Article
Biology
Junjie Yang, Minjie Xu, Shuang Pang, Lili Gao, Zijia Zhang, Zhiping Wang, Yunhai Zhang, Xingguo Han, Ximei Zhang
Summary: This study found that disturbance level determines the importance of stochastic relative to deterministic changes in ecosystem components, predefining the pattern of post-disturbance ecosystem succession. It was also observed that nitrogen addition reduced the importance of stochastic changes, leading to a quadratic relationship with disturbance level. Monitoring the importance of stochastic relative to deterministic changes in an ecosystem can help estimate disturbance levels, predict succession patterns, and propose disturbance-level-dependent strategies for restoration.
SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Siew Lim, Cheryl Wachenheim
Summary: This paper investigates farmer preferences for contract attributes in the Conservation Reserve Program, finding that landowners prefer shorter contracts, higher payment and cost share, mid-contract adjusted payment, and flexibility in land use. Factors such as farm residency, age, previous participation, and gender also influence willingness to enroll in the program, while raising grazing livestock or participating in working lands programs decreases likelihood of participation.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Christopher R. Anthony, Matthew J. Germino
Summary: Species interactions, influenced by abiotic stress and biotic interactions, play a critical role in determining native bunchgrass abundances across environmental gradients. The stress-gradient hypothesis predicts that species interactions will vary with environmental conditions, and the resistance-resilience concept helps predict the complications of invasions on ecosystem recovery. This study demonstrates that the association between native bunchgrasses and cheatgrass is context dependent and influenced by the abundances of both species, driven by environmental stress.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Cheng-Hsien Lin, Nictor Namoi, Amber Hoover, Rachel Emerson, Marnie Cortez, Ed Wolfrum, Courtney Payne, Josh Egenolf, Keith Harmoney, Robert Kallenbach, DoKyoung (D. K. ) Lee
Summary: This study evaluated management practices for optimizing the quality of bioenergy feedstock and the stand persistence of grass-legume mixtures in different environments. The results showed that delayed harvest and additional nitrogen supply had positive effects on biomass quality and energy potential, especially for warm-season mixtures. Proper management can make grass-legume mixtures on CRP lands a high-quality feedstock for bioenergy production.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY BIOENERGY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Zihe Zhang, Jirui Gong, Jiayu Shi, Xiaobing Li, Liangyuan Song, Weiyuan Zhang, Ying Li, Siqi Zhang, Jiaojiao Dong, Yingying Liu
Summary: This study investigated the impact of varying grazing intensities on photosynthetic carbon assimilation and allocation in Leymus chinensis, a dominant grass species. Light grazing promoted utilization of assimilated carbon and increased photosynthetic rate, while medium and heavy grazing constrained photosynthetic capacity. As herbivory pressure increased, newly assimilated carbon was preferentially allocated to belowground tissues and leaf defenses were upregulated. Ultimately, L. chinensis adopted a conservative carbon allocation strategy emphasizing long-term survival under increasing herbivory pressure.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Maria M. Mendez, Juan P. Livore, Federico Marquez, Gregorio Bigatti
Summary: This study aimed to test a methodology proposed for the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network Pole to Pole of the Americas program, and found that the methodology can detect mass mussel mortality events timely, with almost 0% mussel cover detected. This simple methodology is an adequate tool for monitoring rocky intertidal habitats.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
John W. Piltz, Richard G. Meyer, Mark A. Brennan, Suzanne P. Boschma
Summary: High growth rates and rapid reproductive development of tropical perennial grass pastures present challenges for livestock producers. Silage conservation of surplus forage could be an effective management tool. This study evaluated the fermentation quality of silages produced from tropical grasses. The results showed that a rapid and effective wilt combined with a bacterial additive resulted in well preserved tropical grass silages.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mark W. Vandever, Sarah K. Carter, Timothy J. Assal, Kenneth Elgersma, Ai Wen, Justin L. Welty, Robert S. Arkle, Rich Iovanna
Summary: The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture aims to protect private lands, provide wildlife habitats, and reduce soil erosion. Results of the study show that most fields have minimal erosion features, with diverse perennial vegetation cover, and variation in grass cover and plant species across different practice types and regions.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zihe Zhang, Jirui Gong, Xiaobing Li, Yong Ding, Biao Wang, Jiayu Shi, Min Liu, Bo Yang
Summary: Overgrazing is the main cause of grassland degradation and reduced productivity in northern China, with the restoration of degraded grasslands depending on optimal grazing regimes to promote rapid compensatory growth. Studying the effects of different grazing intensities on plant carbon assimilation, partitioning, and hormone regulation, it was found that S. grandis can optimize source-sink relationships and carbon allocation to support regrowth after grazing.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Economics & Policy
Andrew B. Rosenberg, Bryan Pratt
Summary: In this study, the land use impacts of the Conservation Reserve Program are assessed by observing the land use decisions of parcels following the 2016 General Signup. The study uses a regression discontinuity design and auction data to estimate the program's land use impacts and the rental rates for retired land in different uses. The findings show that the program has a significant impact on land use, replacing cropland, mixed forage, grassland, and idle or fallow land.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
(2023)
Article
Agricultural Economics & Policy
Mykel R. Taylor, Nathan P. Hendricks, Gabriel S. Sampson, Dillon Garr
Summary: The study investigates the effects of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on farmland values in Kansas from 1998 to 2014, finding that the discount associated with having land under CRP contract averages 7%.
APPLIED ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES AND POLICY
(2021)
Article
Business
Peter Cramton, Daniel Hellerstein, Nathaniel Higgins, Richard Iovanna, Kristian Lopez-Vargas, Steven Wallander
Summary: The study examines the impact of varying the tightness of price-cap auctions in the CRP and finds that excessively tight or high bid caps can reduce efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Alternative auction formats based on reference prices also present issues, with an exogenous reference price ranking format decreasing efficiency and cost-effectiveness, while an endogenous reference price format increases cost-effectiveness.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Ricardo Moreno-Gonzalez, Thomas Giesecke, Sonia L. Fontana
Summary: Recent changes in the fire regime in northern Patagonia may have caused a reduction in populations of the endangered Araucaria araucana, but the long-term trend of this species does not show a significant decline. The frequency of fires has partially influenced changes in vegetation composition, but the magnitude of fire events does not seem to have a detectable impact on the vegetation.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Economics
Noel Perceval Assogba, Daowei Zhang
Summary: The paper estimates the negative effect of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on the prices of standing timber in the U.S. South. The results suggest that CRP had a statistically significant negative effect of about 6.5% on timber prices in the long run. This may partially explain the prolonged low prices of standing timber in the U.S. South since the 2008 financial crisis.
FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Eliott Maurent, Bruno Herault, Camille Piponiot, Geraldine Derroire, Diego Delgado, Bryan Finegan, Melaine Aubry Kientz, Bienvenu H. K. Amani, Marie Ange Ngo Bieng
Summary: Despite the high biodiversity and carbon stocks, tropical forests are heavily disturbed. This study presents a novel modeling framework to examine the recovery of vegetation attributes in differently disturbed forests. Selective logging shows the highest recovery rate in above-ground biomass and diversity, while the intensity of disturbance has a significant effect on taxonomic composition recovery.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2023)