried state, with six individuals per group, for 3 weeks. The nutrient composition and in vitro fermentation profile of bamboo displayed low fermentation potential, i.e. high lignin and silica levels together with a gas production (Hohenheim gas test) at 12 h of only 36% of that of lucerne and grass. Alth…

Grasslands of Northern Europe and the Baltic States

2020

This chapter deals with the grasslands of Northern Europe (Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) and the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), with a focus on natural and semi-natural grasslands of the lowlands, thus treating arctic-alpine and strongly intensified types only marginally. At present, grasslands cover ca. 7% of the study region, half of which are natural grasslands (mostly arctic-alpine, to a smaller extent also azonal and extra-zonal) and the other half secondary grasslands created by human land use (livestock grazing or haymaking). Both grassland categories have high importance for biodiversity in many taxa. However, particularly the secondary grass…

Soil feedback does not explain mowing effects on vegetation structure in a semi-natural grassland

2009

Due to its ability to create aboveground conditions that favour plant diversity, mowing is often used to preserve the high conservation value of semi-natural species-rich grasslands. However, mowing can also affect belowground conditions. By decreasing plant carbon supply to soil, mowing can suppress the activity of soil decomposers, diminish plant nutrient availability and thus create a feedback on plant growth. In this study, we first documented the effects of three-year mowing on plant community structure in a species-rich grassland. We found that mowing decreased the total areal cover of woody plants and increased the total cover of leguminous forbs. At the species level, mowing further…

Influence of land-use intensity on the spatial distribution of N-cycling microorganisms in grassland soils

2011

A geostatistical approach using replicated grassland sites (10 m × 10 m) was applied to investigate the influence of grassland management, i.e. unfertilized pastures and fertilized mown meadows representing low and high land-use intensity (LUI), on soil biogeochemical properties and spatial distributions of ammonia-oxidizing and denitrifying microorganisms in soil. Spatial autocorrelations of the different N-cycling communities ranged between 1.4 and 7.6 m for ammonia oxidizers and from 0.3 m for nosZ-type denitrifiers to scales >14 m for nirK-type denitrifiers. The spatial heterogeneity of ammonia oxidizers and nirS-type denitrifiers increased in high LUI, but decreased for biogeochemical …

Turnover and availability of soil organic carbon under different Mediterranean land-uses as estimated by13C natural abundance

2013

Summary Soil organic matter (SOM) is an important factor in ecosystem stability and productivity. This is especially the case for Mediterranean soils suffering from the impact of human degradation as well as harsh climatic conditions. We used the carbon (C) exchange resulting from C3-C4 and C4-C3 vegetation change under field conditions combined with incubations under controlled conditions to evaluate the turnover and availability of soil organic C under different land-uses. The 40-year succession of Hyparrenia hirta L. (C4 photosynthesis) after more than 85 years of olive tree (Olea europaea L.; C3 photosynthesis) growth led to the exchange of 54% of soil organic C from C3 to C4 forms. In …

CORRELAZIONE TRA GLI ACIDI GRASSI PLASMATICI E LIVELLI DI HDL-COLESTEROLO IN UNA POPOLAZIONE SICILIANA. EFFETTI DEGLI ACIDI GRASSI SULLA CAPTAZIONE D…

Dzieje organów w kościele parafialnym w Niemczy

2018

Pierwsze wzmianki o organach w kościele parafialnym w Niemczy pochodzą z przełomu XVI i XVII wieku. W latach 1597–1598 niewielki instrument wybudował Abraham Grasse. W 1617 roku ten sam organmistrz postawił nowe organy, liczące sześć głosów w manuale i trzy w pedale. Strawił je pożar w 1633 roku. W 1648 roku do odbudowanego kościoła zakupiono używany pozytyw. W 1725 roku świątynia wzbogaciła się o 20-głosowe organy wybudowane przez Ignatzego Mentzla. Służyły one parafii do 1852 roku, wówczas zamknięto, a następnie rozebrano kościół. Organy znajdujące się w obecnej świątyni pochodzą z 1866 roku i są dziełem Gottfrieda Riemera z Brzegu. Miały pierwotnie 18 głosów i mechaniczną trakturę rejest…

Flying insects: model systems in exercise physiology

1996

Insect flight is the most energy-demanding exercise known. It requires very effective coupling of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis and regeneration in the working flight muscles.31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of locust flight muscle in vivo has shown that flight causes only a small decrease in the content of ATP, whereas the free concentrations of inorganic phosphate (P i ), adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) were estimated to increase by about 3-, 5- and 27-fold, respectively. These metabolites are potent activators of glycogen phosphorylase and phosphofructokinase (PFK). Activation of glycolysis by AMP and P i is reinforced synergistica…

Reconstructing Bronze Age diets and farming strategies at the early Bronze Age sites of La Bastida and Gatas (southeast Iberia) using stable isotope …

2020

The El Argar society of the Bronze Age in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula (2200–1550 cal BCE) was among the first complex societies in Europe. Its economy was based on cereal cultivation and metallurgy, it was organized hierarchically, and successively expanded its territory. Most of the monumentally fortified settlements lay on steeply sloped mountains, separated by fertile plains, and allowed optimal control of the area. Here, we explore El Argar human diets, animal husbandry strategies, and food webs using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of charred cereal grains as well as human and animal bone collagen. The sample comprised 75 human individuals from the sites of La Ba…

Shade effects on overseeded bermudagrass athletic fields: II. rooting, species composition, and traction

2019

Shade from athletic stadium structures can be a significant detriment to turfgrass performance. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of shade on rooting and playing surface stability, measured as traction, on overseeded or non-overseeded bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) turf. An experiment was established in 2013 on a mature bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. cv. Riviera] turf that was either overseeded with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) or non-overseeded. Shade structures were installed to create four light level treatments, including 0%, 30%, 60%, or 90% light-reducing shade cloth. The light treatments resulted in average daily light integrals (DLI) of 40.8,…