Search results for "pasture"

Approche d'un territoire de montagne : occupations humaines et contexte pédo-sédimentaire des versants du col du Petit-Saint-Bernard, de la Préhistoi…

2014

As part of a multi-year programme, survey campaigns have been carried out on both slopes of the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass (2188 m, western Alps), at an altitude of between 750 and 3000 m. The method employed abandons ground-based surveying in favour of multiple manual surveys carried out on selected topographic contexts down to the base of the Holocene fill. The results obtained document the longterm development of the pedo-sedimentary dynamic and the occupation of the different altitude stages. The significance of the archaeological data collected is discussed in relation to the state of knowledge in a comparison area including the neighbouring valleys of the western Alps, to existing settl…

The effects of post-pasture woody plant colonization on soil and aboveground litter carbon and nitrogen along a bioclimatic transect.

2013

Abstract: We investigated the effects of woody plant colonization of abandoned pastures on soil and litter organic carbon (C) stocks and nitrogen (N) content along a bioclimatic transect in a semi-arid environment (Sicily, Italy). Soil samples were taken in three successional stages (grazed pasture, shrubland, forest) within each of three bioclimates (supramediterranean - “supra”, mesomediterranean - “meso”, thermomediterranean - “thermo”). Organic C and N in litter and soil (0-10 cm and 10-30 cm depth) were determined, as well as soil bulk density. Especially at 0-10 cm depth, changes in C and N contents along successional stages differed among bioclimates. Soil organic carbon (SOC) stock …

Factors associated with milk urea concentrations in Girgentana goats

2010

A total of 1,481 milk samples of 166 Girgentana goats, taken along the entire lactation, were utilised to evaluate the effect of non nutritional factors on milk urea (MU). Parity, stage of lactation and month of sampling significantly influenced MU, while no effect was found for born kids number. The first kidding goats produced lower MU than multiparous goats. Trend of MU was similar to milk production course with a peak found at 60 DIM. The different MU levels between several months of production are often linked to pasture chemical variations.

Alternative feed resources and their effects on the quality of meat and milk from small ruminants

2008

The present paper reviews the quality of meat and milk from sheep and goats offered alternative feeds as a replacement for concentrates. Legume seeds and pods, shrubs, local agro-industrial by-products or novel pasture species are cheap and widely available in Mediterranean countries and are suitable for sheep and goat nutrition. Many of these alternative feed resources (AFR) contain secondary compounds, such as tannins. Tannin-containing feeds result in meat of a lighter colour and tend to increase milk yield and protein content, probably because they protect dietary proteins from ruminal degradation. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content in kid meat can be increased by feeding animals ch…

Predation risk and habitat selection of Australian house mice , Mus domesticus , during an incipient plague: desperate behaviour due to food depletion

2002

We studied habitat selection and foraging behaviour of the house mouse (Mus domesticus) related to increasing mouse densities and depleting food resources over the breeding season. The study was conducted during the increase phase of an incipient outbreak of mice in a grain-growing area of southeastern Australia. A 3-year rotation created a mosaic of large paddocks of grain crop, pasture, and fallow. The narrow fence lines between paddocks provide an important stable habitat for the mice. We monitored population densities with live-trapping and habitat preference by measuring giving-up densities (GUD) using artificial food patches. Food patches were established in crop fields, fence lines, …

Comparing Physical Quality of Forest and Pasture Soils in a Sicilian Watershed

2011

Forest and pasture soils should have differing properties due, for example, to differing root characteristics or livestock trampling rates, but contradictory results are reported in the literature. The surface soil physical and hydraulic properties of five forest and pasture sites were determined in a Sicilian watershed. In general, forest soils had a significantly lower bulk density, b (by 17 to 35%), and a higher field saturated hydraulic conductivity, Kfs (by a factor of 3.4-11.5) than pasture soils. Differences between water retention characteristics of forest and pasture soils were low when high levels of organic matter, OM, content (> 7.1%) were detected for both land uses. The mean …

Phosphorylation of the Goodpasture antigen by type A protein kinases.

1995

Collagen IV is the major component of basement membranes. The human alpha 3 chain of collagen IV contains an antigenic domain called the Goodpasture antigen that is the target for the circulating immunopathogenic antibodies present in patients with Goodpasture syndrome. Characteristically, the gene region encoding the Goodpasture antigen generates multiple alternative products that retain the antigen amino-terminal region with a five-residue motif (KRGDS). The serine therein appears to be the major in vitro cAMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation site in the isolated antigen and can be phosphorylated in vitro by two protein kinases of approximately 50 and 41 kDa associated with human …

Consequences of forest landscape changes on the availability of winter pastures for reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) from 1953 to 2003 in Kuusam…

2013

Regulation of glomerular basement membrane collagen expression by LMX1B contributes to renal disease in nail patella syndrome.

2001

Basement membrane (BM) morphogenesis is critical for normal kidney function. Heterotrimeric type IV collagen, composed of different combinations of six alpha-chains (1-6), is a major matrix component of all BMs (ref. 2). Unlike in other BMs, glomerular BM (GBM) contains primarily the alpha 3(IV) and alpha 4(IV) chains, together with the alpha 5(IV) chain. A poorly understood, coordinated temporal and spatial switch in gene expression from ubiquitously expressed alpha 1(IV) and alpha 2(IV) collagen to the alpha 3(IV), alpha 4(IV) and alpha 5(IV) chains occurs during normal embryogenesis of GBM (ref. 4). Structural abnormalities of type IV collagen have been associated with diverse biological…

Effect of substitution of barley and tickbean to maize and extruded soybean in the diet on milk and cheese from ewes grazing under two different stoc…

2007

This experiment aimed to verify the effects of a concentrate supplement based on barley and tickbean (BT), compared with a concentrate of maize and extruded soybean meal (MS), on milk and cheese yield and composition of ewes grazing with different stocking rate (SR). Thirty two Comisana ewes, divided into four groups, for 50 days in spring were allowed to graze plots of a mixed sward of Italian reygrass and berseem clover with a low (LSR, 23 ewes/ha) or a high SR (HSR, 38 ewes/ha) and fed BT or MS. Herbage allowance per ewe was more than double at LSR compared to HSR (P<0.001), and daily milk yield was 10 to 15% higher (P<0.01) in the LSR-BT ewes than in the other groups. Milk composition, …