A global comparison of the nutritive values of forage plants grown in contrasting environments

Abstract

7Forage plants are valuable because they maintain wild and domesticated herbivores, and sustain the delivery of 8This dataset also revealed the capacity for variation in the nutrition provided by forage plants. The proportion of 1 9 the plant tissue that was digestible ranged between species from 2-91%. The amount of fibre contained within 2 0 plant material ranged by 23-90%, protein by 2-36%, lignin by 1-21% and minerals by 2-22%. Water contents 2 1 also varied substantially; ranging from 3-89% of standing biomass. On average, grasses and tree foliage 2 2 contained the most fibre, whilst herbaceous legumes contained the most protein and tree foliage contained the 2 3 most lignin. However, there were individual species within each functional group that were highly nutritious. 4This dataset may be used to identify forage plant species with useful traits which can be cultivated to enhance 2 5 livestock productivity and inform wild herbivore conservation strategies.

Unlocking plant resources to support food security and promote sustainable agriculture

“…However, consolidated attention to NUS has really only emerged in the last decade, as the fight against climate change and the need to make agricultural production systems more diverse and environment resilient has accelerated (see Table for a selection of projects/initiatives). The same trend is also evident for the limited pool of human and animal food crops, for which the challenges of feeding a growing population with a limited pool of crops have been highlighted (Lee, 2018; Lee, Davis, Chagunda, & Manning, 2017).…”

Warming and water deficit impact leaf photosynthesis and decrease forage quality and digestibility of a C4 tropical grass

“…Secondly, NDF, ADF and lignin are less edible fiber components than the non‐fibrous constituent as crude protein. In forage, there are inverse relationships between digestibility with fiber and crude protein; as the fiber content of forage increases, its digestibility decreases, but as the crude protein increases, the forage digestibility increases (Lee ).…”

“…Besides water availability, the temperature is an essential factor that influences the nutritive value of forages (Buxton and Fales 1994). Commonly, tropical grasses from warmed environments have a lower digestibility associated with higher fiber and lower protein contents compared to temperate grasses from cooler and wetter regions (Lee ). Overall, an increase in temperature stimulates plant growth but decreases leaf:stem ratios and increases NDF, ADF and lignin contents (Lee et al ).…”

Potential effects of a high CO2 future on leguminous species

“…Ruminants require at least 70 g protein/kg dry matter (DM) for maintenance, 100–140 g protein/kg DM for growth, and 150 g protein/kg DM for lactation (Izaurralde et al, 2011). Since leguminous forages tend to possess relatively high crude protein values ranging between approximately 170 and 310 g protein/kg DM (Fulkerson et al, 2007; Lee, 2018), their quality may be less impacted by small drops in crude protein than their non‐leguminous counterparts. However, if crude protein levels declined to a great enough extent, feed derived from even leguminous forages would need to be supplemented with additional nitrogen to offset these losses under future atmospheric conditions, which would increase the cost of production substantially (Izaurralde et al, 2011).…”