Article
Agronomy
Lina Q. Ahmed, Abraham J. Escobar-Gutierrez
Summary: This study analyzed the intraspecific variability of tall fescue in response to a constant temperature during germination and quantitatively described the response curves. The results showed statistically different responses of tall fescue accessions to different temperatures, with the optimal germination temperature ranging from 9 to 25 degrees Celsius. The study also revealed a high intraspecific genetic variability in tall fescue, which could be useful for breeding new cultivars adapted to fast climate change.
Article
Ecology
Jaime J. Coon, Nicholas J. Lyon, Edward J. Raynor, Diane M. Debinski, James R. Miller, Walter H. Schacht
Summary: Invasive grasses reduce habitat quality and forage quality, but large-scale experimental studies with adaptive management frameworks are needed for effective grassland restoration. The study found that herbicide application can reduce the cover of invasive grass and promote the restoration of native grasses over several years.
RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Jaime J. Coon, Scott B. Maresh Nelson, Iris A. Bradley, Katherine E. Rola, James R. Miller
Summary: This study assessed the short-term effects of herbicide and seeding on the reproduction of the dickcissel bird in tall fescue-dominated grasslands. The results showed that using herbicide and seeding significantly increased the abundance of dickcissels, as well as the number of nests, nest survival, and fledglings. Grazed sites had fewer dickcissel nests, and there may have been smaller populations of spiders and caterpillars in sprayed areas. These findings suggest that herbicide and seeding can improve habitat quality for this grassland bird shortly after restoration.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Brad J. Farmilo, Claire Moxham
Summary: Habitat loss has led to fragmented grasslands and increased the risk of weed invasion. Although weed control is commonly used in threatened grasslands, there is limited knowledge about its ecological outcomes. This study found that short-term weed control can effectively reduce target weed cover without significant impacts on native plants.
ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Geissianny B. Assis, Natashi A. L. Pilon, Marinez F. Siqueira, Giselda Durigan
Summary: The study found that prescribed fire, herbicides, and hoeing were all effective in controlling invasive grasses, with hoeing being the most effective in recovering native vegetation cover and richness. Fire was successful in depleting the seed bank of invasive grasses, while hoeing followed by a grass-selective herbicide was the most cost-effective method for increasing native ground cover.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
A. J. Grote, C. C. Nieman, A. R. Morgan, K. P. Coffey, D. Philipp, E. B. Kegley, J. L. Edwards
Summary: Tall fescue is the main grazing forage in the mid-south and has a symbiotic relationship with an endophytic fungus that produces ergot alkaloids causing fescue toxicosis. Condensed tannins have been found to bind to ergot alkaloids and prevent toxicosis symptoms.
ANIMAL FEED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
R. James Ansley, Michael J. Castellano
Summary: Managing woody species that encroach into grasslands and can resprout following top-kill is a growing problem. Costly treatments that yield complete mortality are not feasible at a large scale, while less expensive top-kill treatments need frequent application to maintain regrowth suppression. A low rate of clopyralid-only herbicide root-killed some honey mesquite but caused partial top-kill, leading to increased herbaceous productivity. Higher rates of clopyralid increased mesquite root-kill and maintained partial top-kill in surviving plants. The best option was clopyralid at 0.42 kg.ha(-1) due to lower cost, offering a method to reduce woody competition with grasses while maintaining landscape heterogeneity.
RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Juan J. Musci, Andres Casoni, Victoria S. Gutierrez, Marco A. Ocsachoque, Andrea B. Merlo, Maria A. Volpe, Ileana D. Lick, Monica L. Casella
Summary: The production of high added value products from bioliquids obtained from the pyrolysis of Tall Fescue waste was studied through catalytic hydrogenation reactions. The optimal pyrolysis temperature was determined through analysis of biomass samples, and bench scale pyrolysis reactions were then conducted. The pyrolysis bioliquids exhibited high furfural concentration, which could be converted into high added value alcohols through catalytic hydrogenation.
Article
Ecology
Laurel McDonald, Nicola Koper
Summary: The openness of the landscape is more influential on area sensitivity of grassland birds than patch size or habitat amount. Grassland patches embedded in open landscapes are of high conservation value for grassland birds, even when small.
Article
Ecology
Monica A. Nguyen, Sarah Kimball, Jutta C. Burger, Robert Freese, Megan Lulow, Katharina T. Schmidt, Priscilla Ta, Jennifer L. Funk
Summary: Ecologists have studied community assembly using the concept of ecological filters and found that manipulations of these filters can alter plant community structure. Results suggest that native perennial herbaceous plants can be more successfully incorporated into established native grasslands after thatch removal.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Michala L. Phillips, Edith B. Allen
Summary: Type conversion from native shrubland to invasive annual grassland is increasing due to global change factors. Higher invasive grass cover is associated with higher rates of seedling mortality, while lower invasive cover results in higher richness of annual native plant species.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Veterinary Sciences
Taylor D. Ferguson, Eric S. Vanzant, Kyle R. McLeod
Summary: Endophyte-infected fescue is a major cool season forage used for livestock production in the United States and other areas, with a symbiotic relationship with an endophytic fungus that produces toxic ergot alkaloids harmful to herbivores. While past research focused on phenotypic changes in livestock affected by ergot alkaloids, recent studies have revealed that fescue toxicity-related illnesses are more complex than previously thought, as shown through metabolome, transcriptome, and proteome investigations.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Arianna Ferrara, Alessandro Bricca
Summary: Semi-natural grasslands are a suitable system for studying the effects of biotic interactions on coexistence. However, the cessation of management has led to the dominance of highly competitive tall-perennial tussock species, resulting in a decrease in both taxonomic and functional diversity. This study examines the impact of Brachypodium genuense on plant community, and finds that it alters the community dynamics in terms of both diversity and dominant strategies, leading to a more stratified and resource-based plant community under mowing conditions.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yasuko Togamura, Kazuhiro Uchiyama, Fumiaki Akiyama, Kiyoshi Hirano, Daigo Yamada, Takeshi Shibuya
Summary: The studies suggest that tall fescue is a low radiocesium-uptake grass with the potential to replace orchardgrass for remediation of contaminated grasslands. Results from two field experiments showed that tall fescue exhibited lower Cs-137 uptake and transfer factor compared to orchardgrass, indicating its ability to reduce potassium fertilizer requirements in contaminated grasslands.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Edward J. Raynor, Heidi L. Hillhouse, Diane M. Debinski, James R. Miller, Walter H. Schacht
Summary: The study examined the impact of grazing pressure and time since fire on patch utilization and production in experimental grassland pastures dominated by the invasive grass tall fescue. It was found that recently burned patches showed greater initial patch-scale utilization, leading to reduced tall fescue production, especially under high grazing pressure. Although increased grazing promoted native grass production in the invaded grassland landscape, the dominance of tall fescue mediated the lack of structural heterogeneity induced by patch-level prescribed fire and grazing.