Proceedings brand creation for a prescribed fire culture – utilizing key social media parameters. Lars Coleman*1, J. Kelly Hoffman1, Thomas McDaniel1, R. Patrick Bixler2, Urs P. Kreuter1, Morgan Russell3

The ecological stoichiometry is the study of investigating balance of energy and elements affected by organisms and their interactions in an ecosystem. In animal grazed grasslands energy and elements go through complex interactions. We examined the effects of different animal stocking rates on the elemental stoichiometry of three dominant grass species (Stipa bungeana (Sb), Lespedeza davurica (Ld), Artemisia capillaries (Ac)) grown on the loess plateau of China.

Key words: Grazing, Loess plateau, ecological stoichiometry

In an attempt to alleviate the problem of grassland degradation in Tibet, China’s state and local authorities initiated a program in 2003 called ‘retire livestock and restore pastures (Harris, 2010). As part of this campaign, intruded and carried out rotational grazing from developed countries by the government has been in progress for more than ten years (Kemp et al. 2013 ), which brings to light the question: is this program successful in the restoration of degraded alpine grasslands?

    We set up a controlled grazing experiment that included CG-24, RG-48, RG-24 and NG in summer growing season. Specifically we examined the effect of grazing regimes on: i) sheep live weight gain of individual and hectare; ii) the above-ground community biomass and plant species diversity (plant species richness, Shannon-Weiner index and Camargo index of evenness). This is the only conventional sheep stocking rate and seasonality of stocking study conducted on the QTP. Statistical analyses used SAS software, Version 9.3 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA).

    We found that sheep gained their live weight during summer season. There were no significant difference between continuous grazing and rotational grazing for live weight gain per sheep. Higher stocking rate (48 SM/ha) reduced sheep live weight gain. In contrast, sheep live weight gain per hectare of rotational grazing was significant higher than that of continuous grazing (p<0.05). Twice stocking rate could increase sheep live weight gain per hectare significantly (p<0.05). During summer season, there is no significant difference between continuous grazing and rotational grazing for standcrop and litter biomass. But they were different as time (month) changed. As a whole, grazing can increase plant diversity than no grazing and no difference in different grazing regime.

QUANTIFICATION OF PIOSPHERE - CASE STUDY OF YAK GRAZED IN ALPINE MEADOWS OF THE QINGHAI-TIBETAN-PLATEAU. Yi Sun*¹, Shuhua Yi², Fujiang Hou³; ¹Chinese Academy of Scineces, Lanzhou, Peoples Republic, ²Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou, Peoples Republic, ³Lanzhou Univerisity, Lanzhou, Peoples Republic

ABSTRACT

As the largest and highest grassland unit on the Eurasion continent, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) plays a critical climatic role governing the Asian monsoon and is an important animal husbandry zone. Yaks are one of the two major ruminant species, playing an increasingly important role in supplying milk and meat to local residents and maintaining the ecological environment on the QTP rangeland. The piosphere effect, defined as a radial pattern of grazing animal influence on grassland is common in herbivore grazing systems where, for example, animals are penned overnight. However, to date, no direct quantification of animal distribution exists, which hinders the progress of studies on the interactions between grazing animal and vegetation. In this study, we selected a typical household-level ranching grassland with alpine meadow on QTP and monitored: 1) the hourly spatial distribution of each yak; 2) the monthly vegetation dynamics on fixed locations using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). We found 1) grazing pressure decreased with increasing distance from night pens in the early growing season; however this pattern reversed in the late growing season; 2) vegetation biomass increased with increasing distance from night pens through whole growing season; and 3) no relation was found between grazing pressure/vegetation dynamics with river distance in the pasture. The monitor and analysis method realized dynamic monitoring of whole animal herd with high frequency, resolution and efficiency, and low cost. Widespread and long-term monitoring will improve our understanding of piosphere and be beneficial for grassland grazing management.

POTENTIAL OF ACCELEROMETERS TO REMOTELY DETECT DISEASES, SUCH AS BOVINE EPHEMERAL FEVER IN CATTLE
. Colin T. Tobin*¹, Derek W. Bailey¹, Mark G. Trotter², Lauren R. OConnor³; ¹New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, ²Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia, ³CQUniversity Australia, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

ABSTRACT

Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF), commonly known as three-day sickness, caused by bovine ephemeral fever virus which is transmitted by mosquitoes and other biting insects.  The characteristic symptoms include stiffness, lameness, fever, nasal and ocular discharges, while in more severe cases the disease causes hypocalcemia which can generate cessation of rumination, muscle tremors, and constipation.  These symptoms generally last on average 2 to 4 days.  A study was conducted in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia using accelerometers to measure the drinking behavior of eight beef heifers for a six-week period.  Cattle were fitted with collars containing a triaxial accelerometer, with a sampling rate of 25 Hz.  Two cattle were diagnosed by staff and later by a veterinarian with BEF during the experiment, the first on September 12, 2016 and the second on October 1, 2016.  With the diagnosis, accelerometer data were analyzed to determine if the onset BEF could have been detected prior to the onset of clinical symptoms based on changes in activity patterns.   Prior to the onset of BEF, normal grazing and resting activity patterns were readily identified from the sensor data.  On the day heifers were diagnosed, but before symptoms were observed by staff, heifer activity was reduced. Motion intensity during the period heifers were ill showed long periods of less movement and period episodes of intense movements.  These data suggest that heifers became less active when they were ill and corresponding stiffness, tremors and other symptoms may intensified periodic movements, such as walking.  Accelerometers recorded clear changes in heifer activity after becoming ill with BEF compared to their behavior several days earlier, which suggests that these sensors may be useful in remotely detecting the onset of cattle diseases, such as bovine ephemeral fever, before clinical signs can be observed on rangelands under typical management scenarios.

POTENTIAL OF ACCELEROMETERS AND GPS TRACKING TO REMOTELY DETECT THE ONSET OF PERENNIAL RYEGRASS STAGGERS IN SHEEP
. Derek W. Bailey*¹, David R. Scobie², Mark G. Trotter³, David E. Hume⁴, Lee Sutherland², Colin T. Tobin¹; ¹New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, ²AgResearch, Lincoln, New Zealand, ³Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia, ⁴AgResearch, Palmerston North, New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Perennial ryegrass staggers (staggers) is a neurotoxic condition that is caused by consumption of grass (Lolium perenne) that is infected with certain Epichloë fungal endophyte strains that produce toxins that can adversely affect and potentially kill sheep.  Symptoms include head shaking, changes in gait, stiffness and falling. Affected sheep can recover after removing them from pastures containing those endophyte strains.  A study was conducted in Lincoln, New Zealand to determine if the onset of staggers could be identified with GPS tracking and accelerometers.  Fourteen sheep per treatment grazed in either an endophyte-infected ryegrass pasture or an endophyte-free control pasture for 17 days in late March and early April.  Sheep were fitted with collars containing a 3-axis accelerometer recording movements at 12 hertz. Three sheep per treatment were also tracked at 3-minute intervals with GPS receivers.  Sheep were scored by an experienced observer for symptoms of staggers weekly and at the end of the study using a 0 to 5 scale. Control sheep did not display any symptoms of staggers and 10 sheep in the infected pasture displayed little or no symptoms (0 or 1 score).  The other 4 sheep in infected pasture had scores from 2 to 4 at the end of the study.  Sheep grazing in the infected pasture (4350 ± 63 m/day) moved slower (P=0.04) than sheep in the control pasture (4727 ± 56 m/day). Distance traveled varied among days, but there did not appear to be any temporal trends. Accelerometer data showed clear changes in behavior of affected sheep from the beginning to the end of the study.  Accelerometers may be useful for remotely detecting the onset of perennial ryegrass staggers.

AN AGENT-BASED MODEL OF CATTLE GRAZING IN GEYER&RSQUO;S LARKSPUR HABITAT. Kevin Jablonski*, Randall Boone, Paul Meiman; Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

ABSTRACT

The many species of larkspur (Delphinium spp.) present one of the most serious, intractable, and complex challenges to livestock grazing management in the western United States. Larkspur plants contain numerous norditerpinoid alkaloids, which are potent neuromuscular paralytics that are particularly effective at killing cattle, with yearly herd losses estimated at 2-5% for those grazing in larkspur habitat. In addition, producers will often abandon or delay grazing in pastures with larkspur present, which creates a substantial opportunity cost and an impediment to the achievement of grazing management goals. Among the many challenges to improving our understanding of cattle-larkspur dynamics has been the difficulty of testing different grazing management strategies in the field, as the risk of dead animals is too great. Agent-based models (ABMs) provide a method of realistically testing alternate management strategies without risk to livestock. ABMs are bottom-up computational simulation tools that model the behavior of individuals as they interact with one another and the environment. They have been effectively applied in numerous disciplines, and have been recommended as an essential tool for understanding and managing complexity. We will introduce a spatially-explicit, behavior-based ABM of cattle grazing a real pasture with a dangerous amount Geyer’s larkspur (D. geyeri). This model provides significant insight for producers dealing with larkspur and demonstrates the great potential of ABMs to address questions in livestock grazing management, including not just other discrete challenges but also fundamental aspects of livestock behavior amidst heterogeneity.

EVALUATING METHODS OF ESTIMATING FORAGE INTAKE BY GRAZING CATTLE. Aaron J. Shropshire*¹, Walt Schacht², Jerry Volesky³; ¹UN Lincoln, Seward, NE, ²University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, ³University of Nebraska - Lincoln, North Platte, NE

Daily forage intake of beef cattle on grazing lands can be variable depending on management, animal, and ecological factors, and is difficult to estimate. The animal unit (AU) concept is based on forage intake and is used to balance forage supply and demand on grazing lands. Forage demand is commonly reported as stocking rate (AU days of forage per ha; AUD/ha) and is calculated based on a ruminant consuming daily a certain percentage of its liveweight. There is disagreement among advisors and practitioners alike on the daily intake (AUD) of a grazing ruminant. The standard intake amount used by University Extension and federal agencies, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service, ranges from 2.3% to 2.7% of liveweight (10 to 12 kg dry matter for a 450 kg animal). A stocking rate based on the 2.7% intake is lower than that of a 2.3% intake and likely results in reduced harvest efficiency and beef production; therefore, identifying and using accurate estimates of intake are critical. Research was conducted from 2013 through 2016 on a subirrigated meadow at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Barta Brothers Ranch in the eastern Sandhills. Steers were rotated through pastures of two different grazing systems during the growing season. Immediately before and after the steers were moved to a new pasture, sample locations within the pastures were clipped at ground level, the clipped vegetation dried and weighed, and disappearance (intake) calculated. The difference in standing live vegetation biomass between the before and after clipping was considered intake. For the two grazing systems and 4 years of the study, estimates of forage intake were better predicted by the 2.3% of liveweight factor than the 2.7% of liveweight factor. These results confirm that the AUD equivalent of 10 kg DM/AUD is accurate.

THE FUTURE&NDASH;COMBINING ENERGY PRODUCTION WITH RANGELAND CONSERVATION

Alternative land use demands on rangelands are increasing as suburban expansion and energy development continue to rise.  Land managers, owners, ranchers, and future energy developers need to work together to preserve rangeland production and the native species that rely on this habitat.  Topaz Solar Farms, located on the Carrizo Plain in California exemplifies a successful partnership between agriculture, habitat conservation, and energy production.  This 4,700-acre, 550-megawatt passive photo-voltaic solar farm is currently one of the largest solar projects in the world.  Construction practices minimize environmental impacts while preserving natural resources, endangered species habitat, and existing agricultural land uses.