Grass Pickerel Esox amercicanus, 2011

Data sheet produced by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is about different times of animals, insects, snakes, birds, fish, butterflies, etc. that can be found in Iowa.

Seed production characters and germination performance of reed canary grass in Finland

Selostus: Ruokohelven siementuotanto-ominaisuudet ja itävyys Suomessa

New grass phylogeny resolves deep evolutionary relationships and discovers C4 origins.

• Grasses rank among the world's most ecologically and economically important plants. Repeated evolution of the C(4) syndrome has made photosynthesis highly efficient in many grasses, inspiring intensive efforts to engineer the pathway into C(3) crops. However, comparative biology has been of limited use to this endeavor because of uncertainty in the number and phylogenetic placement of C(4) origins. • We built the most comprehensive and robust molecular phylogeny for grasses to date, expanding sampling efforts of a previous working group from 62 to 531 taxa, emphasizing the C(4)-rich PACMAD (Panicoideae, Arundinoideae, Chloridoideae, Micrairoideae, Aristidoideae and Danthonioideae) clade. Our final matrix comprises c. 5700 bp and is > 93% complete. • For the first time, we present strong support for relationships among all the major grass lineages. Several new C(4) lineages are identified, and previously inferred origins confirmed. C(3)/C(4) evolutionary transitions have been highly asymmetrical, with 22-24 inferred origins of the C(4) pathway and only one potential reversal. • Our backbone tree clarifies major outstanding systematic questions and highlights C(3) and C(4) sister taxa for comparative studies. Two lineages have emerged as hotbeds of C(4) evolution. Future work in these lineages will be instrumental in understanding the evolution of this complex trait.

The effect of ammonium ferric hexacyanoferrate on reducing radiocaesium transfer from grass silage to sheep

Selostus: [sup 134]Cs-aktiivisuuspitoisuuden vähentäminen ferriheksasyanoferraatin avulla

Spatial pattern and process at the plant neighbourhood scale: insights from communities dominated by the clonal grass Elymus repens (L.) Gould.

Question: How do clonal traits of a locally dominant grass (Elymus repens (L.) Gould.) respond to soil heterogeneity and shape spatial patterns of its tillers? How do tiller spatial patterns constrain seedling recruitment within the community?Locations: Artificial banks of the River Rhone, France.Material and Methods: We examined 45 vegetation patches dominated by Elymus repens. During a first phase we tested relationships between soil variables and three clonal traits (spacer length, number of clumping tillers and branching rate), and between the same clonal traits and spatial patterns (i.e. density and degree of spatial aggregation) of tillers at a very fine scale. During a second phase, we performed a sowing experiment to investigate effects of density and spatial patterns of E. repens on recruitment of eight species selected from the regional species pool.Results: Clonal traits had clear effects - especially spacer length - on densification and aggregation of E. repens tillers and, at the same time, a clear response of these same clonal traits as soil granulometry changed. The density and degree of aggregation of E. repens tillers was positively correlated to total seedling cover and diversity at the finest spatial scales.Conclusions: Spatial patterning of a dominant perennial grass responds to soil heterogeneity through modifications of its clonal morphology as a trade-off between phalanx and guerrilla forms. In turn, spatial patterns have strong effects on abundance and diversity of seedlings. Spatial patterns of tillers most probably led to formation of endogenous gaps in which the recruitment of new plant individuals was enhanced. Interestingly, we also observed more idiosyncratic effects of tiller spatial patterns on seedling cover and diversity when focusing on different growth forms of the sown species.

Does the generalist parasitic plant Cuscuta campestris selectively forage in heterogeneous plant communities?

Cuscuta spp. are holoparasitic plants that can simultaneously parasitise several host plants. It has been suggested that Cuscuta has evolved a foraging strategy based on a positive relationship between preuptake investment and subsequent reward on different host species. Here we establish reliable parasite size measures and show that parasitism on individuals of different host species alters the biomass of C. campestris but that within host species size and age also contributes to the heterogeneous resource landscape. We then performed two additional experiments to test whether C. campestris achieves greater resource acquisition by parasitising two host species rather than one and whether C. campestris forages in communities of hosts offering different rewards (a choice experiment). There was no evidence in either experiment for direct benefits of a mixed host diet. Cuscuta campestris foraged by parasitising the most rewarding hosts the fastest and then investing the most on them. We conclude that our data present strong evidence for foraging in the parasitic plant C. campestris.

Effect of intercropping wheat with forage legumes on wheat production and ground cover

The use of winter legumes in southern Brazil is hindered by the slow growth of these species during establishment exposing soil surface to erosion. Introduction of these species along with spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was studied as a means of increasing ground cover during their initial establishment period, without reducing wheat grain yield. Two experiments were conducted in nearby areas, one in each year. Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) cultivar Quiñequelli, white clover (T. repens L.), and arrowleaf clover (T. vesiculosum Savi) did not reduce cereal yield in either year. Wheat yield was reduced by intercropped red clover cultivar Kenland and by subclover (T. subterraneum L.) in the first year. No grain yield differences due to intercropping with any legume were detected in the second year, when rainfall was below normal. Intercropping with wheat showed to be a practical alternative to enhance ground cover at establishing forage legumes.

Examination report on the City of Blue Grass, Iowa for the period July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013

Examination report on the City of Blue Grass, Iowa for the period July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013

Daily intake of lactating crossbred cows grazing elephant grass rotationally

The goal of this trial was to estimate the total dry matter (TDMI) and daily pasture dry matter intakes (PDMI) by lactating crossbred Holstein - Zebu cows grazing elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) paddocks submitted to different rest periods. Three groups of 24 cows were used during two years. The paddocks were grazed during three days at the stocking rate of 4.5 cows/ha. Treatments consisted of resting periods of 30 days without concentrate and resting periods of 30, 37.5 and 45 days with 2 kg/cow/day of 20.6% crude protein concentrate. From July to October, pasture was supplemented with chopped sugarcane plus 1% urea. Total daily dry matter intake was estimated using the extrusa in vitro dry matter digestibility and the fecal output with chromium oxide. Regardless of the treatment the estimated average TDMI was 2.7, 2.9 and 2.9±0.03% and the mean PDMI was 1.9, 2.1 and 2.1±0.03% of body weight in the first, second and third grazing day, respectively (P<0.05). Only during the summer pasture quality was the same whichever the grazing day. Sugarcane effectively replaced grazing pasture, mainly in the first day when pasture dry matter intake was lowest.

Estimated metabolizable energy yields of perennial and annual grass swards compared with those of spring barley and oat

Selostus: Yksi- ja monivuotisen nurmen, ohran sekä kauran muuntokelpoisen energian sadot märehtijän rehutuksessa lajikekokeiden tuloksista estimoituina

Harvesting strategy and N fertilization influence ¹³⁴Cs uptake by forage plants

Selostus: Korjuuaika ja typpilannoitus vaikuttavat rehukasvien radiocesiumpitoisuuteen

Decomposition of Arachis pintoi and Hyparrhenia rufa litters in monoculture and intercropped systems under lowland soil

Tropical grasslands under lowland soils are generally underutilized and the litter of forage legumes may be used to recover these degraded pastures. The objective of this work was to study the dynamics of litter decomposition of Arachis pintoi (pinto peanut), Hyparrhenia rufa (thatching grass) and a mixture of both species in a lowland soil. These treatments were analyzed in three areas: grass monoculture, legume monoculture and legume intercropped with the grass during the dry and wet seasons. Litter bags containing the legume, grass or a mixture of both species were incubated to estimate the decomposition rate and microorganism colonization. Decomposition constants (K) and litter half-lives (T1/2) were estimated by an exponential model whereas number of microorganisms in specific media were determined by plate dilution. The decomposition rate, release of nutrients and microorganisms number, especially bacteria, increased when pinto peanut was added to thatching grass, influenced by favorable lignin/N and C/N ratios in legume litter. When pinto peanut litter was incubated in the grass plots, 50% N and P was released within about 135 days in the dry season and in the wet season, the equivalent release occurred within 20 days. These results indicate that A. pintoi has a great potential for nutrient recycling via litter and can be used to recover degraded areas.

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Blue Grass, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Blue Grass, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Forage yield and quality of a dense thorny and thornless "jurema-preta" stand

The objective of this work was to compare forage production and quality of thorny and thornless "jurema-preta" (Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poiret) in a dense planted stand, subjected to annual pruning of fine branches, in Patos, PB, Brazil. The experiment consisted of two treatments (thornless and thorny "jurema-preta") in a complete randomized block design, with ten replicates of two linear plots subdivided in time. Forage mass and chemical composition of fine branches and the basal diameter of plants were measured during five years. Pruning decreased (p<0.05) increments in basal diameter and forage production. Annual dry matter yields reached 4,108 and 5,833 kg ha-1, respectively, for thornless and thorny plants, and forage quality was similar (p>0.05) for both genotypes. This roughage fodder (minimum NDF and ADF averages were 56±1.1% and 43±1.0%, respectively) had low P and K concentrations. Its average crude protein content was greater than 9.9±0.5%, which exceeds the minimum necessary for animal maintenance. Both "jurema-preta" genotypes tolerated pruning of fine branches and contributed with a significant amount of roughage fodder for animal maintenance in the dry season.