Influence of Climate Variability and Soil Fertility on the Forage Quality and Productivity in Azorean Pastures

Abstract

This work aimed to determine and compare the effect of elevation and season on the productivity and the nutritive value of pastures in the Azores (Terceira Island). Forage was collected and analysed for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), ether extract (EE), mineral ash (Ash), dry matter digestibility (DMD) and organic matter digestibility (OMD). The net productivity (NP) was higher in the low elevation pasture A (1.80 g m−2), lower in pasture B (0.98 g m−2) and peaked in the winter in both pastures A (3.57 g m−2) and B (2.33 g m−2) and during the summer in the high elevation pasture C (2.15 g m−2). The soil chemical proprieties varied significantly among the three pastures. The highest soil pH, available P, K, Ca and Mg were recorded in pasture A. Positive correlations were observed between all soil parameters analysed and NP, except for the OM content. The DM, PB and EE changed significantly with elevation, while all nutritive parameters (except CP, EE and Ash) increased significantly along the growth season. Environmental factors influenced the nutritive parameters and productivity, suggesting that climate change might have significant impacts on forage production and quality.

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Integration in the Regular Monitorization of Pasture Nutritional Properties and Gas Production

“…Looking at the geographical distribution of the useful agricultural area of Terceira Island, also represented in Figure 1, it is possible to observe how it is mostly distributed in low-(intensively managed) and medium-altitude areas. Production in the medium-and high-altitude ranges tends to be carried out in semi-natural pastures, characterized by the presence of endemic plant species, which are maintained because grazing is less intensive in these areas and the introduction of fertilizers is limited [2,4].…”

“…According to [2,4], intensively managed pastures located at low altitude (<200 m) are typically sown with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens), although annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), red clover (Trifolium pratense), and oat ryegrass (Bromus catharticus) can also be found. In the case of semi-natural pastures located at medium and high altitudes, it is frequent to find tansy grass (Holcus lanatus), as well as Poa trivialis L., Agrostis castellana Boiss.…”

“…et Reut., Anthoxanthum odoratum L., Poa annua L., Trifolium repens L., Lotus pedunculatus Cav., Plantago lanceolata L., Juncus effusus L. and Rumex spp. [4].…”

A Longitudinal Study with a Laser Methane Detector (LMD) Highlighting Lactation Cycle-Related Differences in Methane Emissions from Dairy Cows

“…Although Azorean pastures allow year-round grazing, during the lean period—typically in the dry season (August and September) and winter [ 39 ]—silages or concentrates are offered to cover the supplemental energy expenditure of the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. As such, the feed supplementation of the herd participating in this study accounted for the parity and lactation stages.…”

Assessing the effects of climate change on arthropod abundance in Azorean pastures: PASTURCLIM project's baseline monitoring data

“…However, changes in seasonal precipitation would reduce these benefits, particularly in areas with low summer rainfall ( Hopkins and Del Prado 2007 ); ii) Drought stress, in which higher temperatures comes with the higher risk of drought, which can be detrimental to the growth of forage crops. Drought stress can reduce the yield of grasslands and result in poor-quality forage; iii) Changes in plant composition ( Feeley et al 2020 ), in which some species may become less abundant, while others may thrive, which can alter the nutritional value of the forage, decreasing protein and mineral nutrient concentrations, as well as altering lipid composition ( DaMatta et al 2010 ); iv) Changes in plant phenology, in which some grasses are affected as well as their functional traits and chemical composition ( Lee et al 2013 , Piao et al 2019 , Ekholm et al 2020 , Melo et al 2022 ). All these factors can lead to cascading effects on biodiversity and on ecosystem services ( Selvaraj et al 2013 , Banerjee et al 2018 , Garcia et al 2018 , Mirás-Avalos and Baveye 2018 , Moss and Evans 2022 ).…”